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.
This one was surprisingly straightforward to identify. The lack of a sclerite at the base of the lateral hump narrows the field quite a bit, and the other options followed fairly obvious characteristics to Clostoeca, which only has one species, Clostoeca disjuncta.
Keystoner on Aug 15, 2010August 15th, 2010, 3:21 am EDT
In the very early mornings, just after daybreak, I have ofetn seen trout shooting straight up out of the water (like completley vertical). Sometimes they get upwards of two feet off the water before falling back in. What is this all about??? Besides a really good way to frustrate me when I'm getting skunked.
"Out into the cool of the evening, strolls the Pretender. He knows that all his hopes and dreams, begin and end there." -JB
Troutnut on Aug 15, 2010August 15th, 2010, 7:45 am EDT
Yeah, the usual interpretation would definitely be that they're chasing caddis emergers up to the surface. I've seen fish jump a bit for emerging midges, too. And sometimes they probably jump for other reasons but fishermen just assume they're chasing emergers... things are often more complicated than they seem.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
PaulRoberts on Aug 17, 2010August 17th, 2010, 4:06 pm EDT
Check for Black Dancer's -Mysticites (sp?). They are black winged summer caddis that flit around the surface close to the bank. It's been a while so I do not remember their life history but I have dries and pupae in my box -black wing/olve body.
Falsifly on Aug 20, 2010August 20th, 2010, 3:02 am EDT
I doubt that this would happen very early in the morning as Damsel Fly activity seems to pick up in the heat of the day. Here is a forward from another topic:
Years back I was working upstream on a section of the Namekagon. It was a warm sunny afternoon in June, fishing was slow and there was no visible hatch. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a fish, leaping vertically, completely out of the water. I have seen this many times in the past and have always found it interesting. Of course my first thought was--- ah a fish! So naturally, I started to work toward that spot, one eye on my drift and the other, on that spot. Well, much to my surprise, I’ll be damned if the fish didn’t do it again. Now my curiosity was piqued. I ceased fishing and slowly made my way to the spot, halting short, so as not to reveal myself. I was studying the surface of the water, seeing nothing unusual, when the fish leaped; straight up vertically, completely out of the water, again! This time I discovered what was going on. The fish was catching Damsel Flies, as they were hovering, a good foot and a half from the surface.
Falsifly
When asked what I just caught that monster on I showed him. He put on his magnifiers and said, "I can't believe they can see that."