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.

A beautiful braided reach of the Sag River, with the Philip Smith Mountains in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in the background.

From the Sagavanirktok River in Alaska

Stream photos

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Setvena wahkeena (Wahkeena Springfly) Stonefly Nymph Setvena wahkeena (Wahkeena Springfly) Stonefly Nymph

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.

7 Recently Added Photos

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.

Arkansas River

Sundula has attached this picture to this report. The message is below.

Report at a Glance

General Region	Buena Vista, CO
Dates Fished	09.02.06
Time of Day	8:45a - 11:30a
Fish Caught	several small browns (10" - 12"), 18 1/2" Greenback Cutthroat
Conditions & Hatches	The flow was right around 360cfs and the clarity was excelent.

Details and Discussion

Sundula
Littleton, Colorado

Posts: 35

Sundula on Sep 3, 2006September 3rd, 2006, 7:47 am EDT

I only fished a couple of hours but it was fishing great. I was using a 2 fly rig, a #16 Pheasant tail, dropped with a #20 Mercury RS2. I was dead drifting through the riffles, and retreiving in the pools and tail outs, and was successful with both presentations.

Troutnut

Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758

Troutnut on Sep 3, 2006September 3rd, 2006, 3:58 pm EDT

That's a beautiful trout! Which fly did it take?

Thanks for posting. I've always wanted to fish Colorado. I was out there once when I was about 12 and I have a really vivid memory of watching trout swim around in the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park. I had never caught a trout before at that time, but I really wanted to.

Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

Sundula
Littleton, Colorado

Posts: 35

Sundula on Sep 3, 2006September 3rd, 2006, 6:16 pm EDT

It took a #20 Mercury RS2 with 7x tippet, it is one of Pat Dorsey's creations, it is a great all around fly. I use it as my main prospecting fly. My favorite size is a #22. I caught it on the retreive about 16" under the surface, after watching some browns take emergers. I felt bad because it swallowed the fly, and it took longer than i liked to net, but I took great care in reviving it. I held on to it's tail and kept moving water past the gills for about 60 seconds. Then in a flash it was gone, I was just as happy knowing that it would be fine as I was catching it. This was the first cutthroat I have ever caught and to date the largest trout I have ever netted.
As a side note you have a great web site and I have been veiwing it for about a year and a half, it sits in my favorites and is veiwed at least once a week.
Keep up the good work, and I wish you tight lines!

Taxon