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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.

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.
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
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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
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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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