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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.

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.
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.

Photos by Troutnut from Denali Highway in Alaska

Tundra puddle

From Denali Highway in Alaska
Waddling swans with their signets

From Denali Highway in Alaska
Denali Highway in Alaska
Lowland by Seattle Creek

From Denali Highway in Alaska

Comments / replies

Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Sep 10, 2013September 10th, 2013, 1:44 pm EDT
Fella...Its starting to look like its about to get a little chilly up there! :)

Jason...Are you using filters to take these photos?

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
Troutnut
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Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Sep 11, 2013September 11th, 2013, 5:19 pm EDT
It's definitely getting a bit chilly up here.

I take all these pictures through a polarizing filter (because it's easier to leave it on my walk-around camera than to take it on and off all the time), but it's usually not noticeable. Manipulating the photos in Lightroom may give them a bit of a filtered look. Hopefully it's a good look.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Crepuscular
Crepuscular's profile picture
Boiling Springs, PA

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Sep 11, 2013September 11th, 2013, 5:37 pm EDT
Hopefully it's a good look.


Jason, it's more than good.

On another note, do you ever do any bird hunting up there?
PaulRoberts
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Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Sep 11, 2013September 11th, 2013, 5:52 pm EDT
Wonderful! In CO, too, it was the ground cover that lit up in autumn. Just reveled in it.

Curious... Do you know if the tree distribution in the second image is due to fire, water, or frost?
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Sep 11, 2013September 11th, 2013, 7:35 pm EDT
WOW Jason. You sure have no shortage of picturesque landscapes up there...

Your swans remind me of the Trumpeter Swans we have around here. They're pretty rare in the rest of MI (Spence can correct me if I'm wrong) but I see them all the time around here...along with wood and Blanding's turtles, which are both listed as Special Concern here in MI but I do see plenty around here.

Anyways, fabulous photos Jason, thanks for continuing to share your adventures in the Far North with us!

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

Posts: 920
Crepuscular on Sep 12, 2013September 12th, 2013, 3:36 am EDT
Wonderful! In CO, too, it was the ground cover that lit up in autumn. Just reveled in it.


Paul I couldn't agree more! when the lowbush blueberry changes color here in the fall it's beautiful.
Troutnut
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Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Sep 12, 2013September 12th, 2013, 8:12 am EDT
On another note, do you ever do any bird hunting up there?


Yes, I do. I went a couple days ago but didn't see any birds. I should post those pictures, too.

Curious... Do you know if the tree distribution in the second image is due to fire, water, or frost?


Water and permafrost, I think.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
PaulRoberts
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Colorado

Posts: 1776
PaulRoberts on Sep 12, 2013September 12th, 2013, 4:14 pm EDT
Do post pictures of your bird hunting. Turns out there are a number of gallinaceous species here in the Philippines, and a bunch of pigeons and doves too. Doubt I'll get to hunt them though, in part bc I know nothing about their numbers. There are no game, or fish, laws here. Dynamite is OK, except on coral reefs.

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