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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Dorsal view of a Skwala (Perlodidae) (Large Springfly) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This Skwala nymph still has a couple months left to go before hatching, but it's still a good representative of its species, which was extremely abundant in my sample for a stonefly of this size. It's obvious why the Yakima is known for its Skwala hatch.
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.

Al514
Al514's profile picture
Central New York

Posts: 142
Al514 on Sep 17, 2007September 17th, 2007, 2:29 pm EDT
What is the biggest mayfly species in the North East? I was at a 7 to 8 acre pond tonight that holds some nice trout, and I swear I saw some spinners about size 8 or 6! I had to do a double-take to make sure it was a mayfly! I didnt have my camera, so no pictures but Ill try and get some soon. It looked dark brown and around 2, possibly 3 inches in length.
Al514
Al514's profile picture
Central New York

Posts: 142
Al514 on Sep 17, 2007September 17th, 2007, 2:32 pm EDT
Ok, so I originally thought it was Hex, but I didn't think they were that big. After looking at the pictures on here, I'm sure it was a Hex.
Taxon
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Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311
Taxon on Sep 17, 2007September 17th, 2007, 3:45 pm EDT
There are only three mayfly genera with really large mayflies, which I would describe as being in excess of 1" in length, as measured from the front of head to end of abdomen, exclusive of tails.

These are Ephemera, Hexagenia, and Litobrancha, all burrowers in family Ephemeridae. Of those three genera, only Hexagenia are found in ponds.
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com
Troutnut
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Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Sep 17, 2007September 17th, 2007, 7:17 pm EDT
At this time of year, it was probably a different species of Hex, like Hexagenia atrocaudata. Check out the pics of that one on this site and see if they match a little closer still.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

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