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.

View from Upper to Lower Titcomb Lake

From Titcomb Basin in Wyoming

Stream photos

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Epeorus albertae (Pink Lady) Mayfly Nymph Epeorus albertae (Pink Lady) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Epeorus albertae (Heptageniidae) (Pink Lady) Mayfly Nymph from the East Fork Issaquah Creek in Washington

This specimen keys to the Epeorus albertae group of species. Of the five species in that group, the two known in Washington state are Epeorus albertae and Epeorus dulciana. Of the two, albertae has been collected in vastly more locations in Washington than dulciana, suggesting it is far more common. On that basis alone I'm tentatively putting this nymph in albertae, with the large caveat that there's no real information to rule out dulciana.

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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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Predicting a hatch?

This topic is about the Insect Order Ephemeroptera

Mayflies may be the most important insects for trout anglers to understand. They are an ancient order of insects, famous outside the fly-fishing world for their fragile beauty and short adult lifespan, often a single day to mate and die. The mayfly's poignant drama attracts poets and anglers alike, but anglers make the most of it.

Mayflies live more than 99% of their lives as nymphs on the river or lake bottom, filling many crucial roles in freshwater ecosystems as they feed and grow. They eventually emerge from the water as winged sub-adults called "subimagos" by scientists and "duns" by anglers. Duns evolved to be good at escaping the water, with a hydrophobic surface and hardy build, but they are clumsy fliers. Within a day or two they molt one last time into "imagos" or "spinners," the mature adults, a transformation captured in this photo series of a dun molting into a spinner. They have longer legs and tails, and sleeker, more lightweight bodies, giving them the airborne speed, agility, and long grasp they need for their midair mating rituals. They are usually darker than the duns and have shinier, more transparent wings. They die within minutes or hours after mating.

Example specimens

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Male Epeorus albertae (Pink Lady) Mayfly Spinner

Lateral view of a Male Epeorus albertae (Heptageniidae) (Pink Lady) Mayfly Spinner from the North Fork Stillaguamish River in Washington

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Male Epeorus deceptivus Mayfly Dun

Artistic view of a Male Epeorus deceptivus (Heptageniidae) Mayfly Dun from the South Fork Sauk River in Washington

The lack of a darkened humeral crossvein rules out Epeorus albertae and Epeorus dulciana. The lack of a dark macula on the forefemora rules out Epeorus longimanus. The small size rules out Epeorus grandis and Epeorus permagnus. That leaves as the only possibility known in Washington state Epeorus deceptivus. It is a small species, although not reportedly quite as small as this specimen. I couldn't find anything in the species description in Traver (1935) to definitively confirm or rule out the species ID, given that I don't have the preserved specimen to check under a microscope, but it has to be either deceptivus or something not yet reported in Washington. It was collected at the same time as a similar-sized female dun.

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Female Acentrella turbida (Tiny Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Spinner

Lateral view of a Female Acentrella turbida (Baetidae) (Tiny Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Spinner from the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

U2ill
Pullman, Washington

Posts: 3

U2ill on Apr 2, 2008April 2nd, 2008, 8:12 am EDT

All,

Is it possible to predict a hatch (whether mayfly, caddis, stonefly, etc) based off of water, air, and weather data? So if I know streamflow, water temp, air temp, wind, cloudiness, etc...and I know what insects are on a stream...is that enough data to make a prediction like "There would be a good likelihood of a caddis hatch this afternoon"?

Epeorus

Maryland

Posts: 9

Epeorus on Jun 24, 2014June 24th, 2014, 12:33 pm EDT

Don't know, but many years ago I was fishing the West Branch of the Delaware with a buddy of mine (Bruce) who knew it like the back of his hand. We were waiting for the Invaria/ Rotunda hatch. The Wets Branch sees a fairly wide temperature swing at that time of the year, and as I was grumbling about the lack of hatching Bruce says - "put you thermometer in the water. when you see the temperature reach 55 you'll see the hatch" Sure enough when the water reached 55 the bugs starting hatching.

Don't know if that was a prediction, or just a way to make me shut up and wait. Like to think it was a prediction by an experienced fly fisherman.

TNEAL
GRAYLING. MICHIGAN

Posts: 278

TNEAL on Jun 24, 2014June 24th, 2014, 1:09 pm EDT

water temperature is only one variable. insects have to be ready to hatch. if the water temp hits mid 50's in early March, you won't have Hendricksons because they simply aren't ready. On the other hand, I've fished heavy Hendricksons with water temps as low as 46; Hex hatches with water temps in the mid 50's. Don't bank on hatches simply by water temps.