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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata

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.

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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Crepuscular
Crepuscular's profile picture
Boiling Springs, PA

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Jun 6, 2013June 6th, 2013, 6:26 am EDT
Ok, let's hear some guesses.




Feathers5
Posts: 287
Feathers5 on Jun 6, 2013June 6th, 2013, 6:37 am EDT
It's a picture, right?


What do I win?
Crepuscular
Crepuscular's profile picture
Boiling Springs, PA

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Jun 6, 2013June 6th, 2013, 6:40 am EDT
It's a picture, right?


What do I win?


My admiration and respect
Entoman
Entoman's profile picture
Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604
Entoman on Jun 6, 2013June 6th, 2013, 9:05 am EDT
Drunella cornuta, or what Gonzo would call the Olive Morning Dun.
"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
Portage, PA

Posts: 437
Lastchance on Jun 6, 2013June 6th, 2013, 5:46 pm EDT
Eric, those are awesome photos. I especially like the one with the eggs. Great!
Lastchance
Portage, PA

Posts: 437
Lastchance on Jun 6, 2013June 6th, 2013, 5:47 pm EDT
It looks like the Cornuta to me. I say that only because it's one of the few olives I know that hatch this time of year. Is it a size 14 or 16?
Crepuscular
Crepuscular's profile picture
Boiling Springs, PA

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Jun 7, 2013June 7th, 2013, 4:41 am EDT
Yeah I agree but another Troutnutter was not so sure when he saw them. They are a #16. I have run into other olives this time of year on other streams. Pine Creek in the Slate Run area has another big olive. D. tuberculata that is pretty abundant this time of year.
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Jun 7, 2013June 7th, 2013, 7:30 am EDT
Eric may refer to me in his post above, and although his ID was never in question, what we saw confused me at first. These size 16 bugs were hatching one evening recently on a PA limestone. I’d only seen larger, size 14 specimens, and many books, such as Al Caucci’s Hatches, describe cornuta as a morning hatch, which had been my (limited) past experience. However, Ann Miller, in her excellent little book (thanks Spence), describes hatches of “lata, cornuta, cornutella, and walkeri” that occur in “warm summer evenings and sometimes in the early mornings” and she lists sizes from 6-10 mm. (Caucci lists both size 14 and 16 for cornuta in his book.) It appears that variety is the spice of Drunella. Eric suggested that ultimately it’s best to watch more and trust experience over what one may read—helpful advice.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Jun 10, 2013June 10th, 2013, 11:28 am EDT
However, Ann Miller, in her excellent little book (thanks 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

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