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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 Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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.

CaseyP
CaseyP's profile picture
Arlington, VA/ Mercersburg, PA

Posts: 653
CaseyP on Aug 20, 2010August 20th, 2010, 10:05 am EDT
if i can add right, and that's not a given, tomorrow our fearless leader is going to Tie The Knot.

CONGRATULATIONS, FELICITATIONS, and ALL THE BEST to Jason and Lena!

and be sure to post pictures of the Bahamas bonefish...:-)
"You can observe a lot by watching." Yogi Berra
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Aug 20, 2010August 20th, 2010, 10:27 am EDT
Here's a wedding/honeymoon limerick, since Jason is fond of that genre-with apologies to Emily Dickinson, the queen of slant rhyme:

There once was a guy in Alaska
Who said of his dear, “Now I’ll ask her.”
The girl gave a yes
Now she’s in a white dress
And Jason is hoping to cast some.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
GONZO
Site Editor
"Bear Swamp," PA

Posts: 1681
GONZO on Aug 20, 2010August 20th, 2010, 11:35 am EDT
OK, I'll try to take up the celebratory gauntlet that Louis threw down:

There is a young angler named Jason.
His honeymoon he is now facin'.
With bonefish on the tide
And sweet Lena as bride,
The catchin's as good as the chasin'.

Have a happy honeymoon, Jason and Lena...and don't forget the sunscreen!

Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302
Creno on Aug 20, 2010August 20th, 2010, 2:11 pm EDT
Perhaps one more?

To the Bahamas they went embracin'
he said its Lena he’s chasin'.
But come rising tide,
he kissed his new bride,
and off to the fish went Jason.

Have a wonderful trip and don't forget the flies, guys have a habit of doing that when they are distracted. But distraction is good too.
GONZO
Site Editor
"Bear Swamp," PA

Posts: 1681
GONZO on Aug 20, 2010August 20th, 2010, 4:03 pm EDT
Now you've done it, Creno! Sorry, can't resist...

But after an hour of fishin'
He'll think of the bride he is missin'.
Though bonefishin' is fun,
You're a son of a gun
If it's only fish lips you are kissin'.
Gutcutter
Gutcutter's profile picture
Pennsylvania

Posts: 470
Gutcutter on Aug 21, 2010August 21st, 2010, 5:09 am EDT
troutnutter limericks are bad
reading them makes me mad
as soon as we're done
then it's back to the fun
as insect i.d. makes me glad
All men who fish may in turn be divided into two parts: those who fish for trout and those who don't. Trout fishermen are a race apart: they are a dedicated crew- indolent, improvident, and quietly mad.

-Robert Traver, Trout Madness
GONZO
Site Editor
"Bear Swamp," PA

Posts: 1681
GONZO on Aug 21, 2010August 21st, 2010, 9:28 am EDT
There once was a doctor named Tony
Who thought that our rhymes were baloney.
The problem, he thought,
Was that we'd better not
forsake insects for mere matrimony.

OK, Doc, msg. rec'd--no more strained anapestic torture. (Spoilsport!)
Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302
Creno on Aug 21, 2010August 21st, 2010, 11:44 am EDT
Of the bugs I've looked at today
Philocasca has led the way.
But bugs can't out do
the union of two.
To which we all say hooray!


I thought these were for Jason, not us. We will have to wait to hear if Lena has the same "appreciation" as the Troutnut.
Gutcutter
Gutcutter's profile picture
Pennsylvania

Posts: 470
Gutcutter on Aug 21, 2010August 21st, 2010, 12:49 pm EDT
awesome stuff guys - you've won me over.
i only joined in because i had never even attempted to create a limerick before. well, o.k. after college rugby matches there were a few that had something about a man from nantucket...
needless to say there were adult beverages involved!
i'll try to come up with another one
All men who fish may in turn be divided into two parts: those who fish for trout and those who don't. Trout fishermen are a race apart: they are a dedicated crew- indolent, improvident, and quietly mad.

-Robert Traver, Trout Madness
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Aug 23, 2010August 23rd, 2010, 6:04 am EDT
i'll try to come up with another one


Boys! Maybe we should stop while we are ahead... ;)

I want to wish our newlyweds (to be) all the best, but I do want Jason back in the midwest somewhere, on a stream, with his camera in-tow! We have a few gaps in our rouge's gallery of bugs...Though he will never be forgiven by the river gods for telling on the trout!

Congrats!

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
Lastchance
Portage, PA

Posts: 437
Lastchance on Aug 24, 2010August 24th, 2010, 2:32 am EDT
A guy in Alaska tied a Blood knot,
By marrying his alluring sweetheart.
After years of frustration
and a full frontal castration,
he sold all of his flyfishing equipment and registered for fine china at Macy's.

Bruce


Reprints only by permission.
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Aug 24, 2010August 24th, 2010, 2:49 am EDT
Ouch!!!

Spence

That's a sad one Bruce...Really...I think a tear of recognition just escaped the corner of my eye...:)
"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
Lastchance
Portage, PA

Posts: 437
Lastchance on Aug 25, 2010August 25th, 2010, 2:03 am EDT
Lest anyone become offended by my little poem--I was kidding, joking, etc.
Bruce
Shawnny3
Moderator
Pleasant Gap, PA

Posts: 1197
Shawnny3 on Aug 25, 2010August 25th, 2010, 9:10 am EDT
I thought it was the best one, Bruce. Laughed out loud.

-Shawn
Jewelry-Quality Artistic Salmon Flies, by Shawn Davis
www.davisflydesigns.com

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