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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

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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Flytyer
Posts: 1
Flytyer on Aug 24, 2006August 24th, 2006, 4:19 am EDT
so i went to chapters and bought a book and i started and the only fishing spot ive been going to is a pool in the tailwaters of the bearspaw dam and i read in this book that has barley any trout just these tiny little minnows 3" long and some arctic grayling then i almost hooked a 24" brown just outside of the pool!!!
Troutnut
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Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Aug 24, 2006August 24th, 2006, 4:33 am EDT
Gotta love that! When there aren't very many trout in a stream full of minnows, a trout that gets big enough to eat them can grow really really fast. There's one near where my parents live in Wisconsin that's like that.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

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