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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.

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.
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754cromero has attached this picture to aid in identification. The message is below.
754cromero
Posts: 2
754cromero on Feb 3, 2013February 3rd, 2013, 6:50 pm EST
Seeing some of the great pictures on this website, I wish I had something better than a point-and-shoot to take the pictures I did. That said, I'm not looking for a species identification, but just want to make sure I'm on the right track (Order or Family is good enough for me) of identifying this insect. The only thing I can imagine this being is a hellgrammite, but it still doesn't have all the spines I'd think of with a hellgrammite. (So, if others concur it is a hellgrammite, why does it not have the spines? age? species?)

Other info: it is about 1 inch long, and crawled onto my waders in the Smith River in Virginia.

Thanks.
Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302
Creno on Feb 3, 2013February 3rd, 2013, 8:10 pm EST
Howdy - this is indeed a larvae - one of the many free-living Rhyacophila species. Probably one of the R. fuscula group but I cannot see enough of the head/thorax color pattern to be sure about which species.
PaulRoberts
PaulRoberts's profile picture
Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Feb 4, 2013February 4th, 2013, 5:56 am EST
Look up Rhyacophila in Google images and ... off you go: ID, habitat, habits, fly patterns, etc... . Start by searching this site for a lot of great images and discussion about Rhyacophila or just about anything else you could find clinging to your waders or in a trout's stomach.

BTW: Welcome.
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Feb 4, 2013February 4th, 2013, 6:14 am EST
I love this site! Where else can a newbie post an iquiry and have Dave answer it?! Our own favorite caddis bug guy...:) Thanks sir!

Welcome cromero! That is a nice photo from a tyers standpoint...Dave is a pro and, as he said, would need more to id to species for you...Close enough if you ask me...I could see a gold bead head with a light olive/celery colored body...

You can see why the trout find these critters yummy...That is a good bit of protein for a fish.

Anglers...If you are mayfly-opic you are missing the boat...A trout can munch on these all day and never have to visit the dangerous surface and there would be nary a buldge to give him away...Can you spell, "searching fly"? ;)

Those steelheaders already know this...See www.defranksflies.com Check out his Kazulen's Caddis.

Spence

...and then Paul Robert's to boot! :)
"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
754cromero
Posts: 2
754cromero on Feb 6, 2013February 6th, 2013, 11:37 am EST
Thanks for the quick and courteous replies! I did fall in to the trap of thinking (all) caddisflies built shelters.

Thanks again,
Charles
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Feb 7, 2013February 7th, 2013, 1:28 pm EST
I believe this specimen is typical of what many fly fisherman refer to as a "green rock worm", and there are many good fly patterns to imitate this group of species. Confirmation from Spence or others? Also, these are net-spinners, no?

Welcome to the forum, Charles! You'll find plenty of "bug-nuts" on this site. (Perhaps it should be called "bugnut.com" instead??...at least the way all of the posts are going as of late - not too many of us are out fly fishing so we gotta do something else...)

;oD

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Taxon
Taxon's profile picture
Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311
Taxon on Feb 7, 2013February 7th, 2013, 3:04 pm EST
Jonathan,

Also, these are net-spinners, no?


Net spinners are in superfamily Hydropsychoidae and look more like this:

Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Feb 8, 2013February 8th, 2013, 8:46 am EST
I thought I was wrong - thanks for correcting me. What do these "green rock worms" eat, are they predacious? Guess I could go look it up in Gary Lafontaine's "Caddisflies", I do have a copy...

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Feb 8, 2013February 8th, 2013, 9:39 am EST
are they predacious?


Yes...They have a fondness for black fly larvae...Yum! No? :(

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
Taxon
Taxon's profile picture
Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311
Taxon on Feb 8, 2013February 8th, 2013, 9:46 am EST
Hi Jonathan-

What do these "green rock worms" eat, are they predacious?

Yes, primarily. Among the (~126) Rhyacophila species are predators (engulfers), a few scrapers, collecter-gatherers, shreders-herbivors (chewers) per Glen B. Wiggins.
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com

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