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.

Stream photos

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Psychodidae True Fly Larva Psychodidae True Fly Larva

Lateral view of a Psychodidae True Fly Larva from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington

This wild-looking little thing completely puzzled me. At first I was thinking beetle or month larva, until I got a look at the pictures on the computer screen. I made a couple of incorrect guesses before entomologist Greg Courtney pointed me in the right direction with Psychodidae. He suggested a possible genus of Thornburghiella, but could not rule out some other members of the tribe Pericomini.

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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.

Water boatmen?

Adirman

Monticello, NY

Posts: 479

Adirman on Sep 6, 2010September 6th, 2010, 12:33 am EDT

Hey! I was on a small stream yesterday and observed a bunch of these bugs, had long legs and looked like size was about #10-12, skittering acroos the surface of the water. Fish basically ignored them from what I could see and they stayed mostly around the edges. are these water boatmen?

Thanks,
Adirman

Taxon

Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311

Taxon on Sep 6, 2010September 6th, 2010, 4:54 am EDT

Hello Adirman,

No, those aren't water boatmen. They are water skaters. Both are aquatic true bugs, but in different families. To more easily visualize this, you might want to access Waterbug Taxonomic Structure

Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com

Adirman

Monticello, NY

Posts: 479

Adirman on Sep 7, 2010September 7th, 2010, 11:51 am EDT

Taxon;

thanks for your post. another question perhaps you can answer;are these water skaters important to trout or not so much? Seemed to me they were ignoring them the other day! I also saw this several yrs ago on the mongaup river a trib of the maiin stem delaware.

Thanks,

Adirman

Taxon

Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311

Taxon on Sep 7, 2010September 7th, 2010, 12:03 pm EDT

Adirman-

Yes, trout generally ignore water skaters. The most common reason given is that they are foul-tasting. However, another reason may be that water skaters are so adept at avoiding a trout's rise that trout learn not to waste their time chasing them.

Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com