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.

I like this one. Glacial river, taiga, tundra, and the perpetual ice cover of a massive high ridge dozens of miles away in the Wrangell Mountains.

From the Copper River in Alaska

Stream photos

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Holocentropus Caddisfly Larva Holocentropus Caddisfly Larva

Dorsal view of a Holocentropus (Polycentropodidae) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington

This one seems to tentatively key to Holocentropus, although I can't make out the anal spines in Couplet 7 of the Key to Genera of Polycentropodidae Larvae nor the dark bands in Couplet 4 of the Key to Genera of Polycentropodidae Larvae, making me wonder if I went wrong somewhere in keying it out. I don't see where that could have happened, though. It might also be that it's a very immature larva and doesn't possess all the identifying characteristics in the key yet. If Holocentropus is correct, then Holocentropus flavus and Holocentropus interruptus are the two likely possibilities based on range, but I was not able to find a description of their larvae.

11 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.

Female Epeorus (Little Maryatt) Mayfly Spinner Pictures

I associated this female with a male I collected one night later. For a great and informative discussion of all Epeorus species and other mayflies be sure and read, WESTERN MAYFLY HATCHES by R. Hafele and D. Hughes. They rate all of the western mayflies and they rate the hatch of this genus a 25 out of a possible 45 points based on several rating criterion. They provide insect photos, possible fly patterns and fly presentations. This is a great book.

Edit by Troutnut: Bob generally knows his IDs better than I do, but I think this one was misidentified as Epeorus longimanus. The darkened humeral crossvein is not supposed to be present in longimanus. I'm moving it up to Epeorus.

This mayfly was collected from the Touchet River in Washington on July 24th, 2011 and added to Troutnut.com by Bnewell on July 25th, 2011.

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