Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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As far as I can tell, this species has only previously been reported from one site in Oregon along the Columbia gorge. However, the key characteristics are fairly unmistakable in all except for one minor detail:
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.
— 4 small yellow spots on frons visible in photos
— Narrow occipital spinule row curves forward (but doesn’t quite meet on stem of ecdysial suture, as it's supposed to in this species)
— Short spinules on anterior margin of front legs
— Short rposterior row of blunt spinules on abdominal tergae, rather than elongated spinules dorsally
I caught several of these mature nymphs in the fishless, tiny headwaters of a creek high in the Wenatchee Mountains.
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By Troutnut on April 27th, 2015
The ground around Fairbanks is finally mostly snow-free, and most of the creeks are beginning to open up. I went down to North Pole yesterday to test some new drift sampling nets for summer fieldwork in Piledriver Slough, and on the way back home I stopped at Badger Slough to catch the first grayling of the year, and the first fish on my new Hardy Ultralite DD 4000 reel.
This was not idyllic Alaskan fishing, but it's a good place to spend five minutes and put something on the end of the line. I was casting into a culvert pool between a kids' playground and a gas station. Despite my using a size 16 fly, the first fish was somehow hooked in the back, so that didn't count. The second fish was fair hooked, but landed by a kid from the playground, so that didn't quite count. The first "official" (I guess?) fish of the year is below.
I only had a few minutes to fish, but the new Hardy was a pleasure. I'll be testing it out on nicer fish in mid-May, when I'm going to fish for a few days in Slovenia before heading to Spain for a research symposium.
This was not idyllic Alaskan fishing, but it's a good place to spend five minutes and put something on the end of the line. I was casting into a culvert pool between a kids' playground and a gas station. Despite my using a size 16 fly, the first fish was somehow hooked in the back, so that didn't count. The second fish was fair hooked, but landed by a kid from the playground, so that didn't quite count. The first "official" (I guess?) fish of the year is below.
I only had a few minutes to fish, but the new Hardy was a pleasure. I'll be testing it out on nicer fish in mid-May, when I'm going to fish for a few days in Slovenia before heading to Spain for a research symposium.
Photos by Troutnut from Miscellaneous Alaska, Badger Slough, and the Tanana River in Alaska
Comments / replies
Taxon on Apr 29, 2015April 29th, 2015, 5:32 pm EDT
Very nice, Jason. Thanks for sharing.