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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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.
— 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.
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Lastchance on Mar 28, 2013March 28th, 2013, 5:54 am EDT
Just wanted to be on record with that. I was going to head about 85 minutes north to fish over some BWOs, but it's snowing hard where I live and I don't feel like driving that far for no reason.
It sucks,
It sucks,
It sucks
It sucks,
It sucks,
It sucks
Sayfu
Posts: 560
Posts: 560
Sayfu on Mar 28, 2013March 28th, 2013, 5:56 am EDT
You are lucky, BWO's hatch out well in the snow.
Wbranch on Mar 28, 2013March 28th, 2013, 6:02 am EDT
I agree 100%. I haven't fished for the past two weeks. Thought about going up to Boiling Springs today to fish the NK on YB but stuck my head out the door and it's freaking cold out. I'm just sick of tying flies. Tied almost fifty Clousers over the past three days.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Crepuscular on Mar 28, 2013March 28th, 2013, 6:10 am EDT
Just wanted to be on record with that. I was going to head about 85 minutes north to fish over some BWOs, but it's snowing hard where I live and I don't feel like driving that far for no reason.
It sucks,
It sucks,
It sucks
Oh come on, are you getting soft? It will be good today.
Lastchance on Mar 28, 2013March 28th, 2013, 3:45 pm EDT
Well, fellas, I went after all and they schooled me. I know I could have caught a bunch fishing nymphs, but I was determined to fish to dry flies. I needed the help of a good dry fly fisherman to figure it all out. It's a long, cold, sad, story so I'll spare you. I caught some fish so it was all good. I can't complain because at the same time I was fishing, my buddy was getting a stent put in one of his main heart arteries after a heart attack.
Bruce, Goose, Lastchance, Feathers5,
Fish on...
Bruce, Goose, Lastchance, Feathers5,
Fish on...
Entoman on Mar 28, 2013March 28th, 2013, 3:46 pm EDT
Been fishing in shirtsleeve weather to rising fish and abundant hatches for weeks now... Sorry, guys. I couldn't help myself - it's the sadistic streak in me..:)
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Lastchance on Mar 28, 2013March 28th, 2013, 6:39 pm EDT
I'm going to ignore that post and tell you how happy I am for you. HA! HA! At least I didn't get over heated. I didn't sweat so I can wear the same clothes for the next trip and I might even wear the same underwear. Nearly every day for the past 2 weeks we've been waking to anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow. It's been melting because the ground is beginning to warm, but I have to clean off my car at 6 AM each day, and it's getting old. I keep forgetting that it's still March in PA and many years this is our worst month of winter.
Fish on...
Fish on...
Troutnut on Mar 29, 2013March 29th, 2013, 10:07 am EDT
Been fishing in shirtsleeve weather to rising fish and abundant hatches for weeks now... Sorry, guys. I couldn't help myself - it's the sadistic streak in me..:)
It's 5 degrees (Fahrenheit) here right now, and there's a loud snowplow outside pushing around the stuff that hasn't even started to melt yet.
But we did have a great northern lights show last night, so neener neener. :-P
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Entoman on Mar 29, 2013March 29th, 2013, 2:43 pm EDT
Ha! Yes, there are blessings in all our locations (as long as there's trout). It's just that the 73 degree difference with mine is a tad more comfortable...:)LOL
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Lastchance on Mar 29, 2013March 29th, 2013, 4:06 pm EDT
Wow! Jason, I guess I should count my blessings. We all have them.
Keystoner on Apr 2, 2013April 2nd, 2013, 5:11 pm EDT
Hmmm, seems to me that fishing in the snow is the only thing I REALLY miss about the old keystone state. But maybe that's just me.
"Out into the cool of the evening, strolls the Pretender. He knows that all his hopes and dreams, begin and end there." -JB
Jmd123 on Apr 2, 2013April 2nd, 2013, 7:13 pm EDT
See my fishing report, guys. I have wet a line so now it is spring! Even though it feels like winter at the moment...
Jonathon
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Feathers5
Posts: 287
Posts: 287
Feathers5 on Apr 3, 2013April 3rd, 2013, 5:21 am EDT
Hmmm, seems to me that fishing in the snow is the only thing I REALLY miss about the old keystone state. But maybe that's just me.
I complain, but I fish every month of the year even in the snow. There's a certain solitude in the winter.
Bruce
Kschaefer3 on Apr 3, 2013April 3rd, 2013, 8:09 am EDT
There's a certain solitude in the winter.
Falsifly on Apr 3, 2013April 3rd, 2013, 8:47 am EDT
Gaining ground to the riverbank, through the knee-deep snow, I keep a close eye on the water surface. The large heavy snowflakes appeared to be hitting the water with such force as to leave rippling dimples, but the closer I got the more the optical illusion started to reveal itself. I wasn’t struck with the reality of the situation like it was a sudden revelation; it was more of a slow building manifestation that increased with each repeating heartbeat. My ticker rate, anxiety and forward progress, peaked at the moment the reality dawned on me. They say that only fools rush in, and like a fool my hurried pace had me stumbling to my knees in an attempt to get to the water faster. The trout had the surface covered with dimples from bank to bank, as they slurped the shuck hindered adult midges from their watery bonds.
Falsifly
When asked what I just caught that monster on I showed him. He put on his magnifiers and said, "I can't believe they can see that."
When asked what I just caught that monster on I showed him. He put on his magnifiers and said, "I can't believe they can see that."
Jmd123 on Apr 3, 2013April 3rd, 2013, 8:54 am EDT
Winter is for skiing (especially cross-country), ice fishing, eating, drinking, and sleeping. And indoor pistol shooting (if you have facilities available). At least that's what I did this winter. Though, we rarely had decent (or enough) snow for x/c skiing and I gave up on ice fishing after drilling through two feet with my hand auger...the fly rods all get a much-needed rest, especially this year with frigid windchills below zero!
Regarding bugs, as in the kind that bite, you can almost mark your calendar around here that they will be out almost exactly one month to the day after the first real warm spell (60s and 70s F). That time of year - upon us any day now - is truly glorious, a whole month with NO MOSQUITOS where you can go anywhere and not even think about them.
It's almost here guys - except for Kurt in CA, bastard already has it! Oh well, he could get an earthquake any day now...
;oD
Jonathon
Regarding bugs, as in the kind that bite, you can almost mark your calendar around here that they will be out almost exactly one month to the day after the first real warm spell (60s and 70s F). That time of year - upon us any day now - is truly glorious, a whole month with NO MOSQUITOS where you can go anywhere and not even think about them.
It's almost here guys - except for Kurt in CA, bastard already has it! Oh well, he could get an earthquake any day now...
;oD
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
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