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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.

Case view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.

I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.

The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.

Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
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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Flybyknight
Milton, DE

Posts: 82
Flybyknight on Mar 31, 2008March 31st, 2008, 11:40 am EDT
Am bringing my canoe up to the E. Branch and if anyone wants to
meet for tow vehicle pick-up and or drop off, we can save a few bucks.
I like to fish alone, but am more than willing to help shuttle our cars around.
email
tartansailor@hotmail.com

Dick
Lightly on the dimpling eddy fling;
the hypocritic fly's unruffled wing.
Thomas Scott
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Mar 31, 2008March 31st, 2008, 12:18 pm EDT
Sounds great but it is just too early for me to get excited about going to the Delaware system. I'm waiting for river temperatures of at least 50 degrees before I start going up.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Mar 31, 2008March 31st, 2008, 2:11 pm EDT
Dick, it's probably a bit early for me too, but I'll keep an eye on things. I certainly will be game later in the season. I usually pay for a canoe shuttle, and would be happy to team up with you and even give you a bit of a head start on the water. It's a big river.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell

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