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3. Water boatmen?

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

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

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

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.