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.

We were lucky to be able to fish through this storm as it skirted around us to the north, giving us just enough clouds to prompt a BWO hatch but keeping the lighting at a safe distance.

From Slough Creek in Wyoming

Stream photos

Featured on the forum

Re: Trico emergers
In the Mayfly Genus Tricorythodes by Bwoklink (Martinlf replied)

Re: Trico Tips
In the Mayfly Genus Tricorythodes by Martinlf

Re: UV spectrum and trout
In General Discussion by Martinlf

Re: closing the gender gap in flyfishing
In General Discussion by Konchu (Smallflyguy replied)

Re: Fishing Kupa River, Slovenia
In Fishing Reports by Slocum (Fish1 replied)

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.

10 Recently Added Photos

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.

Eleven Mile Canyon

Report at a Glance

General Region	Catch and Release area
Dates Fished	9/16/06
Time of Day	9:00a - 1:30p
Fish Caught	Several nice Rainbows (12" - 15") and a couple small Browns
Conditions & Hatches	There was a big Trico hatch that started at around 10:00a and spinner fall began around 11:00a. The flow was hovering around 100cfs, the clarity was great.

Details and Discussion

Sundula
Littleton, Colorado

Posts: 35

Sundula on Sep 16, 2006September 16th, 2006, 5:03 pm EDT

I used a #22 Mercury RS2 dropped behind a #20 chartruese vinyl midge, I only witnessed a couple of riseing trout sipping on Trico spinners, the reason for this, I beleive is the spinners that were in my area were blown well down stream when the wind piced up around 11:30. The fishing really got tough when the wind picked up in the early afternoon, before that it was fishing excellent. They were taking both flies with a good dead drift, I was only able to sight nymph two fish. The majority of the fish I caught were feeding deep in the tailouts and in the deep seams.

Troutnut

Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758

Troutnut on Sep 16, 2006September 16th, 2006, 6:18 pm EDT

Good fishing! I'm going to give the RS2 a try soon on one of my local small streams. They're not quite so demanding of finesse as a tailwater... so I'll probably be fishing it under a size 16 Royal Wulff.

Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist