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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 Epeorus albertae (Heptageniidae) (Pink Lady) Mayfly Nymph from the East Fork Issaquah Creek in Washington
This specimen keys to the Epeorus albertae group of species. Of the five species in that group, the two known in Washington state are Epeorus albertae and Epeorus dulciana. Of the two, albertae has been collected in vastly more locations in Washington than dulciana, suggesting it is far more common. On that basis alone I'm tentatively putting this nymph in albertae, with the large caveat that there's no real information to rule out dulciana.
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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Troutnut
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Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Oct 24, 2006October 24th, 2006, 5:53 pm EDT
I just updated the database to reflect the latest mayfly species changes, thanks to the list Roger aka Taxon kindly put together and posted on various forums. So everything should be shiny and up-to-date. :)

Only two of the affected species, Apobaetis futilis and Epeorus rubidus (which is now a synonym of Epeorus vitreus), have been discussed in the fly fishing literature I've read.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

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