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Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana
Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

Dorsal view of a Setvena wahkeena (Perlodidae) (Wahkeena Springfly) Stonefly Nymph from Mystery Creek #199 in Washington
As far as I can tell, this species has only previously been reported from one site in Oregon along the Columbia gorge. However, the key characteristics are fairly unmistakable in all except for one minor detail:
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.
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.

Report at a Glance

General RegionNorther Driftless Area
Dates Fished7/27-7/28

Details and Discussion

West
West's profile picture
Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Posts: 46
West on Jul 29, 2012July 29th, 2012, 10:25 pm EDT
My buddy Nate and I had a couple days off work and ventured into spring creek country to do some car camping. Fishing was excellent for mid-summer and we found some genuinely gorgeous water and brown trout. Armed with only our iPhones, we caught a bit of the excursion on tape, and put together our first little video edit. While realizing that we're new at this kind of thing and are using semi-shitty equipment, we still had a ton of fun putting it together over a few beers, cheap red wine, and pipe tobacco.

Hope you enjoy:

https://vimeo.com/46599462
West

http://pleasantly-obsessed.blogspot.com/
PaulRoberts
PaulRoberts's profile picture
Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Jul 30, 2012July 30th, 2012, 7:11 am EDT
Fun video. Pretty fish. Wonderful water. Love the mist rolling up in that valley stream. Get's my heart going a little faster.
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Jul 31, 2012July 31st, 2012, 4:36 am EDT
I liked it! Neat song too.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Ericd
Mpls, MN

Posts: 113
Ericd on Nov 8, 2012November 8th, 2012, 3:28 pm EST
Thanks for sharing. I love that I can fish the driftless all the time and rarely recognize the streams from folks videos. It keeps me happy.
Jesse
Jesse's profile picture
Posts: 378
Jesse on Nov 12, 2012November 12th, 2012, 2:44 pm EST
Cool stuff guys i enjoyed watching it!
Most of us fish our whole lives..not knowing its not the fish that we are after.
http://www.filingoflyfishing.com

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