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.

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Ephemerella mucronata Mayfly Nymph Ephemerella mucronata Mayfly Nymph

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.

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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.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Hike in the Clearwater Mountains in the Alaska Range (Day 3 of 4)

By Troutnut on July 7th, 2013

Our third day hiking was wet and cold all the way through. The temperature was in the forties (Fahrenheit) and the cold drizzle didn't stop all day. We had decent raingear, but it's impossible to keep everything dry in this weather. My wife Lena didn't have waterproof boots, so her feet got soaked, and I ended up with water sloshing around in my boots after ferrying her and all our stuff across an unexpectedly rain-swollen creek. We had long since given up on our original plan to complete the hike in three days, and covered plenty of ground on day three just to make a four-day finish viable.

Photos by Troutnut from Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Where are chest waders when you need them?

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Crossing a tributary of Windy Creek. My waterproof leather boots & Kuiu gaiters kept my feet dry here, but I had less luck in the thigh-deep holes of whitewater in rain-swollen Windy Creek itself a couple hours later.

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Crossing flooded Windy Creek below the beaver dam

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Pretty alpine meadow

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Brush to cross in Windy Creek valley

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Caribou highway

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Steep descent from the second pass

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Third night's camp. Looking down-valley toward upper Windy Creek.

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

View beyond the second pass

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Caribou trails

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

View to the third pass

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Rocky mountain pass

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Tundra rose (Potentilla fruiticosa)

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Lone bull caribou. This mid-sized bull is grazing in the upper right corner of this picture, in a high meadow above a cliff half-way up a mountain.

From Clearwater Mountains in Alaska

Comments / replies

Jmd123

Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474

Jmd123 on Jul 31, 2013July 31st, 2013, 7:16 pm EDT

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, Jason this stuff is just really mind-blowing!! Too bad is was sooooo damned cold and wet but the scenery is just beyond belief...BTW, what you call "tundra rose" up there, Potentilla fruticosa, is called "shrubby cinquefoil" here in Michigan, and it is considered a "calciphile", a plant that loves an alkaline, high-calcium soil, as in fens or alkaline wetlands. In fact, we saw it in bloom on our last field trip in my Field Biology class today (their final exam is next Wednesday) to a wonderful place called Tuttle Marsh (one of Spence's favorite birding places!). Yep, learned that one in my Boreal Flora class 29 years ago...

Jonathon

No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...