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.

A beautiful braided reach of the Sag River, with the Philip Smith Mountains in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in the background.

From the Sagavanirktok River in Alaska

Stream photos

Featured on the forum

Re: Trico emergers
In the Mayfly Genus Tricorythodes by Bwoklink (Martinlf replied)

Re: Trico Tips
In the Mayfly Genus Tricorythodes by Martinlf

Re: UV spectrum and trout
In General Discussion by Martinlf

Re: closing the gender gap in flyfishing
In General Discussion by Konchu (Smallflyguy replied)

Re: Fishing Kupa River, Slovenia
In Fishing Reports by Slocum (Fish1 replied)

Skwala (Large Springfly) Stonefly Nymph Skwala (Large Springfly) Stonefly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Skwala (Perlodidae) (Large Springfly) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington

This Skwala nymph still has a couple months left to go before hatching, but it's still a good representative of its species, which was extremely abundant in my sample for a stonefly of this size. It's obvious why the Yakima is known for its Skwala hatch.

6 Recently Added Photos

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.

lines on front

Rheotanytarsus Midge Larva

6 Pictures

Here's what lived inside.

Dorsal view of a Rheotanytarsus (Chironomidae) Midge Larva from Cayuta Creek in New York

This peculiar midge lived in a case tightly fixed to a rock, with several others of its kind. The case seems to be made of tiny grains of sand. I'm not sure what the function is for the little lines sticking out the front, because they aren't legs.

Collected April 13, 2007 from Cayuta Creek in New York

Added by Troutnut on April 22, 2007

Collected April 13, 2007 from Cayuta Creek in New York and added by Troutnut on April 22, 2007

Mike28

marquette,mi

Posts: 1

Mike28 on Mar 27, 2014March 27th, 2014, 7:57 pm EDT

I have a small tank with some of these on the rocks and noticed the midges coming out and cleaning the lines so I talked to my stream ecology professor and he told me I have rheotanytarsus and along those lines there are small lines of silk that they use to collect food just in case anyone was still wondering.

Entoman

Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604

Entoman on Mar 28, 2014March 28th, 2014, 5:32 am EDT

Welcome to the forum, Mike! Thanks for the info. One of the great things about this site is that your post is linked to the specimen for future reference. Are you majoring in biology?

"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