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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.

Case view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.

I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.

The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.

Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
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.
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Report at a Glance

General RegionWestern Colorado
Specific LocationFrying Pan River, Basalt, CO
Dates Fished7/28
Time of Day8 AM - 4 PM
Fish CaughtRainbows, Browns, Hybrids
Conditions & HatchesFlows are perfect at 226 but big runoffs have changed the dynamics of the river slightly.

PMD's are abundant, a lot of small white midges hatching in abundance. Hatches started around 10 AM and were constant through late afternoon.

Most active I've ever seen the fish on the Pan. Best results on top were with a size 18 pinkish Sparkle Dun. No action on adult duns.

Underneath they were very active on Princes, Miracle Midges, and Red Brassies. I used size 16 for the Prince, 20 on the midge, and 24-26 on the Brassies. Size 6 leader and tippet, size 7 for the dropper

Fish were rising to Green Drakes but I didn't see any flying above the 9 mile point. But apparently they've seen them this summer so don't be afraid to use a big Green Drake to drop your midges. Fish were also rising to the Sparkle Dun when there wasn't rapid rising so they were definitely paying attention to the surface.

Details and Discussion

WestCO
WestCO's profile picture
Palisade, CO

Posts: 65
WestCO on Jul 29, 2011July 29th, 2011, 10:55 am EDT
Really pay attention to the floor as a lot was shifted with extreme runoff. There is a lot of wood in the water and I was snagged quite often. The rocks can be a little bit loose so just wade carefully.
...but fishermen I have noticed, they don't care if I'm rich or poor, wearing robes or waders, all they care about is the fish, the river, and the game we play. For fishermen, the only virtues are patience, tolerance, and humility. I like this.

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