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.

A beautiful braided reach of the Sag River, with the Philip Smith Mountains in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in the background.

From the Sagavanirktok River 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.

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.

Southern Vermont

Report at a Glance

General Region	Bennington County
Specific Location	Walloomsac, Moon, Dog, Furnace
Dates Fished	09 May 2011
Time of Day	0700-0830
Fish Caught	Brook trout
Conditions & Hatches	observed mayflies, caddis and mosquitoes above water and on foliage, larva and nymphs in streams

Details and Discussion

Billj
sunderland, vermont

Posts: 4

Billj on May 9, 2011May 9th, 2011, 4:54 am EDT

A short and successful turkey hunt this AM left us time to fish the cricks on the way home, waters are at perfect levels and falling.

Most took wets readily, royal coachmans and silver doctors #12 and #14

A nice batch of fish for breakfast.

Adirman

Monticello, NY

Posts: 479

Adirman on May 9, 2011May 9th, 2011, 1:34 pm EDT

Dude, thats alotta fish to keep!! Whats the creel limit in Vermont/day?
Don't get me wrong, as I like to keep a few now and then myself for the grill but I'll tell ya, on some F.F. forums the guys would be all over you for even keeping one!!

Troutnut

Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758

Troutnut on May 9, 2011May 9th, 2011, 2:23 pm EDT

Yeah I don't want to jump on the new guy prematurely, but that picture made me wonder, too!

When you post a pic of that many kept trout it's important to mention how many fishermen caught them, whether they're wild or stocked, or basically anything else to make it clear that one or two guys didn't just hammer all the big brookies out of a mile of some nice little wild trout stream. That's what some people assume when they see a picture like that... so, say it ain't so! ;)

Congrats on the turkey!

Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

Ckashner

Southwestern Vermont

Posts: 1

Ckashner on May 11, 2011May 11th, 2011, 3:16 am EDT

The Walloomsac is an excellent river in Southern Vermont. It gets really good hatches and fly fishes very well. The State of Vermont has a daily limit of 12 TROUT (SICK)....of which only 6 maybe be either Browns/Rainbows....So all 12 trout legally taken can be Brook Trout. These trout are HATCHERY fish, the State of Vermont stocked 1100 Brook Trout that were 9.4" on May 5th 2011....following is a link to stocking page
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/StockingResults.cfm

I am even a newer guy and I live and fish the Walloomsac very often....so please let me do the jumping....hammering and killing pellet trout 4 days after they stock is pathetic.....I hope you fried onions with your liver tasting fish....

Troutnut

Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758

Troutnut on May 11, 2011May 11th, 2011, 10:25 am EDT

so please let me do the jumping....hammering and killing pellet trout 4 days after they stock is pathetic.....

I don't think there's anything wrong with it at all. I'd be concerned if they were wild trout. Based on what you described, it sounds like that stream is a put-and-take fishery, where the state stocks far more fish than the stream can naturally support, with the expectation that most of them will be caught and kept pretty quickly. That's the kind of place where it's alright to keep a nice mess of trout for dinner, and it's no more damaging then buying a dozen farm-raised trout in the supermarket.

Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist