Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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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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Martinlf on Nov 24, 2010November 24th, 2010, 10:10 am EST
A Thanksgiving wish, and sincere thanks to all the Troutnuts who have made my life more interesting this year by sharing new spots to fish (yes, I'm keeping them a secret), new flies to tie, new lies to smile at, new methods to try, and new posts to ponder. Tight lines, my friends.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
PaulRoberts on Nov 24, 2010November 24th, 2010, 10:18 am EST
Nicely put. Lots to be thankful for, and lots more to come.
Jmd123 on Nov 24, 2010November 24th, 2010, 5:44 pm EST
Perhaps this is a good post for all of us to remember what we are thankfull for in this past year (even though it's not over yet, but I doubt I'll catch any steelhead anyway...). So, here goes. This year I am thankful for:
My largest smallmouth and second largest bass ever (19.5", est. 5 lbs.), caught on one of my very own original KBFs on a 7.5' 3-wt., also the largest fish I have caught yet from that body of water (Cooley Lake);
My largest fish ever on a dry fly, an 18" smallie from "Spencer's Pool" (thanks to OldRedBarn) on a #12 White Wulff, also on the same rod as above, also my largest bass ever from this river;
My biggest largemouth ever caught from my favorite bass pond near Ann Arbor, an 18-incher, also the ONLY bass I've ever landed that hit a hooked bluegill FIRST (hold on now - does this constitute BAIT FISHING???), also on the same rod above;
My biggest brook trout ever, 11" (that might not be big to many of you but it was the first danged time I have ever broken the "10-inch barrier");
The highest-jumping brown trout I have ever caught, a 13-incher who catapulted itself three feet out of the water four times in the first 5 seconds of the fight, yet somehow was NOT a rainbow - ???;
The most fish I have ever caught on a single outing on my "natal trout stream", the Maple River, where I learned to fly fish for trout 25 years ago - six fish in a half hour, including the two trout mentioned above (I had never caught more than five during one visit there before); and finally,
That I have a place to fish even while stranded here in the 'burbs, a hometown lake that I have been fishing since 1974 and flyfishing since 1986, only about three miles away and with bluegills feeding all the way into early November during our last warm spell.
Of course, family and friends are also to be thankful for, but the above fishing experiences, along with many others, have helped to keep my spirits up during my third year of unemployment more than anything else in life. So thank you to all of the fishies that contributed, I hope you are all happy and healthy and none the worse for wear after our encounters.
Jonathon
My largest smallmouth and second largest bass ever (19.5", est. 5 lbs.), caught on one of my very own original KBFs on a 7.5' 3-wt., also the largest fish I have caught yet from that body of water (Cooley Lake);
My largest fish ever on a dry fly, an 18" smallie from "Spencer's Pool" (thanks to OldRedBarn) on a #12 White Wulff, also on the same rod as above, also my largest bass ever from this river;
My biggest largemouth ever caught from my favorite bass pond near Ann Arbor, an 18-incher, also the ONLY bass I've ever landed that hit a hooked bluegill FIRST (hold on now - does this constitute BAIT FISHING???), also on the same rod above;
My biggest brook trout ever, 11" (that might not be big to many of you but it was the first danged time I have ever broken the "10-inch barrier");
The highest-jumping brown trout I have ever caught, a 13-incher who catapulted itself three feet out of the water four times in the first 5 seconds of the fight, yet somehow was NOT a rainbow - ???;
The most fish I have ever caught on a single outing on my "natal trout stream", the Maple River, where I learned to fly fish for trout 25 years ago - six fish in a half hour, including the two trout mentioned above (I had never caught more than five during one visit there before); and finally,
That I have a place to fish even while stranded here in the 'burbs, a hometown lake that I have been fishing since 1974 and flyfishing since 1986, only about three miles away and with bluegills feeding all the way into early November during our last warm spell.
Of course, family and friends are also to be thankful for, but the above fishing experiences, along with many others, have helped to keep my spirits up during my third year of unemployment more than anything else in life. So thank you to all of the fishies that contributed, I hope you are all happy and healthy and none the worse for wear after our encounters.
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Lastchance on Nov 25, 2010November 25th, 2010, 2:09 am EST
Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night.
Bruce
Bruce
Motrout on Nov 26, 2010November 26th, 2010, 1:14 pm EST
Since JMD did, I guess I will too... My favorite piscatorial reasons for Thanksgiving this year:
1. First trout on a fly smaller than a #20 (an 11" bow caught on a #24 Trico imitation)
2.Largest resident trout on a fly-24" rainbow from the upper Current River.
3. First and only pure strain "heritage" brookie- a beautiful 15 incher from a wilderness pond in the Adirondacks.
4. Largest Cutthroat trout ever-17 incher from Arkansas' White River
5. Best Blue Winged Olive hatch I've ever hit (see reports for 11/24)
6. All of my fly rods of all persuasions (graphite, bamboo, and fiberglass are all represented in the current collection of fishin' poles, one each)
7. For all the lakes, creeks, streams, rivers, and ponds that allowed all of this to happen, and to all the conservation minded folks who allow these bodies of water to reach their potential. And of course to the finny inhabitants of those waters. Without you we would be idiots waving rods through the air for no apparent reason. Okay, that's still the case, but at least the fish give us some plausible excuse for being out there in the river.
8. To all family members, friends etc, (especially my father and brother) who have accompanied me on stream this year and made those times so much more worthwhile.
The drought and hot weather made it a tough year, but it has been nonetheless a stellar season of fishing. We do indeed have plenty to be thankful for.
1. First trout on a fly smaller than a #20 (an 11" bow caught on a #24 Trico imitation)
2.Largest resident trout on a fly-24" rainbow from the upper Current River.
3. First and only pure strain "heritage" brookie- a beautiful 15 incher from a wilderness pond in the Adirondacks.
4. Largest Cutthroat trout ever-17 incher from Arkansas' White River
5. Best Blue Winged Olive hatch I've ever hit (see reports for 11/24)
6. All of my fly rods of all persuasions (graphite, bamboo, and fiberglass are all represented in the current collection of fishin' poles, one each)
7. For all the lakes, creeks, streams, rivers, and ponds that allowed all of this to happen, and to all the conservation minded folks who allow these bodies of water to reach their potential. And of course to the finny inhabitants of those waters. Without you we would be idiots waving rods through the air for no apparent reason. Okay, that's still the case, but at least the fish give us some plausible excuse for being out there in the river.
8. To all family members, friends etc, (especially my father and brother) who have accompanied me on stream this year and made those times so much more worthwhile.
The drought and hot weather made it a tough year, but it has been nonetheless a stellar season of fishing. We do indeed have plenty to be thankful for.
"I don't know what fly fishing teaches us, but I think it's something we need to know."-John Gierach
http://fishingintheozarks.blogspot.com/
http://fishingintheozarks.blogspot.com/
Aaron7_8 on Nov 27, 2010November 27th, 2010, 4:07 am EST
1: I would like to thank everyone on here for all the good and not to forget the great correspondance on this board. You all have helped me grow as a fisherman and as a fledgling tier.
2: I am thank for the few incompetent trout and whitefish that tightened my line throughout the year.
3: I am thankful for my wife and family as they put up with me.
Tightlines
2: I am thank for the few incompetent trout and whitefish that tightened my line throughout the year.
3: I am thankful for my wife and family as they put up with me.
Tightlines
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