Header image
Enter a name
Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Case view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.

I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.

The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.

Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
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 RegionThe Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Specific Locationthe yoop
Dates Fished2012
Time of DayMorning to afternoon
Fish CaughtSteelhead
Conditions & HatchesLight wind but very cold, around 30 degrees. Water temp was around 34 degrees or colder.

Details and Discussion

Pryal74
Pryal74's profile picture
Escanaba, MI

Posts: 168
Pryal74 on Dec 23, 2012December 23rd, 2012, 9:35 am EST
Here is a highlight video of a day fishing for Lake Superior run Steelhead. I was lucky enough to land all large Steelhead on this tributary. Unlike Lake Michigan Steelhead, Superior run steelies do not reach large sizes.

Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Dec 23, 2012December 23rd, 2012, 10:11 am EST
Hello Jim,

Beautiful fish! I'm jealous, not so much by the size or numbers of fish, but by the totally un-crowded conditions you seem to encounter in your videos. Don't people in Michigan like to steelhead fish? Where I fish in, and around, the various Lake Erie creeks it doesn't matter how cold it is it would be an extremely rare day not to find good numbers of guys fishing.

I see you are very close to the lake and the fish, for the most part, are bright chromers. Are they Manistee strain fish? The PA fish are getting pretty colored up now but there are still some bright fish.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
GldstrmSam
GldstrmSam's profile picture
Fairbanks, Alaska

Posts: 212
GldstrmSam on Dec 23, 2012December 23rd, 2012, 12:54 pm EST
Looks fun!

I always enjoy your videos. They are very well done.

Did you take those recently? If so I would guess that we were probably 70-80 degrees colder up here than when you took those. Brr. It's even to cold to go ice fishing, or to at least enjoy ice fishing.:)
Okay, I guess I should not complain. That is the price I pay for living in Alaska, and I would not trade it for much. :) :)

Sam

There is no greater fan of fly fishing than the worm. ~Patrick F. McManus
Pryal74
Pryal74's profile picture
Escanaba, MI

Posts: 168
Pryal74 on Dec 25, 2012December 25th, 2012, 1:16 pm EST
@ Wbranch... there are always people steelhead fishing up here... and I only fish in the U.P. These are all natural reproduction strains as far as I know in this video.

@ Sam... Yeah this video is from a month ago or so. It was about 25-30 degrees out with a slight wind chill and some awfully cold water. I can imagine you don't get a great deal of time to fly fish compared to the rest of the world. Oh and thank you. I do all the video work, except some filming.

Quick Reply

Related Discussions

Topic
Replies
Last Reply
3
Jun 5, 2016
by Jmd123
Troutnut.com is copyright © 2004-2024 (email Jason). privacy policy