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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 Setvena wahkeena (Perlodidae) (Wahkeena Springfly) Stonefly Nymph from Mystery Creek #199 in Washington
As far as I can tell, this species has only previously been reported from one site in Oregon along the Columbia gorge. However, the key characteristics are fairly unmistakable in all except for one minor detail:
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.
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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Report at a Glance

General RegionHuntington County
Specific LocationSeveral well known trout streams
Dates FishedSeveral days last week
Time of Dayvarious
Fish Caughtlots of trout 10" - 18"
Conditions & HatchesDon't care about hatches - I catch fish on live nymphs, especially those white worms in those little stick houses, shiners, and some artificial nymphs

Details and Discussion

Cdcaddis18
Huntington, PA

Posts: 16
Cdcaddis18 on Jul 4, 2009July 4th, 2009, 11:58 pm EDT
Had a great week pinning, caught many trout every day. Am glad I moved to this area of PA! Lots of trout are eager to eat my baits. Limited out every day and have a couple dozen 12" - 18" browns in my freezer.
Shawnny3
Moderator
Pleasant Gap, PA

Posts: 1197
Shawnny3 on Jul 5, 2009July 5th, 2009, 2:14 pm EDT
Glad for your success, Cdcaddis18, and welcome to the forum. Also, welcome to the area - I am also a transplant here from upstate NY. I would only suggest that you fill your freezer with smaller fish and leave the bigger ones to fight (and spawn) another day. A little digital camera would nicely preserve the memory of the larger ones without cluttering up your freezer. If the streams you fished are indeed well known, then the fish you caught had probably been caught and released many times by other anglers for the future enjoyment of others, in this case you. Try to be mindful that most streams here in Central PA are pretty heavily pressured, and that your fishing would likely not have been nearly as successful on this outing if every angler before you had limited out on big fish.

-Shawn
Jewelry-Quality Artistic Salmon Flies, by Shawn Davis
www.davisflydesigns.com
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Jul 12, 2009July 12th, 2009, 2:30 pm EDT
Pinning is a very deadly method to present natural bait or nymphs to trout. Skillful pinners can easily decimate fertile trout streams.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Jul 12, 2009July 12th, 2009, 3:07 pm EDT
Westbranch, I hope you and Shawn can prevail on this guy to release his fish before they are all gone!
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell

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