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Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana
Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

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.

Entoman
Entoman's profile picture
Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604
Entoman on Feb 13, 2015February 13th, 2015, 6:35 pm EST
Thanks, Matt.

Yeah, I've seen that method and many others over the years. I was blessed to learn from the master. I spent hundreds of hours tying with and watching Bob Quigley tie parachutes. Nobody did it better...

Hackle isn't trapped his way nor is its integrity broken. You bring the bobbin tight to underneath the eye. Wrap with the tube end underneath the hackle. I'm not gonna lie that it's easy. Takes a lot of practice dealing with thread tension to keep it there. Learning to whip by hand keeping the wraps underneath the collar takes practice as well... But the skill can be acquired. When you have it down, it's fast, efficient and by far the most elegant way to tie a parachute...
"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
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Feb 14, 2015February 14th, 2015, 4:35 pm EST
Kurt, see above. You don't need spider thread to tie off Klink style. Veevus 14/0 or 16/0 thread works just fine for the entire fly, and is so thin it does not elevate the hackle much, if at all. I finish the thorax first, then wrap the hackles and tie off underneath. No bent hackles, very clean fly. IMHO this is the most elegant way to tie a parachute. :) The thread is incredibly strong for the diameter, so one can crank it down tight.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Feb 15, 2015February 15th, 2015, 6:25 am EST
I've also seen guys tie off the stem at the head of the fly, and just throw half-hitches with a tool up and under the hackle. Making sure your knot goes over the hackle stem...The tool pushes the hackle out of the way and you don't have to pull it all back...

Just a thought: If your hackle can't handle you pulling it back while you whip finish the head, it's probably not secure and may fail you on the river...Don't you just hate that when it happens?! Especially if you paid for the fly in your favorite shop. :)

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
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Feb 15, 2015February 15th, 2015, 9:31 am EST
Especially if you paid for the fly in your favorite shop. :)


Haven't bought a fly in ten years.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Feb 15, 2015February 15th, 2015, 11:34 am EST
Wow, Matt, I would never have figured with all of your years' experience, and how beautifully you tie, that it's only been ten years since you've bought a fly. Though not nearly up to your skill level, it's been a whopping 25 years since I bought my last fly, and in fact haven't fished with one made by anyone else in all that time. And since I've caught plenty of beautiful fish (of many species, including my share of trout), I must be doing something right...

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Feb 15, 2015February 15th, 2015, 12:11 pm EST
Jonathon,

that it's only been ten years since you've bought a fly.


I used to get lazy and would buy little #18 - #20 flashback PT's and Copper John's because I didn't feel like putting in the effort to tie them. There is an on-line fly dealer who sells top of the line quality flies and his nymphs are as good as anything I could tie so I bought them. Since I've been retired I don't have as much disposable income anymore to waste it buying flies I can tie.

Today I tied a dozen #16 olive scuds and a bunch of "Walt's Worms" - a central PA pattern that imitates crane fly larvae. Now I'm in the middle of a dozen #22 Grizzly midges.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Feb 15, 2015February 15th, 2015, 12:19 pm EST
I took a fly-tying class back in January of 1990 at a local fly shop in Lansing, MI, called The Troutpost, while in grad school at Michigan State. After being shown the basics if tying Wooly Buggers, streamers, nymphs, dries, and even how to spin deer hair, I decided there was no reason I couldn't make everything myself, even if it took some years of practice to make them look really good...but I began to have plenty of success with my own creations (mostly classic dries and streamers, still my favorites today) and decided to spend my money on materials and not flies.

Probably not much different than most other tiers in this site...

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Strmanglr
Strmanglr's profile picture
Posts: 156
Strmanglr on Jul 2, 2019July 2nd, 2019, 10:57 am EDT
I do mine like this...

https://youtu.be/c-d-K8P4JGk tried to put that as click and play but didn't work. ?

If that doesn't work just youtube search "tying Michigan's best trout flies".

Just finally got that down a few years back before I saw this guys video above. That seems like the only way he ties dries.

I saw a guy make his final wraps and whip finished on the post last week for the first time. I'll give it a try but I'm pretty well practiced at my way. It took me a few years to get it down I avoided parachutes and generally just tied traditional Catskills. Parachutes just float so well and great for a dropper nymph.

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