Blue-winged Olives
Baetis
Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.
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This is a striking caddis larva with an interesting color pattern on the head. Here are some characteristics I was able to see under the microscope, but could not easily expose for a picture:
- The prosternal horn is present.
- The mandible is clearly toothed, not formed into a uniform scraper blade.
- The seems to be only 2 major setae on the ventral edge of the hind femur.
- Chloride epithelia seem to be absent from the dorsal side of any abdominal segments.
Based on these characteristics and the ones more easily visible from the pictures, this seems to be Grammotaulius. The key's description of the case is spot-on: "Case cylindrical, made of longitudinally arranged sedge or similar leaves," as is the description of the markings on the head, "Dorsum of head light brownish yellow with numerous discrete, small, dark spots." The spot pattern on the head is a very good match to figure 19.312 of Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019). The species ID is based on Grammotaulius betteni being the only species of this genus known in Washington state.
- The prosternal horn is present.
- The mandible is clearly toothed, not formed into a uniform scraper blade.
- The seems to be only 2 major setae on the ventral edge of the hind femur.
- Chloride epithelia seem to be absent from the dorsal side of any abdominal segments.
Based on these characteristics and the ones more easily visible from the pictures, this seems to be Grammotaulius. The key's description of the case is spot-on: "Case cylindrical, made of longitudinally arranged sedge or similar leaves," as is the description of the markings on the head, "Dorsum of head light brownish yellow with numerous discrete, small, dark spots." The spot pattern on the head is a very good match to figure 19.312 of Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019). The species ID is based on Grammotaulius betteni being the only species of this genus known in Washington state.
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Report at a Glance
| General Region | Missouri Ozarks |
| Specific Location | Current River |
| Dates Fished | 9/9,9/10 |
| Time of Day | all day |
| Fish Caught | browns, rainbows |
| Conditions & Hatches | Air temps ranging from 50 to 75ish Mostly cloudy with some rain water temperature 57-59 Hatches: A few tricos, olives, and caddis, nothing much though. |
Details and Discussion
Motrout on Sep 10, 2011September 10th, 2011, 6:39 pm EDT
This has been a tough summer for trout fishing in the Ozarks! Lots of very hot weather has not been kind to our streams. But at the beginning of this week, we literally went pretty much all in one day into a fall like weather pattern, highs in the low to mid 70s, lows in the 50s and a few nights even in the upper 40s. I don't know if it can last, but I sure hope it does. I love it and so do the trout! I got down there yesterday and set up camp on my favorite stretch of the Current yesterday about 10 miles down from the headwaters (about the lower end of the really excellent trout water) and the fishing was wonderful, a real refreshing thing after this summer. There were some hatches, tricos and olives early morning, caddis in the evening, but not all that many bugs coming off. The fish didn't care though and were willing to eat attractor dries. The good old Ausable Wulff was a great producer and kept the smaller brown trout happy throughout the trip. The weather was cool and cloudy with some rain, so pretty much perfect dry fly conditions all day long both days. I also tossed some streamers, as the conditions were great for that also. I caught a couple slightly larger browns on a sculpin pattern, ranging up to 15 inches or so. No fish of any size by Current River standards though. Anyway, it was a great trip in one of my favorite areas. I never needed to use an nymph indicator rig a single time, which was nice for a change.
Adding to the weather seeming like fall, the leaves are even taking on some color.But that is just due to drought, it is definitely too early for them to be really changing colors for the fall. Won't be long till I'll be hitting the Current hard for its fall olive hatches as well as the best streamer fishing of the year...Last October/November we were in a drought, not many of the cloudy, rainy days that are good for baetis. Here is to hoping this year will be a little different.
Adding to the weather seeming like fall, the leaves are even taking on some color.But that is just due to drought, it is definitely too early for them to be really changing colors for the fall. Won't be long till I'll be hitting the Current hard for its fall olive hatches as well as the best streamer fishing of the year...Last October/November we were in a drought, not many of the cloudy, rainy days that are good for baetis. Here is to hoping this year will be a little different.
"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/
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