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.

Here Oksrukuyik Creek flows away from the Dalton Highway toward the pipeline. It eventually grows into one of the major rivers of the North Slope, and the main drainage to the west of the Sag, but where it crosses the road it's just a small grayling stream.

From Oksrukuyik Creek in Alaska

Stream photos

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Male Ameletus vernalis (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph Male Ameletus vernalis (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Male Ameletus vernalis (Ameletidae) (Brown Dun) Mayfly Nymph from the Icicle River in Washington

Keying this one out using Zloty & Pritchard 1997:
-No ganglionic markings on sternites 2–8
-Posterior margins of sternits 6–8 without numerous spines
-Mesal gill extension well developed (I really don't like the "well developed" language when it's subjective, but in this case the other option doesn't lead anywhere productive)
-Tails pale in basal 1/3
-Larger species (13–16 mm) — this one is just shy of 12 mm, but closer to 13 than to <10
-Spring emergence
This all points to Ameletus vernalis.

7 Recently Added Photos

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.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Onocosmoecus (Great Late-Summer Sedge) Caddisfly Larva Pictures

This specimen keys pretty easily to Onocosmoecus, and it closely resembles a specimen from Alaska which caddis expert Dave Ruiter recognized as this genus. As with that specimen, the only species in the genus documented in this area is Onocosmoecus unicolor, but Dave suggested for that specimen that there might be multiple not-yet-distinguished species under the unicolor umbrella and it would be best to stick with the genus-level ID. I'm doing the same for this one.