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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.

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.
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.

JOHNW
JOHNW's profile picture
Chambersburg, PA

Posts: 452
JOHNW on Mar 1, 2009March 1st, 2009, 4:06 am EST
Shawn, I thought that might be the case. Sweet little fly you tied there.
JW (aka Trouble Maker in Chief)
"old habits are hard to kill once you have gray in your beard" -Old Red Barn
CaseyP
CaseyP's profile picture
Arlington, VA/ Mercersburg, PA

Posts: 653
CaseyP on Mar 1, 2009March 1st, 2009, 10:16 am EST
oh, yeah--it had all the earmarks: gorgeous, not easily tied, and no matter how big you magnify it, absolutely perfect.

i used it yesterday because the water on the little J was a bit cloudy from the rain the night before. something flashy seemed in order.
"You can observe a lot by watching." Yogi Berra
Shawnny3
Moderator
Pleasant Gap, PA

Posts: 1197
Shawnny3 on Mar 4, 2009March 4th, 2009, 10:11 am EST
Thanks, guys.

-Shawn
Jewelry-Quality Artistic Salmon Flies, by Shawn Davis
www.davisflydesigns.com
Flatstick96
Flatstick96's profile picture
Posts: 127
Flatstick96 on Mar 12, 2009March 12th, 2009, 7:00 am EDT
I see the secret behind the storied John Silver has finally been leaked to a select few; consider yourselves fortunate - not much escapes the Shawnny Vault.

Shawn, I hope this doesn't mean I have to start tying these for myself instead of raiding your box. I always figured that as long as you kept devising the patterns and I kept teaching you how to fish them, then we'd be even. Kidding, of course... ;-)

Shawnny3
Moderator
Pleasant Gap, PA

Posts: 1197
Shawnny3 on Mar 13, 2009March 13th, 2009, 8:07 am EDT
Yes, it's grudgingly that I open the vault. I only hope that what's inside doesn't prove to others to be something unworthy of a vault in the first place. But I'm trying to be more open with my things.

-Shawn
Jewelry-Quality Artistic Salmon Flies, by Shawn Davis
www.davisflydesigns.com
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Mar 13, 2009March 13th, 2009, 10:03 am EDT
OK, I've figured out the identity of our new member--as I thought. Welcome "Flatstick."
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Flatstick96
Flatstick96's profile picture
Posts: 127
Flatstick96 on Mar 16, 2009March 16th, 2009, 4:23 am EDT
Thanks Louis - good to be here (acutally, I've lurked for a LOOOOONG time; since the site's inception, as a matter of fact).

Now that I'm back in Texas I frequent the trout fishing sites far less than I used to (when I lived in SC I'd literally be on the FFP board and this site EVERY DAY). The problem, really, is that I can't even describe how much I miss being up there; some people seem to able to sate their appetite for the unattainable by living vicariously through the experiences of others, but for me it's just the opposite - the more I read and talk about it, the more bummed I get that I'm stuck down here.

I like to track Google Analytics for Shawn's site, and I'll often click through to see which threads have sent him traffic - that gets me back here from time to time. Finally I figured I might as well register and post the odd comment now and again.

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