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.
Jmd123 on Nov 2, 2011November 2nd, 2011, 8:12 am EDT
Yesterday I checked out another lake stocked with trout that is open all year long. I didn't catch anything and in fact saw no fish rising or anything, but it was a really beautiful place so I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. Then, while walking along the shoreline to stretch my legs, I saw this Lethocerus sp. - giant water bug - swimming along in the shallows. This thing actually came at my boot!
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Entoman on Nov 2, 2011November 2nd, 2011, 9:44 am EDT
Jonathon - Ahh... The ol' Toe Biters.
Go to Taxon's forum and check out the few he's got there. There's one that has an extreme close-up with his microscope of the biting parts. Or should I say skewering parts?
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
Jmd123 on Nov 2, 2011November 2nd, 2011, 10:48 am EDT
Trust me, I knew better than to pick the darned thing up...I collected a specimen once and they have the equivalent of probably a 16-guage needle for a mouth. Plus, there is actually supposed to be some venom involved...
Once upon a time at the University of Michigan Biological Station (a.k.a. Bug Camp), I did pick up a Ranatra sp. "water scorpion" (Hemiptera: Nepidae) without getting poked somehow. I did not try to restrain said bug, just lifted it in a handful of water. It eventually flew away, leaving me unharmed.
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Entoman on Nov 2, 2011November 2nd, 2011, 12:39 pm EDT
Jonathon -
:)
"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