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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I was not fishing, but happened to be at an unrelated social event on a hill above this tiny creek (which I never even saw) when this stonefly flew by me. I assume it came from there. Some key characteristics are tricky to follow, but process of elimination ultimately led me to Sweltsa borealis. It is reassuringly similar to this specimen posted by Bob Newell years ago. It is also so strikingly similar to this nymph from the same river system that I'm comfortable identifying that nymph from this adult. I was especially pleased with the closeup photo of four mites parasitizing this one.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and
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Jmd123 on Nov 4, 2012November 4th, 2012, 5:44 pm EST
On Spence's urging, I thought I would post some photos from my Isle Royale backpacking trip over Labor Day Weekend. Neither fly fishing nor spinning yielded any fish, but this is big water and if I had my kayak like last time (2000) I'm sure I would have caught something. There are trout streams on the west end of the island, but I didn't have the time on a four-day trip to reach them. I did try a small inland lake that supposedly held brookies but had no luck there either. In any case, the scenery is worth sharing, so enjoy!
Jonathon
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Oldredbarn on Nov 5, 2012November 5th, 2012, 5:45 am EST
Jonathon,
Nice!!!
The nice thing about diverse interests, say birding on my end, botany on yours, is one has something to do when the fish aren't cooperating, eh?! :)
How did you guys get over there? What's involved in arranging a trip there? I know that there are limited places to stay etc.
I'm not sure if your encounters with the "friendly" fauna was due to their lack of human contact, too much feeding from the folks that do journey there, or that you guys really didn't look all that threatening..."Oh...Here comes more of them "science" types...They will just take our photos, measure and weigh us, and give us a treat." :)
Good stuff! Looks like we both were "in a Lake Superior state of mind" this late summer. The UP has interested me since I used to visit some school friends when they were at Michigan Tech in the early 70's. A friend had an aunt and uncle in Baraga and they would let us stay there when we were up. My uncle now has a place over by Big Bay, up the road from Marquette. Big Bay was the real life setting and where they filmed Voelker's, "Anatomy of a Murder"...I have dined in the Big Bay Inn where they filmed it and Henry Ford used to stay.
We spent Haloween night, on our way home, at Gates' in Grayling...We dined at Spike's Keg-O-Nails in town...My wife insisted that my German friend have a Spike's Burger. :) The place isn't that much bigger than a large home's living room and I have been so happy to visit there post the smoking ban...Prior to that I think I had been there no more than two or three times and my lungs are probably still paying for those visits...It attracts more families now, families that don't want to expose their kids to second-hand smoke...It was so bad in there in the past that the differences between second-hand smoke and actually smoking were none existant. :)
Thanks for the post...It's "Pure Michigan"!
Spence
Nice!!!
The nice thing about diverse interests, say birding on my end, botany on yours, is one has something to do when the fish aren't cooperating, eh?! :)
How did you guys get over there? What's involved in arranging a trip there? I know that there are limited places to stay etc.
I'm not sure if your encounters with the "friendly" fauna was due to their lack of human contact, too much feeding from the folks that do journey there, or that you guys really didn't look all that threatening..."Oh...Here comes more of them "science" types...They will just take our photos, measure and weigh us, and give us a treat." :)
Good stuff! Looks like we both were "in a Lake Superior state of mind" this late summer. The UP has interested me since I used to visit some school friends when they were at Michigan Tech in the early 70's. A friend had an aunt and uncle in Baraga and they would let us stay there when we were up. My uncle now has a place over by Big Bay, up the road from Marquette. Big Bay was the real life setting and where they filmed Voelker's, "Anatomy of a Murder"...I have dined in the Big Bay Inn where they filmed it and Henry Ford used to stay.
We spent Haloween night, on our way home, at Gates' in Grayling...We dined at Spike's Keg-O-Nails in town...My wife insisted that my German friend have a Spike's Burger. :) The place isn't that much bigger than a large home's living room and I have been so happy to visit there post the smoking ban...Prior to that I think I had been there no more than two or three times and my lungs are probably still paying for those visits...It attracts more families now, families that don't want to expose their kids to second-hand smoke...It was so bad in there in the past that the differences between second-hand smoke and actually smoking were none existant. :)
Thanks for the post...It's "Pure Michigan"!
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Jesse on Nov 5, 2012November 5th, 2012, 2:06 pm EST
Fantastic!
Most of us fish our whole lives..not knowing its not the fish that we are after.
http://www.filingoflyfishing.com
http://www.filingoflyfishing.com
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