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3. acentrella nymph

Hi Jason! Do you have a picture of the (acentrella-miniature BWO nymph) on the site? I've been fishing them and wanted a better idea of how they look.
Thanks,
Bruce

Hi Goose,

I don't see a picture, but the tiny swimming nymphs of Acentrella are quite similar to other Baetidae nymphs. Specifically, they are tiny, slim, two-tailed nymphs that are often a pale brownish or brownish-olive. Acentrella turbida is one of the most common species in the East (actually transcontinental in distribution); but Plauditus punctiventris is a very similar two-tailed species in a different genus and is also quite common.

For general reference, there is a picture in Hatches (labeled as "Pseudocloeon nymph" in my original '75 copy). From a fishing standpoint, none of the finer distinctions matter that much. I'd fish a tiny version of whatever you normally use to imitate "Baetis" nymphs. If you can't find a sample of the nymph for color-matching, tie a light and dark version and let the trout decide.

PS--In earlier books, A. turbida may be listed as Pseudocloeon carolina or Pseudocloeon turbidum, and P. punctiventris may be listed as Baetis punctiventris or Pseudocloeon punctiventris.

Goose-

In addition to Gonzo's reference, Mayflies, The Angler And The Trout by Arbona has an Acentrella insignificans (Baetis insignificans) larval abdomen illustration on page 157 (FIG. 56), and Mayflies by Ted Fauceglia has color photos of both an Acentrella immature nymph and an Acentrella mature nymph on page 95.

Hey Roger!

Any idea what's up with the old Pseudocloeon anoka? Sometimes I see it listed as a synonym of P. punctiventris, yet Mayfly Central lists it as Heterocloeon anoka. Seems like the entomologists have nearly as much trouble sorting out these little buggers as I do! :)

Gonzo-

Several years ago, I believe that Mayfly Central listed Pseudocloeon anoka as a synonym of Plauditis punctiventris, and that Plauditis punctiventris was subsequently reclassified as Heterocloeon anoka. However, I can't be certain, because at that time, I hadn't yet gotten clever enough to save all Mayfly Central versions, and the current Mayfly Central Species List doesn't seem to reflect the first part of that history.

Roger,

I believe the current list includes both H. anoka and P. punctiventris as two distinct species in two distinct genera. Perhaps they are hedging their bets until the little two-tailed bastard reveals its true identity--kind of like Superman and Bizarro Superman.

(I'm sure this is fun for you and me, Rog, but I'll bet nobody else is entertained in the least!) :)

Guess again! ;)

Gonzo-

Oh, shoot. When you said "as a synonym on P. punctiventris", I mistakenly read that as Plauditus punctiventris rather the Pseudocloeon punctiventris.

Anyway see Dean Hansen's article from the Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine archives for "the rest of the story." Incidentally, when I try to follow the trail, it makes me crazy, so I have to go read a book for a while.

Roger,

Thanks for going to all the trouble, but after reading the article I'm more confused than ever. Now my head really hurts! According to the article, the former Pseudocloeon anoka reverted to the prior description of Pseudocloeon punctiventris (which has precedence) and was later reclassified as Plauditus punctiventris. All well and good--Plauditus punctiventris is currently listed as a valid genus/species.

But it doesn't explain how Pseudocloeon anoka reappears as a synonym for Heterocloeon anoka, another valid but completely different genus/species. Oh, Luuucy! I think the gang at Mayfly Central has some 'splainin' to do! Meanwhile, I'm going to take a nap until my headache goes away. :)

Lloyd & Roger -

Another gem from related topics.

What an excellent snapshot of the travails in dealing with baetid revisions, and from only 4 1/2 years ago! Plauditis punctiventris and Iswaeon anoka now show as separate species in different genera with a history going back to their days as separate species of Pseudocloeon. It is frustrating that there is no record on Mayfly Central of their ever being combined briefly in Heterocloeon though it does show that anoka did a stint there. I'm not sure I have a clear understanding of the organizational rationale for the historical names they give. Another thing noticable is that neither of you mentioned the synonymizing of the important western species P. edmundsi with anoka, perhaps because it wasn't at issue then. In spite of the confusion involving punctiventris, I can't find much evidence of it being important to anglers on its own. Anyway, I'm curious about the history from the last post of this thread (11/06) to the present.

I remember at the time (I was totally unaware of Troutnut) dealing in my own isolated way with the proliferation of baetid genera and the loss of hind wing configuration and forewing patterns as easy ways to tell apart what were the four genera of importance to anglers. Not that it made any difference to my fishing. After all, they were still the same critters and I could still tell them apart as long as I went with the old names. But answering fellow anglers with, "they used to be called ...... I have no idea what they call them now" somehow just wasn't satisfying for the inquisitive mind (or one's ego as an angler/amateur entomologist).:)

Assuming your headaches have gone away, any thoughts now looking back? Not that I want you guys to get migraines again.:)

Regards,

Kurt

Kurt,

You are a pot stirrer! :) Just not happy until you force our "bug boys" back to the medicine cabinet and their aspirin bottles.

I think all things old will be new again and if I can just live long enough the "powers-that-be", and we know some of them by name, will grant this old-fart his wish and re-instate P anoka as the once and proper name of such a lovely little shit, the fishermens curse that he/she/it is...

I have stood in the river and watched them release themselves from small patches of aquatic growth and emerge in to our world as boldly as anything a size 24 could and wondered aloud, "Am I nuts!? Why am I putting myself through this hassle? I could just wait an hour or so for the sulphers and not have to re-do this damn leader down to 7x! Where's Tony? Let him deal with them!"

I kid...I think I just loved saying Pseudo-clo-e-on aloud with my dry-fly, elitist, latinizing nose in the air...;) Once the dust finally settles I'll learn their new handle and realize it really doesn't matter to them personally and that I haven't changed my patterns one iota!

I think its Giorgio Benecchi 12/0 grass green/olive thread body on a 24/26 dry-fly hook, with a couple wraps of dark dun snipped ever so slightly on the bottom...If you actually bother with a tail welcome to the neurotic fly tyer's club brother...Oh! You are going to need a little something a tad more serious than aspirin...;)

Just for the record. This particular elitist just loves saying Giorgio Benecchi as well...In the spring of 1996 I was in Rome visiting my wife's cousin who was Madame President of the UN's World Food Program (I left the "e" off the end of Programe here so as not to appear too damn elitist, though there maybe another "m" in there as well :))...She had her staff searching high and low in Rome for Mr. Benecchi's thread for me...Unfortunately I had stumped the stars and would of pulled it off maybe if I'd been in Milan instead of Rome. She gave me a wonderful Swiss knife I carry in my over-stuffed vest with the World Food Program's insignia on it...Pretty cool, eh!?

Arrivederci! My fellow TroutNuts!

Tightlines!

Spence

Spence,

“He probably could have struggled back to the surface after stumbling in deep water,” the obituary said, “were it not for the added weight of the Swiss knife he carried. Donations honoring his memory can be made to the UN World Food Program in lieu of flowers."

Kurt,

Here is my best attempt at tracing and untangling the "anoka" identity web:
1923—McDunnough describes Cloeon punctiventris, which later becomes Pseudocloeon punctiventris (1924).
1937—Ide describes/identifies nymphs as Pseudocloeon punctiventris that are probably the then undescribed P. anoka.
1945—Daggy describes Pseudocloeon anoka.
1990—McCafferty and Waltz synonymize Pseudocloeon anoka, Pseudocloeon edmundsi, and Pseudocloeon myrsum with Baetis punctiventris (formerly Pseudocloeon punctiventris).
1998—Lugo-Ortiz and McCafferty move Baetis punctiventris into Plauditus (becoming Plauditus punctiventris).
2003—Webb and McCafferty move anoka out of synonymy with Plauditus punctiventris and into Heterocloeon (becoming Heterocloeon anoka) with explanation deferred to the paper below.
2004—McCafferty, Waltz, Webb, and Jacobus designate Heterocloeon anoka as the typus nominis of new subgenus Iswaeon.
2006—McCafferty synonymizes edmundsi with Heterocloeon (Iswaeon) anoka.
Iswaeon is elevated to genus level, and by this bizzare and circuitous route, the once and former Pseudocloeon/Baetis/Plauditus/Heterocloeon anoka/punctiventris/edmundsi becomes Iswaeon anoka. (Note: For anyone who could follow that without getting a migraine, Plauditus punctiventris remains a valid, separate species.)

As for Spence's forlorn hope that Iswaeon anoka will come full circle to become Pseudocloeon anoka again, I'm tempted to say don't hold your breath. However, considering the weight that he carries in his vest, breath-holding practice could come in very handy (see above).

Gonzo -



Ah, that's the missing link and primary cause of migraines removed. Thanks!

BTW - any idea as to the rationale behind the way MC lists the historic names? I was hoping it was chronological, but that doesn't appear to be the case. I can't figure it out.



I'm afraid Gonzo is right Spence. Poor Pseudocloeon was stripped of all its important species through all this and more recently has even been stripped of its last. It is a name now considered obsolete in the Nearctic region... Acentrella was considered obsolete too for many years, so there's always a glimmer of hope I guess. I'm holding my breath for the return of Iron guys!:) There's nothing new about these name controversies.


BTW - Some weeks later and totally unrelated to the obituary, mysterious reports begin to appear in the tabloids regarding whispers of a haunting spirit wandering the banks of the Au Sable. Unnamed sources describe seeing the image of a wailing and moaning man heavily burdened in fishing tackle, not unlike the image of Marley's ghost...

Kurt

Submitted with apologies to Charles Dickens:

"You are fettered," said Spence, trembling. "Tell me why?"

"I wear the vest I filled in life," replied the Ghost."I filled it fly by fly, and box by box; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?"

Spence trembled more and more.

"Or would you know," pursued the Ghost, "the weight and size of the vest you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as large as this, seven trout seasons ago. You have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous load!"

Spence glanced about him, in the expectation of finding himself surrounded by some fifty or sixty pounds of fishing tackle: but he could see nothing. "Bah!" he said, "Humbug!"

What am I going to do with you two!? :)

I push a button and off you go...If your imaginations get any more active I'm going to hook wires to you two and use you both as an alternative energy source! North America will glow and be renewed!

Spence

G. I'm going to make a copy of your anoka history and have it framed for the fly tying area...Those intellectual entomologists sure know how to drain the romance from a thing...It is interesting to know and it appears, if I'm reading it correctly, that my guy was actually a late comer to the party and had its named alterred before old Spence first met him.

LOL :):):)

If you first met him after 1990, that would seem to be the case. If I understand it correctly, Ide's (mis)identification may have led to many specimens of Pseudocloeon anoka being identified as Pseudocloeon punctiventris and perhaps contributed to the former P. anoka being synonymized with Baetis punctiventris and later being removed from synonymy.

As for all the “burdensome” teasing, my friend, tenkara is the solution! :)

Gonzo's right, Spence... And the rod telescopes down to a mere 20" or so, and will easily fit in the back of your vest. The specialized line/leaders will fit in with the rest in your bulging wallet. The same can be said for the specialized flies... Oh no! More gear?

Screw the vest. I have a friend who carries his entire tenkara set up in an Ebira rod quiver. It's a little soft case with a small detachable pouch (for flies and accessories) that slings over your shoulder with a cord. With two Fuji EZ Keepers attached to the rod butt to store the line, he can be fully rigged and fishing in less than a minute.

That's the whole point isn't it? I'm afraid our good friend would just add this gear. Unless of course he heeds the warning. You never know... He just might throw open his window one fine morning and exhort his neighbor's son to run down and buy that Tenkara rig hanging in the fly shop window for him.:)