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.

This is one of the many shallow, unnamed lakes in the Arctic coastal plain near the Dalton Highway.

From Dalton Highway in Alaska

Stream photos

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Pycnopsyche guttifera (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva Pycnopsyche guttifera (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

Dorsal view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington

This specimen appears to be of the same species as this one collected in the same spot two months earlier. The identification of both is tentative. This one suffered some physical damage before being photographed, too, so the colors aren't totally natural. I was mostly photographing it to test out some new camera setting idea, which worked really well for a couple of closeups.

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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.

Small BWO

Lastchance
Portage, PA

Posts: 437

Lastchance on Aug 30, 2010August 30th, 2010, 11:41 am EDT

Are these tiny BWOs that are coming off now and through the Fall a size 24? Also, can someone direct me to some photos of them? I saw one Saturday, which I thought was a Blue Quill Spinner, but now I think it was a BWO spinner. It had a dark thorax, a clear translucent body and another dark segment at the end.
Thanks,
Bruce

GONZO
Site Editor
"Bear Swamp," PA

Posts: 1681

GONZO on Aug 30, 2010August 30th, 2010, 12:48 pm EDT

Bruce,

The spinner you saw was probably a male. A #24 seems a little too small for most Blue Quills (Paraleptophlebia), though many of the males have the "Jenny Spinner" coloration that you describe. (Blue Quill spinners have three tails.) That coloration is also common to many male baetids (two-tailed BWOs, if you will). The females will usually have a (mostly) solid color body that will range from olive to brown to light orange. Here are some photos of a few baetids that show the "Jenny Spinner" coloration in the males:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/249088/bgimage
http://bugguide.net/node/view/249089/bgimage
http://bugguide.net/node/view/249110/bgimage

For contrast, here is the female of the first species:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/249090/bgimage

I hope that helps, at least a little.

Lastchance
Portage, PA

Posts: 437

Lastchance on Aug 30, 2010August 30th, 2010, 3:30 pm EDT

Hi Gonzo: That's exactly what I saw on Saturday. So the the onlyu difference between those BWOs and Blue Quill spinners is basically the number of tails? Like many others in my beginning years of bug watching I always mistook Blue Quills for Tricos.
Thanks,
Bruce