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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 Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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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Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Mar 5, 2013March 5th, 2013, 11:13 am EST
I just received a catalog from Dillon Montana...Al Troth passed away last August 3rd...The creator of the Elk Hair Caddis, probably rivalling the Adams for world wide fame and his "western" version of the PT Nymph...

The EHC was one of the first flies I ever tied...When I headed west in 95 to fish my boxes were filled with them.

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
Crepuscular
Crepuscular's profile picture
Boiling Springs, PA

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Mar 5, 2013March 5th, 2013, 12:57 pm EST
Yeah I saw that last fall. I just threw some away that had to be at least 20 years old.
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Mar 6, 2013March 6th, 2013, 10:05 am EST
RIP, Al Troth. The Elkhair Caddis is one of my all-time best flies, not just for trout either. Down in San Marcos, TX the big colorful redbreast sunnies would suck them in just like brookies or browns do. What a wonderful pattern, so easy to tie and make endless variants of.

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Sayfu
Posts: 560
Sayfu on Mar 8, 2013March 8th, 2013, 6:02 am EST

Love the Elkhair Caddis, BUT..the only feature of Al's pattern that I couldn't accept was the long hackle that extended well below the gape of the hook. Somebody very knowledgeable regarding Al, and his Elkhair Caddis told me why it was favorable to do so, and I forgot why.

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