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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.

Dorsal view of a Zapada cinctipes (Nemouridae) (Tiny Winter Black) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
Nymphs of this species were fairly common in late-winter kick net samples from the upper Yakima River. Although I could not find a key to species of Zapada nymphs, a revision of the Nemouridae family by Baumann (1975) includes the following helpful sentence: "2 cervical gills on each side of midline, 1 arising inside and 1 outside of lateral cervical sclerites, usually single and elongate, sometimes constricted but with 3 or 4 branches arising beyond gill base in Zapada cinctipes." This specimen clearly has the branches and is within the range of that species.
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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Motrout has attached these 5 pictures. The message is below.
This stream has one of the more impressive waterfalls in the state. Usually it's even more impressive than this, but the volume of flow is way, way down due to a major drought in the area.
A view across the huge pool below the falls. This pool is crowded with yelling and screaming swimmers just about 24/7 during the summer months, but it's nice and peaceful now.
A nice run on the creek below the falls. During the warmer months, this part of the creek is full of feeding smallmouth bass and longear sunfish.
Another view across the pool below the falls.
A view from the top of the falls
Motrout
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Posts: 319
Motrout on Nov 15, 2011November 15th, 2011, 6:31 pm EST
I got out this past weekend on a little tributary of a famous trout and smallmouth stream in Missouri. It was more of a hiking trip, although I did bring along a fly rod and take a few casts...The stream holds a mixture of smallmouth bass and longear sunfish, but it's just too late in the year and I got fairly skunked. But even getting skunked is a pleasure on this stream.

I hope you all will forgive another post about a non-trout fishing venture.
"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/
Jesse
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Posts: 378
Jesse on Nov 17, 2011November 17th, 2011, 6:10 pm EST
No trout in there?
Most of us fish our whole lives..not knowing its not the fish that we are after.
http://www.filingoflyfishing.com
Jmd123
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Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Nov 17, 2011November 17th, 2011, 6:31 pm EST
BEEEEautiful! Too bad you got skunked, MO. It is getting late in the year, I haven't caught much during my last few kayak outtings. We saw SNOW flurries up here today, with supposedly several inches falling in the Upper Penninsula. It will be time to get the ice-fishing gear warmed up pretty soon...

Jonathon

P.S. Longear sunnies are one of my favorites, SOOO pretty and eager takers of flies.
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Motrout
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Posts: 319
Motrout on Nov 17, 2011November 17th, 2011, 7:42 pm EST
We're headed in the general direction of snow out here too, though I'm sure not as quickly as up in Michigan:) We had our first little flurry a little over a week ago, though it lasted less than a half hour and didn't amount to anything. I do think the warm-water stuff is done for the year, at least for the most part.

There aren't any trout in this particular stream, although it sure looks like there should be.

"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/
Jmd123
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Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Nov 17, 2011November 17th, 2011, 7:56 pm EST
GEEEZ, MO, you had snow flurries before WE did? This sure has been a wacky, cold Autumn. We had two weeks of summer-like temps in early October (it broke 80 F up here!), then it seems like it has been nothing but cold, windy, rainy, etc. ever since. Made for some cold days in the kayak, let me tell you...

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...

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