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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.

Lateral view of a Psychodidae True Fly Larva from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington
This wild-looking little thing completely puzzled me. At first I was thinking beetle or month larva, until I got a look at the pictures on the computer screen. I made a couple of incorrect guesses before entomologist Greg Courtney pointed me in the right direction with Psychodidae. He suggested a possible genus of Thornburghiella, but could not rule out some other members of the tribe Pericomini.
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.

Epeorus vitreus (Sulphur) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

Key features I discerned with a microscope include that the femoral flange is blunt (later note: on nymphs of this size, it's somewhat ambiguous and the femora can be damaged in the collection process), the postero-lateral spines have a longer anterior, the first gill is not extended, all gills are tracheated, and the femora have a distinctive brown spot on the center while all the other spots are gray.

This mayfly was collected from unknown in Wisconsin on February 7th, 2004 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on January 25th, 2006.


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Epeorus vitreus (Sulphur) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

Collection details
Location: unknown, Wisconsin
Date: February 7th, 2004
Added to site: January 25th, 2006
Author: Troutnut
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