The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
This one seems to lead to Couplet 35 of the Key to Genera of Perlodidae Nymphs and the genus Isoperla, but I'm skeptical that's correct based on the general look. I need to get it under the microscope to review several choices in the key, and it'll probably end up a different Perlodidae.
Jmd123 on Apr 16, 2013April 16th, 2013, 5:29 pm EDT
This may not be as spectacular as Spence's trip to visit the PA Chapter of Troutnut...but hey, I can WALK to this fishing spot from my home! It's been a loooooong c-c-c-ccoooooooold winter here in northern MI and spring has been a long time coming. Well, better late than never! I would have been happy with one fish today, but instead I caught SEVEN nice largemouth out of my favorite pond in Clark's Marsh. The biggest, in the photo, was 15.5", the others 12-14". Not really big bass but loads of fun on a 3-weight! No sunfish today, didn't see a single one out there. But there were a few early wildflowers coming up, and I saw the first butterfly (mourning cloak) and snake (common garter) of the year today too. And last night the frogs started calling behind my house!
I would love to have gone trout fishing today. However, there are flood warnings along the Rifle River and all of my other favorite spots are still closed until a week from this Saturday. Besides, pond fishing for sunfish and bass takes me back to my childhood and I always like to start my fly fishing season this way. And to think, two days ago there was SNOW in the woods and it looked like December...
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...