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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.

Dorsal view of a Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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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SetTheHook
west coast

Posts: 7
SetTheHook on Sep 30, 2008September 30th, 2008, 4:31 am EDT
Has anyone been lucky enough to get some of those early chromers?? A few of my buddies have done well in the Skeena area

tight lines!! lets see the pics!

www.BCeXtremeHD.tv

check it out
HighFlyer
Minnesota

Posts: 24
HighFlyer on Oct 1, 2008October 1st, 2008, 6:50 am EDT
I caught a lil baby up on the Baptism River in Northern MN last weekend, but the weather wasn't cooperating with us. A torrential down pour on Friday night put a ton of run-off into the streams Saturday. That combined with my lack of experience and any semblance of any actual skill left me high and dry. Cold, rainy, and fishless.... definitely not a weekend to remember.
"Calling Fly Fishing a hobby is like calling Brain Surgery a job."
~by Paul Schullery~

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."
~by Henry David Thoreau~

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