Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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This specimen resembled several others of around the same size and perhaps the same species, which were pretty common in my February sample from the upper Yakima. Unfortunately, I misplaced the specimen before I could get it under a microscope for a definitive ID.
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Jmd123 on May 25, 2012May 25th, 2012, 9:28 pm EDT
AAAAAGGGHH, you say, I'm teasing you with trout stories and then posting more damned flower pictures!
Back on the Rifle several miles below my previous day's outting, arriving at 3:30-ish, found a quiet stream with few flies or rising fish - and STILL NO TOURISTS!! Jumped in, had hits almost immediately on a #12 Elkhair from yesterday. Very little, random hatching activity, but a few fish were hitting the caddis, slow and steady all afternoon. Then as darkness fell, more fish started feeding, then more and more and pretty soon the water was just boiling with fish, right around 9:30 p.m.-ish. Having lost all the brown caddis, I was floating a #12 Adams and they hammered it. When two fish swallowed the last two I had, I switched to a #12 grey Elkhair caddis and got yet more fish! I never could see what exactly they were rising to, there was a big midge hatch right before dark but again just a complete mixture of flies and not all that many that I could see. It lasted just a half hour and by about 10 it got quiet again. Total 14 brown trout, biggest was 15", the majority over 10". Another freaking wild day!
Having seen the pinks yesterday on the trail, I remembered where to look for some yellow lady's slippers that I had seen and photographed last year. Found a whole bunch this year, right next to the road and the way to the fishing spot.
Jonathon
Back on the Rifle several miles below my previous day's outting, arriving at 3:30-ish, found a quiet stream with few flies or rising fish - and STILL NO TOURISTS!! Jumped in, had hits almost immediately on a #12 Elkhair from yesterday. Very little, random hatching activity, but a few fish were hitting the caddis, slow and steady all afternoon. Then as darkness fell, more fish started feeding, then more and more and pretty soon the water was just boiling with fish, right around 9:30 p.m.-ish. Having lost all the brown caddis, I was floating a #12 Adams and they hammered it. When two fish swallowed the last two I had, I switched to a #12 grey Elkhair caddis and got yet more fish! I never could see what exactly they were rising to, there was a big midge hatch right before dark but again just a complete mixture of flies and not all that many that I could see. It lasted just a half hour and by about 10 it got quiet again. Total 14 brown trout, biggest was 15", the majority over 10". Another freaking wild day!
Having seen the pinks yesterday on the trail, I remembered where to look for some yellow lady's slippers that I had seen and photographed last year. Found a whole bunch this year, right next to the road and the way to the fishing spot.
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
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