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.

Stream photos

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Holocentropus Caddisfly Larva Holocentropus Caddisfly Larva

Dorsal view of a Holocentropus (Polycentropodidae) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington

This one seems to tentatively key to Holocentropus, although I can't make out the anal spines in Couplet 7 of the Key to Genera of Polycentropodidae Larvae nor the dark bands in Couplet 4 of the Key to Genera of Polycentropodidae Larvae, making me wonder if I went wrong somewhere in keying it out. I don't see where that could have happened, though. It might also be that it's a very immature larva and doesn't possess all the identifying characteristics in the key yet. If Holocentropus is correct, then Holocentropus flavus and Holocentropus interruptus are the two likely possibilities based on range, but I was not able to find a description of their larvae.

11 Recently Added Photos

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.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Small-stream brook trout in Alaska? Not exactly...

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By Troutnut on July 10th, 2012

Amidst the hundreds of little grayling streams scattered through interior Alaska, there are a handful places to find a welcome bit of variety: dwarf dolly varden. These guys don't migrate around chasing the nutritious salmon runs, but instead stay in small streams at a correspondingly small size. I had never found one of these gems (and hadn't looked very hard) until the other day. I had great fun with my soft, short 4-weight, placing a foam beetle in some challenging places in hopes of enticing an 8-inch fish.

Photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #170 in Alaska

I always knew the mottled pattern on the backs of char was excellent camouflage, but I never quite appreciated how perfectly they can match the light tones of a riffly river until I took this picture.

Underwater photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #170 in Alaska

This was the biggest dwarf dolly varden of the day, a mature male about 8.5-9" long, quite a bruiser for the creek he was in. He's the prettiest fish I've caught in a while.

This fish is also pictured in this picture and this one.

From Mystery Creek # 170 in Alaska

Same male dwarf dolly as in this picture and this one.

From Mystery Creek # 170 in Alaska

Closeup of the pectoral fin of this dwarf dolly varden.

From Mystery Creek # 170 in Alaska

You can see the dwarf dolly I caught in this pool, hanging out after being released, just up/left from the center of the picture. You can't really tell it's a fish here, though.

From Mystery Creek # 170 in Alaska

Dwarf dolly varden

From Mystery Creek # 170 in Alaska

On-stream insect photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #170 in Alaska

Shed exoskeleton from what was very likely an Ephemerella aurivillii nymph that emerged on this rock.

From Mystery Creek # 170 in Alaska

Comments / replies

GONZO
Site Editor
"Bear Swamp," PA

Posts: 1681

GONZO on Jul 14, 2012July 14th, 2012, 3:57 pm EDT

Beautiful pictures, Jason! It's easy to see how the dollies in this little creek would go a long way toward satisfying a "brookie" craving.

Shawnny3
Moderator
Pleasant Gap, PA

Posts: 1197

Shawnny3 on Jul 14, 2012July 14th, 2012, 4:51 pm EDT

Great gallery, Jason. In some of the images, I think the light in the water is more beautiful than the fish (although the fin closeup is maybe my favorite pic). I was wondering how you captured the fish images. I see the line in at least one of them, but were all of these taken while they were still on the line? Sometimes after releasing a fish they will sit long enough at my boot to take some good pics if I had a camera, but I don't know that I've ever knowingly approached a fish that I haven't caught closely enough to take a good photo without spooking it from its lie. Have you ever taken photos of undisturbed fish holding in the water?

-Shawn

Jewelry-Quality Artistic Salmon Flies, by Shawn Davis
www.davisflydesigns.com

GldstrmSam

Fairbanks, Alaska

Posts: 212

GldstrmSam on Jul 14, 2012July 14th, 2012, 11:24 pm EDT

You have just started to get me itchy for some exploration. Not necessarily to go search out this creek, but to go find some hidden world of my own.

Great photos,

Samuel

There is no greater fan of fly fishing than the worm. ~Patrick F. McManus

PaulRoberts

Colorado

Posts: 1776

PaulRoberts on Jul 15, 2012July 15th, 2012, 8:38 am EDT

Wonderful. Those creeks look just like a little stream just a mile below me.

Jmd123

Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474

Jmd123 on Jul 15, 2012July 15th, 2012, 9:28 am EDT

Small fish in small streams are underappreciated. Most people want big fish in their pictures, but holding these small jewels of nature in your hand is often more than enough. The closest trout stream to me is a small stream with mostly small fish, but every once in while a much bigger one comes up that compared to the others looks just huge, like the 13" rainbow I caught last week. But there is something so special about these small, brightly colored fish...

Jonathon

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