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.

Stream photos

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Female Hydropsyche (Spotted Sedge) Caddisfly Adult Female Hydropsyche (Spotted Sedge) Caddisfly Adult

Lateral view of a Female Hydropsyche (Hydropsychidae) (Spotted Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Columbia River in Washington

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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.

Grayling fishing and bug collecting at Nome Creek, Page 4

By Troutnut on July 9th, 2011

It's been a busy year, and this is the first time I've been out fly fishing. My wife and I drove up to Nome Creek for a couple hours, looking for some easy action on small grayling, and it did not disappoint. I was still threading the line up through my guides when I heard her calling from the stream with a grayling on her fly. I told her that since she got the first fly-caught fish of the year, she can officially wear her I outfish my husband! merchandise now.

I also collected some nymphs for the site for the first time in a few years, including several mature Ephemerella aurivillii nymphs. Our dog Taiga had not experienced kick-netting before, but she decided to try to be as helpful as she could, imitating me by walking in front of the net and pawing at the water. The collection was very successful.

Photos by Troutnut from Nome Creek in Alaska

The first fish on a fly of 2011 for either of us, and she caught it while I was still rigging up my rod.

Inspecting the net with my intrepid sidekick.

From Nome Creek in Alaska

This is the first time I've kicknetted bugs since we got Taiga, and she turns out to be so very helpful.

From Nome Creek in Alaska

My first good-sized grayling of the year, and the biggest I've seen in this creek, about 15-16 inches.

Closeup insects by Troutnut from Nome Creek in Alaska

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Ephemerella aurivillii Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Ephemerella aurivillii (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from Nome Creek in Alaska

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Heptagenia pulla (Golden Dun) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Heptagenia pulla (Heptageniidae) (Golden Dun) Mayfly Nymph from Nome Creek in Alaska

Like most Alaskan mayflies, this one is tricky to identify to the species level. See the discussion section for an informative chat about this one's ID. The current leaning is to call it a fairly immature Heptagenia pulla nymph, but a case has been made for Heptagenia elegantula as well.

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Drunella doddsii (Western Green Drake) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Drunella doddsii (Ephemerellidae) (Western Green Drake) Mayfly Nymph from Nome Creek in Alaska

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Female Cinygmula ramaleyi (Small Western Gordon Quill) Mayfly Dun

Lateral view of a Female Cinygmula ramaleyi (Heptageniidae) (Small Western Gordon Quill) Mayfly Dun from Nome Creek in Alaska

This dun is almost certainly of the same species as this nymph, as it hatched in my cooler from a nearly identical nymph.

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Cinygmula ramaleyi (Small Western Gordon Quill) Mayfly Nymph

Cinygmula ramaleyi (Heptageniidae) (Small Western Gordon Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Nome Creek in Alaska

This nymph is almost definitely the same species as this dun, which hatched from a nearly identical nymph from the same collection.

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Male Ephemerella aurivillii Mayfly Dun

Lateral view of a Male Ephemerella aurivillii (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Dun from Nome Creek in Alaska

This is the most widespread species of Ephemerella, and also the most abundant in some places, but nobody I've talked to seemed to know what its duns looked like, and there were no pictures of its duns online or in any angling books. That mystery is solved with this male dun, which hatched from a definitively identified nymph.

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Ephemerella aurivillii Mayfly Nymph

This nymph hatched out in my aquarium into this dun.

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Female Ephemerella aurivillii Mayfly Dun

Lateral view of a Female Ephemerella aurivillii (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Dun from Nome Creek in Alaska

This dun hatched out in my aquarium from this nymph.

Comments / replies

Oldredbarn

Novi, MI

Posts: 2600

Oldredbarn on Jul 19, 2011July 19th, 2011, 6:29 am EDT

BTW - Incognito would work better as a new scientific name I think. Ephemerella incognito, hmmm...

You know Kurt...I like this one...It's right up this weirdo's alley..Got to love "incognito" ;), but I can't understand the absolute lack of romanticism of you bunch of "Nerds"! :) "Spence the Prince" tried to open the door for Jason but after years and years of very gray professors pounding it out of you guys, I'm beginning to wonder if there's any hope for the lot of you...How did you guys ever find a Frau? How did they ever get you to look up from the microscope long enough to even notice that they were standing there???

From here on in I'll only refer to it as "Lena's Alyeska Dun"...Sorry boys! I'm tying up a dozen or two in the very off chance that I will ever make it back up there...I have these dyed stripped hackle quills that were supposed to cover the mahoganies but the dying process was a little off...They just may be a little too red but we will see...

I also thought about "Lena's Honey's Dun" but somehow this doesn't roll well off the tongue...

Kurt...It was nice of you to mention the "poeticism" of my posts, but I recognise a fellow-traveller, a fellow tongue-in-cheeker when I read one...;)

Spence

One of these days, if I can ever figure out a way to stretch it in I'll tell you how Jimmy Keyes gave me the nickname "Spence-the-Prince"...It has nothing to do with entomology or fly fishing so it will be difficult even for me...;)

So Mr. Lore says that E aurivillii shall be know fore-ever-more, at least among the hopeless romantics along the Au Sable, as Lena's Alyeska Dun...

Damn! I pushed this thread on to a 4th page...Wow!

"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood

Entoman

Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604

Entoman on Jul 19, 2011July 19th, 2011, 9:43 am EDT

Lloyd -

Yes, Jason moved the two large specimens that I had questioned (#483 & #484) from needhami to aurivillii.

Ah.. thanks. I got lost putting it together somewhere around Jason's "stegosaurus" post.:) Knew I missed something, now my head is clear.

Thanks also for the clarification on the tubercles and including an actual quote from the scientific lit. The specimens of aurivillii in my neck of the woods (or ones I've seen anywhwere for that matter) look like striped dorothea infrequens without discernible tubercles, even when using hand held magnification. It looks like head/pronotum shape and overall size are the most dependable?

Spence -

...but I can't understand the absolute lack of romanticism of you bunch of "Nerds"! :)

That is a dastardly accusation without merit! Proof? We enjoy (put up with) your random musings in the middle of our "scientific" hobnobbery. Oh, and don't think your comment about us "scientific types" not spending much time with a rod in hand went unnoticed... Perfidious slander!:)

Kurt

"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman

Oldredbarn

Novi, MI

Posts: 2600

Oldredbarn on Jul 19, 2011July 19th, 2011, 10:20 am EDT

That is a dastardly accusation without merit! Proof? We enjoy (put up with) your random musings in the middle of our "scientific" hobnobbery. Oh, and don't think your comment about us "scientific types" not spending much time with a rod in hand went unnoticed... Perfidious slander!:)

Ouch! What ya going to do tough guy? Throw your latest copy of "J-NABS" at my head...;)

There are some fine grains of truth in your remark...I know I'm in the middle of it all here, but I think this goes to my argument a bit...If I wasn't in the middle of this I'd never get your attention...You boys are in your own world...I am just saying all power to the females in your lives for somehow pulling it off!

"...spending much time with a rod in your hand..." This is just too easy ;) and if the ladies hadn't worked their magic this would be your only alternative...Me thinks :)

Ok, ok! That was fun...I'll behave myself...Promise! Let's you and I Kurt call a truce ;) and I'll stop before we push this thread in to another page! I will try my best to limit my "dastardliness" (is that a word?) and won't interupt when the adults are speaking...O-Tay Buckwheat?!

Being serious...Let us hope that our wives never get together as a group and swap info...We will be toast!

The "Nerder Birder" signing off.

Entoman

Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604

Entoman on Jul 19, 2011July 19th, 2011, 10:42 am EDT

"...spending much time with a rod in your hand..." This is just too easy ;)

Ha Ha. :):) Wow, I walked into that one! Reminds me of "Happy Gilmore." Remember the bar scene after the first round of golf? The antagonist Shooter McSomething tells Happy, "I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast!", to which Happy replied, "So... You eat shit for breakfast?"

Very good Spence... Very good.:)

Semper pax,

Kurt

"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman

Oldredbarn

Novi, MI

Posts: 2600

Oldredbarn on Jul 19, 2011July 19th, 2011, 12:56 pm EDT

Kurt,

I am charged with watching over other folk's dough...Today I spent a large part of my time taking care of my annual compliance stuff that I have to do to maintain my securities lic's etc...Real fun stuff, eh!?

The DOW went north by 200+ points...No problem there...

I guess I was bored mister and made a feeble attempt to entertain myself...

Thanks for helping me maintain some sanity here buddy! :)

I am serious though that I'm going to "reel" myself in a bit and stop nugging in to quality conversations with trivia...If I truely need to "step-out" I'll start a new thread...

But thanks again!

Entoman

Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604

Entoman on Jul 19, 2011July 19th, 2011, 8:53 pm EDT

I am serious though that I'm going to "reel" myself in a bit and stop nugging in to quality conversations with trivia...If I truely need to "step-out" I'll start a new thread...

It will take a lot of the fun out of these threads if you do.

Kurt

"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman