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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata

The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.

Case view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.

I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.

The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.

Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
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Trout Streams, Rivers, and Lakes

Trout Streams, Rivers, and Lakes

Trout get part of their appeal from the beautiful places they live. They are symbols of the wild and pristine.
These are my best photos of the idyllic rivers, streams, and lakes salmonids call home.

The sun peeks through a crack in the afternoon thunderstorms in the high Rockies.
The Little Wood River in Idaho
Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho
The Firehole River in Wyoming
The Mystery Creek # 294 in Wyoming
The Mystery Creek # 294 in Wyoming
Sunlight Creek in Wyoming
The Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone River in Wyoming
Mystery Creek # 227 in Montana
Golden Trout Creek passing through the forest downstream of the last meadow
Golden Trout Creek, known long ago as Volcano Creek, winds through a series of enticing bends in Big Whitney Meadow.
Golden Trout Creek cascades through a bouldery bottom downstream of Big Whitney Meadow.
Sunlight perfectly strikes the trees at a bend in the Foss River in the Washington Cascades.

From the Foss River in Washington
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