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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Case view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.

I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.

The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.

Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
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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Jmd123 has attached these 13 pictures. The message is below.
Beautiful wild fish, missed at least three strikes by this one the previous trip here, got it on the first cast with a #10 modified Joe's Hopper - and fought way hard for it's size!
Joe-Pye-weed, boneset, and goldenrod
Virgin's Bower is in full bloom right now (another shot for Spence & his better half!)  ;oD
Virgin's-Bower covering a tree branch overhanging trout water
The "Five-Hole" (hockey pun intended...) - first time I fished this pool, I caught five trout!  Brookies, browns, and rainbows have all hit my dry flies in this nice little spot.
Bedstraw (Galium species) on riverbank
Glowing in the sunset...
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
Field mint (Mentha arvensis) - this plant makes the best mint tea in the known Universe!  Pick fresh leaves, steep in boiled water for 5-10 minutes, add sugar as desired, and enjoy!
The first "Rearing Pond" - an obviously artificially deep hole that was supposedly dug out for rearing trout - the rest of the stream is ankle-to-knee deep with occasional areas that get waist to maybe chest deep...but this goes over my head, I know because I took a swim!!!
Blue vervain (Verbena hastata) - for Paul!  ;oD
One more shot of that little wild rainbow...
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Aug 28, 2013August 28th, 2013, 10:18 pm EDT
Just had to post a few more pics of the Pine, this time from both the Buhl Dam section and the Rearing Pond Road area. Even though the fish have been running small, the scenery has been just spectacular as of late with the mass blooming of wetland wildflowers along the banks. Threw in a couple of pics of a wild little (9") rainbow too just to show you what the fish look like, though a photo never does a fish justice, especially in the glowing light of the sunset. Enjoy!

Jonathon

P.S. Fish were hitting that modified #10 Joe's Hopper like mad until sundown...
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Martinlf
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Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Aug 31, 2013August 31st, 2013, 10:32 pm EDT
Beautiful.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
PaulRoberts
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Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Sep 1, 2013September 1st, 2013, 4:04 pm EDT
Nice, Jonathan! Thanks for sharing those.

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