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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.

Dorsal view of a Zapada cinctipes (Nemouridae) (Tiny Winter Black) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
Nymphs of this species were fairly common in late-winter kick net samples from the upper Yakima River. Although I could not find a key to species of Zapada nymphs, a revision of the Nemouridae family by Baumann (1975) includes the following helpful sentence: "2 cervical gills on each side of midline, 1 arising inside and 1 outside of lateral cervical sclerites, usually single and elongate, sometimes constricted but with 3 or 4 branches arising beyond gill base in Zapada cinctipes." This specimen clearly has the branches and is within the range of that species.
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.

Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Apr 20, 2010April 20th, 2010, 8:01 am EDT
I was fishing a pond yesterday over sad, sad, stockies in my float tube. I love the midge fishing on this pond and seldom get a chance to fish still waters. Anyway...I noticed, as I was watching for the hatching bugs, that there were a number of little spiders on the water. At one point I felt a small bite on my neck and there was one of these spiders. My question is, can spiders actually use the surface tension of a pond to stay above the water and is this a hunting technique that they employ? The pond had midges emerging all over it and there seemed way too many spiders on the water to be an accident...It wasn't that windy.

Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Wiflyfisher
Wiflyfisher's profile picture
Wisconsin

Posts: 622
Wiflyfisher on Apr 20, 2010April 20th, 2010, 8:15 am EDT
Spence, a lot of insects, like water striders, spiders, ants, etc. can use the surface tension to walk or run across the surface.. I have even seen large dock spiders running on the surface.

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