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.

We were lucky to be able to fish through this storm as it skirted around us to the north, giving us just enough clouds to prompt a BWO hatch but keeping the lighting at a safe distance.

From Slough Creek in Wyoming

Stream photos

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Neoleptophlebia Mayfly Nymph Neoleptophlebia Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Neoleptophlebia (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington

Some characteristics from the microscope images for the tentative species id: The postero-lateral projections are found only on segment 9, not segment 8. Based on the key in Jacobus et al. (2014), it appears to key to Neoleptophlebia adoptiva or Neoleptophlebia heteronea, same as this specimen with pretty different abdominal markings. However, distinguishing between those calls for comparing the lengths of the second and third segment of the labial palp, and this one (like the other one) only seems to have two segments. So I'm stuck on them both. It's likely that the fact that they're immature nymphs stymies identification in some important way.

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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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Female Eurylophella (Chocolate Dun) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

I'm not sure of the species of this female spinner, and unfortunately I never found the associated males or duns to aid in identification. The egg-laying flight and fall of fairly large clouds of these females caused good rises of choosy trout for a week or so around early July on a large, cold spring creek in the northwoods. There is a distinctive stripe down the female's back, identical to that on this specimen collected a month later.