Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana

Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

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Female Sweltsa borealis (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult Female Sweltsa borealis (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult

Lateral view of a Female Sweltsa borealis (Chloroperlidae) (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult from Harris Creek in Washington

I was not fishing, but happened to be at an unrelated social event on a hill above this tiny creek (which I never even saw) when this stonefly flew by me. I assume it came from there. Some key characteristics are tricky to follow, but process of elimination ultimately led me to Sweltsa borealis. It is reassuringly similar to this specimen posted by Bob Newell years ago. It is also so strikingly similar to this nymph from the same river system that I'm comfortable identifying that nymph from this adult. I was especially pleased with the closeup photo of four mites parasitizing this one.

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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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Rhithrogena hageni (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

This mature nymph was collected in the same riffle as a male spinner, from which I got the identification for both.

Ventral view of a Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

Dorsal view of a Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

Ruler view of a Rhithrogena hageni (Heptageniidae) (Western Black Quill) Mayfly Nymph from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.

This mayfly was collected from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington on May 14th, 2022 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on May 16th, 2022.

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