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.
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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.
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.
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Crepuscular on Jan 30, 2015January 30th, 2015, 4:45 am EST
Eric - Beautifully tied fly as well! Is that dun hackle?
Yes that is a dun hackle. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the cape.
Hey CJ, let me ask you this maybe you will know, I have seen an online feather merchant selling "Darbee Duns" capes. Do you have any clue as to what these are or where they came from? Seems weird to me.
Kschaefer3 on Jan 30, 2015January 30th, 2015, 5:16 am EST
CJ - That is the type of long, stiff hackle I am looking for. I can find barbules with the length I need, but they often have some web towards the base.
Eric - Thanks! I ask because with only two colors of hackle currently, I sort of just need to tie flies that call for those colors. In due time. The fly fishing expo in my area is March 20-22 (far too late imo, I could be fishing then), but I'll likely go see what folks have for feathers.
Eric - Thanks! I ask because with only two colors of hackle currently, I sort of just need to tie flies that call for those colors. In due time. The fly fishing expo in my area is March 20-22 (far too late imo, I could be fishing then), but I'll likely go see what folks have for feathers.
Wbranch on Jan 30, 2015January 30th, 2015, 6:30 am EST
Kyle,
That is true, it is very rare for long barbule feathers not to have some web. All you need to do is to strip the fluff and the barbules with web until the web is gone. Or just strip a clump of the fibers with the web and snip off the web and then just tie it in as the tail.
As time goes on and you can afford it I'd recommend getting a good cream, grizzly, bronze blue dun, and a barred ginger.
but they often have some web towards the base.
That is true, it is very rare for long barbule feathers not to have some web. All you need to do is to strip the fluff and the barbules with web until the web is gone. Or just strip a clump of the fibers with the web and snip off the web and then just tie it in as the tail.
As time goes on and you can afford it I'd recommend getting a good cream, grizzly, bronze blue dun, and a barred ginger.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Catskilljon on Jan 30, 2015January 30th, 2015, 12:54 pm EST
Hey CJ, let me ask you this maybe you will know, I have seen an online feather merchant selling "Darbee Duns" capes. Do you have any clue as to what these are or where they came from? Seems weird to me.
Yea, it is kind of weird. I know the place your referring to and he has nice stuff but I don't like it so much when sellers use the term "Darbee" like they are actually old stock Darbee capes. A few growers claim their birds have Darbee rooster bloodline, and I am sure in some cases its true but after all these years how much do these roosters remember Harry?
I have a few capes from that seller and while they are nice, they are about as much like a Darbee cape as a squirrel tail is. No one grows birds like they did in the 60's and 70's, [for hackle anyway] and the Darbee bloodline has been so diluted over the years anyway, its not accurate to list them as such. I will say however that the colors of his capes are very nice, and in that regard there is a similarity. CJ
Oldredbarn on Jan 30, 2015January 30th, 2015, 2:19 pm EST
A few growers claim their birds have Darbee rooster bloodline, and I am sure in some cases its true but after all these years how much do these roosters remember Harry?
This is funny! :)
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
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Crepuscular on Jan 30, 2015January 30th, 2015, 2:23 pm EST
I have a few capes from that seller and while they are nice, they are about as much like a Darbee cape as a squirrel tail is... I will say however that the colors of his capes are very nice, and in that regard there is a similarity. CJ
Yes I have some as well and the colors are nice and the price is right as well. And he is a very easy guy to do business with.
Kschaefer3 on Feb 2, 2015February 2nd, 2015, 6:24 am EST
As time goes on and you can afford it I'd recommend getting a good cream, grizzly, bronze blue dun, and a barred ginger.
I would bet by the end of our upcoming trout season, I will have most of those. One of the benefits of being young and single!
Wbranch on Feb 2, 2015February 2nd, 2015, 10:41 am EST
When I was your age I used to drive out to Montana in my 1969 VW Campmobile and spend June, July, and August fishing the spring creeks in Livingston and Bozeman as well as fishing most of the other major rivers in SW Montana and YNP.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Kschaefer3 on Feb 2, 2015February 2nd, 2015, 10:43 am EST
When I was your age I used to drive out to Montana in my 1969 VW Campmobile and spend June, July, and August fishing the spring creeks in Livingston and Bozeman as well as fishing most of the other major rivers in SW Montana and YNP.
I am unbelievably jealous! If I could make this work, I would love nothing more.
Wbranch on Feb 2, 2015February 2nd, 2015, 11:03 am EST
I was 24 the I first year I went to Montana and that trip was just one month. Two weeks paid vacation and two without pay. I drove out in a 1967 Pontiac GTO. After that I bought the VW Campmobile and the rest is fly fishing memories!
My career at the time was as a machinist and toolmaker. Back in those years there were dozens upon dozens of small to medium sized machine shops in New Jersey (where I lived at that time) and the machining industry was huge. So if you had good skills it was easy to get another job in a day or two.
You just need to feel confident you can get another job when you get back and be able to save sufficient money in nine months to be able to support yourself for the three months you will be fishing.
Here was my ride, and my home, for those three months. This was taken in the high school parking lot in Livingston, MT after my buddy and I had driven non-stop from Mpls, MN the day before!
My career at the time was as a machinist and toolmaker. Back in those years there were dozens upon dozens of small to medium sized machine shops in New Jersey (where I lived at that time) and the machining industry was huge. So if you had good skills it was easy to get another job in a day or two.
You just need to feel confident you can get another job when you get back and be able to save sufficient money in nine months to be able to support yourself for the three months you will be fishing.
Here was my ride, and my home, for those three months. This was taken in the high school parking lot in Livingston, MT after my buddy and I had driven non-stop from Mpls, MN the day before!
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Oldredbarn on Feb 4, 2015February 4th, 2015, 8:03 am EST
So if you had good skills it was easy to get another job in a day or two.
Those were the days, hey Matt?!
I returned from a trip to Alaska in 73 (I was 19) and had two job offers the next damn day! I ended up working at a punch plant that made oil pans, valve covers, etc...The other job was at Firestone Tire at a factory near my home...The guy that interviewed me was concerned because I didn't weigh enough...Can you believe that? :) It was a job where you lifted tire rims onto a machine for trucks etc and he thought it would kill me.
I worked there at the punch plant a while and ended up getting in at Ford's.
Those days are long gone here in Detroit! It was once like you explained about New Jersey, here...There were tool & die shops and small parts suppliers everywhere.
I've said it before, Matt, after you have posted this picture...Everytime I've seen it I hear Curtis Mayfield in the background signing, "Super Fly...Gonna make it baby by-and-by..." :)
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
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Kschaefer3 on Feb 4, 2015February 4th, 2015, 8:12 am EST
You just need to feel confident you can get another job when you get back and be able to save sufficient money in nine months to be able to support yourself for the three months you will be fishing.
The money for three months would be doable. I don't think our current economy offers the luxury of leaving a job for 3 months and getting a new one when you come back, especially if they saw this was a trend. There may still be industries where this is possible, but not the one I'm in.
Wbranch on Feb 4, 2015February 4th, 2015, 8:20 am EST
Spence,
Spence,
I had an awesome four years of fishing memories. I spent a full 12 months of summers those four years. That's not even counting the first year when I went to a month. The funny thing about it I never even knew of the other fisheries that existed back then! That really sucks as I bet it was even more awesome than it is now. All I was fishing was the Madison, Beaverhead, Big Hole, and many of the rivers and streams in YNP besides the springs in Paradise Valley.
Spence,
I had an awesome four years of fishing memories. I spent a full 12 months of summers those four years. That's not even counting the first year when I went to a month. The funny thing about it I never even knew of the other fisheries that existed back then! That really sucks as I bet it was even more awesome than it is now. All I was fishing was the Madison, Beaverhead, Big Hole, and many of the rivers and streams in YNP besides the springs in Paradise Valley.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Wbranch on Feb 4, 2015February 4th, 2015, 8:30 am EST
Kyle,
I agree with you 100%. I'd not recommend anyone do it today unless they were at the top of their field in a very necessary profession. Then you would have a much better likelihood of getting another job. Truth be told after the 4th year when I went to look for a new job a couple people who interviewed me in various machine shops noticed the periods of unemployment during the past summers and questioned me about it. I was pretty much told that if I wanted a job they were only looking for someone serious who was looking to stick around. That is when I had to re-think my philosophy as I was almost thirty years old and had no roots and no steady girlfriend.
From then forward I only took two week trips out to Montana.
I don't think our current economy offers the luxury of leaving a job for 3 months and getting a new one when you come back, especially if they saw this was a trend. There may still be industries where this is possible, but not the one I'm in.
I agree with you 100%. I'd not recommend anyone do it today unless they were at the top of their field in a very necessary profession. Then you would have a much better likelihood of getting another job. Truth be told after the 4th year when I went to look for a new job a couple people who interviewed me in various machine shops noticed the periods of unemployment during the past summers and questioned me about it. I was pretty much told that if I wanted a job they were only looking for someone serious who was looking to stick around. That is when I had to re-think my philosophy as I was almost thirty years old and had no roots and no steady girlfriend.
From then forward I only took two week trips out to Montana.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Entoman on Feb 4, 2015February 4th, 2015, 11:32 am EST
Matt,
Yeah, you missed the heyday of the Henry's Fork in ID. It was awesome! The first decade that you could access the Williamson in OR and Fall River in CA were right there with it, IMHO.
Yeah, you missed the heyday of the Henry's Fork in ID. It was awesome! The first decade that you could access the Williamson in OR and Fall River in CA were right there with it, IMHO.
"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
Kschaefer3 on Feb 4, 2015February 4th, 2015, 11:40 am EST
Matt,
Yeah, you missed the heyday of the Henry's Fork in ID. It was awesome! The first decade that you could access the Williamson in OR and Fall River in CA were right there with it, IMHO.
Wbranch on Feb 4, 2015February 4th, 2015, 12:32 pm EST
Kurt,
I've never mentioned but I did fish Henry's Fork, around Last Chance, a couple times each trip, during the 1968 - 1969 trips. I remember camping and going there with two other guys who were teachers who towed out a little pop up camper. The campground was on the side of the road opposite the river. It may have been just around the time Swisher & Richards published "Selective Trout" and I'd yet to tie any of the very effective flies that they had developed. I remember using little heavily dressed down sized Catskill style flies, in #16 & #18, that I'd bought from Dan Bailey in Livingston and Pat Barnes in West Yellowstone. Remember when you would drive up to the head of the spring on Henry's Fork and you could park the car and peer over the bridge and look down into the crystal clear water and see huge rainbows and cutbows finning in the flow. I'll never forget seeing really huge and thick 8# - 10# and maybe more trout just hanging out under the bridge. Fishing was not allowed but it was cool to see.
Yeah, you missed the heyday of the Henry's Fork in ID. It was awesome!
I've never mentioned but I did fish Henry's Fork, around Last Chance, a couple times each trip, during the 1968 - 1969 trips. I remember camping and going there with two other guys who were teachers who towed out a little pop up camper. The campground was on the side of the road opposite the river. It may have been just around the time Swisher & Richards published "Selective Trout" and I'd yet to tie any of the very effective flies that they had developed. I remember using little heavily dressed down sized Catskill style flies, in #16 & #18, that I'd bought from Dan Bailey in Livingston and Pat Barnes in West Yellowstone. Remember when you would drive up to the head of the spring on Henry's Fork and you could park the car and peer over the bridge and look down into the crystal clear water and see huge rainbows and cutbows finning in the flow. I'll never forget seeing really huge and thick 8# - 10# and maybe more trout just hanging out under the bridge. Fishing was not allowed but it was cool to see.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Wbranch on Feb 4, 2015February 4th, 2015, 12:44 pm EST
Kyle,
While it is unlikely you will find the kind of low pressure fly fishing I had on the major Montana rivers back on the late 1960's to the mid 1980's I still think there are great opportunities to enjoy great fly fishing. Now from talking to you and seeing some of your posts I can tell you really like solitude and don't want to see another guy within 100 yards, maybe more. You aren't going to see that on the Madison, Big Horn, or Missouri. However I know sections of the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Jefferson, East Fork of the Gallatin, and a dozen other smaller waters where you may be able to fish all day without seeing another angler. So don't count out your chances for solitude. You just have to be willing to explore some of those rivers to find the lesser fished sections.
Reading exchanges like this make me very sad. I fear I will never have the chance to experience a river in that prime of form. Even the "unknown" rivers now likely don't come close.
While it is unlikely you will find the kind of low pressure fly fishing I had on the major Montana rivers back on the late 1960's to the mid 1980's I still think there are great opportunities to enjoy great fly fishing. Now from talking to you and seeing some of your posts I can tell you really like solitude and don't want to see another guy within 100 yards, maybe more. You aren't going to see that on the Madison, Big Horn, or Missouri. However I know sections of the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Jefferson, East Fork of the Gallatin, and a dozen other smaller waters where you may be able to fish all day without seeing another angler. So don't count out your chances for solitude. You just have to be willing to explore some of those rivers to find the lesser fished sections.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Feathers5
Posts: 287
Posts: 287
Feathers5 on Feb 5, 2015February 5th, 2015, 4:22 am EST
Kyle,
Reading exchanges like this make me very sad. I fear I will never have the chance to experience a river in that prime of form. Even the "unknown" rivers now likely don't come close.
While it is unlikely you will find the kind of low pressure fly fishing I had on the major Montana rivers back on the late 1960's to the mid 1980's I still think there are great opportunities to enjoy great fly fishing. Now from talking to you and seeing some of your posts I can tell you really like solitude and don't want to see another guy within 100 yards, maybe more. You aren't going to see that on the Madison, Big Horn, or Missouri. However I know sections of the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Jefferson, East Fork of the Gallatin, and a dozen other smaller waters where you may be able to fish all day without seeing another angler. So don't count out your chances for solitude. You just have to be willing to explore some of those rivers to find the lesser fished sections.
Hey Matt, I've been out to Yellowstone one time and fished all of the major tourists rivers like the Lamar, Yellowstone, Soda Butte, etc. It was nice, but someday I'd like to go to some out-of-the way water even if I catch less fish. Experiences that you guys had while young would have been a blast.
Bruce
Falsifly on Feb 5, 2015February 5th, 2015, 11:36 am EST
Although some of the younger fly fishermen may have missed the solitude that the older of us experienced on what has become “pressured water” there’s a part of fly fishing that still exists on these crowd gatherers that some may overlook. What fly fishing is may be defined in as many different ways as there is fly fishermen but I think most of us would agree that part of that definition would be “challenging”, at least at times. It was many years ago (well on second thought maybe not that long ago) while fishing a highly pressured tail water nestled along the Continental Divide that I got my first taste of “HIGHLY PRESSURED” water. And to make maters worse I couldn’t catch sh!t, but as little consolation as it was neither were 99% of the rest of the crowd. Let me be clear, there was no shortage of fish to be caught, the fish were everywhere, I could see them and there were a small number of guys regularly hooking up. That’s when I decided I wasn’t going to be beat. Oh it didn’t happen over night, I spent a lot of eight, ten and twelve hour days on the water but it finally started to click. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to say that I could go out and catch fish anytime, I haven’t met that person yet but I have met a few who are pretty good at casting a lot of BS. I went back to that tail water about five years in a row and have many fond memories, but some of my favorites are standing in the middle of a crowd as others watched me catch fish.
Damn, there I go again, I hate it when I have to loosen my hat band. I just can't seem to find a hat that isn't in need of constant adjustment. Well that's not really true the only hat that gives me problems is my fishing hat.
Damn, there I go again, I hate it when I have to loosen my hat band. I just can't seem to find a hat that isn't in need of constant adjustment. Well that's not really true the only hat that gives me problems is my fishing hat.
Falsifly
When asked what I just caught that monster on I showed him. He put on his magnifiers and said, "I can't believe they can see that."
When asked what I just caught that monster on I showed him. He put on his magnifiers and said, "I can't believe they can see that."
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