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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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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Afishinado on Sep 13, 2015September 13th, 2015, 4:37 am EDT
If you can go factory direct they are about #18 per thousand…
Did you mean to type $18 per thousand?…
That is correct. That's a factory direct price. Somebody's making a lot of money on hooks…
That's a 90% margin on hooks!
I work for a large fly-fishing company that buys and sells hooks. I'm calling the office on Monday morning!....my company is getting cheated! I know our costs, and the hooks we buy from a major manufacturer cost a lot more than that!
Lastchance on Sep 13, 2015September 13th, 2015, 6:51 am EDT
That is correct. That's a factory direct price. Somebody's making a lot of money on hooks..
Can anyone buy factory direct, Tim? Are they a name brand?
Wbranch on Sep 13, 2015September 13th, 2015, 11:42 am EDT
Typically to buy direct, or at wholesale prices, you need a business license and a Federal tax number.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
TNEAL on Sep 13, 2015September 13th, 2015, 2:54 pm EDT
right regarding business lic. etc....
Their minimum purchase is also 5,000 hooks per style per size...
Their minimum purchase is also 5,000 hooks per style per size...
TimCat on Sep 16, 2015September 16th, 2015, 9:37 pm EDT
Pardon my ignorance, but are hooks the real issue here? I know they are the base of the cost, but I have bought many hooks and lures in my day, before I began fly fishing, and none of them have ever malfunctioned/broke on me. I think the real cost would be in tying the fly itself. Is it really that important to get the top quality hook?
Now, that being said, a quality lure/fly is worth what it is. If it catches a lot of fish, and is difficult to tie or replicate, then it is worth whatever the market value is. But if you were to buy an Adams pattern for example, on a bunch of different hooks, I bet you, the quality of the fly would not be dependent on the hook. Just saying...
Also, as a newbie myself, I do not in any way want to downplay the skill involved in tying a fly. I am just saying that some of the exact same patterns cost a lot more than others, depending on where you buy them from, and sometimes the cheap ones are of the same or better quality than the big name brands (which I also buy because we need what we need when we need it).
Now, that being said, a quality lure/fly is worth what it is. If it catches a lot of fish, and is difficult to tie or replicate, then it is worth whatever the market value is. But if you were to buy an Adams pattern for example, on a bunch of different hooks, I bet you, the quality of the fly would not be dependent on the hook. Just saying...
Also, as a newbie myself, I do not in any way want to downplay the skill involved in tying a fly. I am just saying that some of the exact same patterns cost a lot more than others, depending on where you buy them from, and sometimes the cheap ones are of the same or better quality than the big name brands (which I also buy because we need what we need when we need it).
"If I'm not going to catch anything, then I 'd rather not catch anything on flies" - Bob Lawless
Roguerat on Sep 17, 2015September 17th, 2015, 5:34 am EDT
Timcat,
I think hooks are a critical part of any fly; I've had hooks bend and come out malformed after hooking and releasing a fish. I would agree that the degree of difficulty and amount of materials needed for a fly play a part in cost, but the old adage 'you get what you pay for' has a ring of truth in it. No argument that hooks are waaaay overpriced, though...why I've stayed with Mustad for a long time and only 'buy-up' when a pattern really demands it!
Roguerat
'Less is more...'
Ludwig Mies Vande Rohe
I think hooks are a critical part of any fly; I've had hooks bend and come out malformed after hooking and releasing a fish. I would agree that the degree of difficulty and amount of materials needed for a fly play a part in cost, but the old adage 'you get what you pay for' has a ring of truth in it. No argument that hooks are waaaay overpriced, though...why I've stayed with Mustad for a long time and only 'buy-up' when a pattern really demands it!
Roguerat
'Less is more...'
Ludwig Mies Vande Rohe
Wbranch on Sep 17, 2015September 17th, 2015, 8:22 am EDT
...why I've stayed with Mustad for a long time and only 'buy-up' when a pattern really demands it!
I agree the Mustad company makes a good hook. I bet they have been making hooks for over 100 years. I went to TMC about twenty years ago because they had the micro barbs and many styles of hooks Mustad wasn't selling at the time.
I still use Mustad 34007 stainless steel hooks for all my Clouser minnows and salt water flies. They aren't as sharp as TMC but a few strokes with a little fine jeweler's file on each side and the top gets them sharp enough to "catch" on your finger nail and you can't beat the price. Admittedly the barb is very big but you can either pinch it down flat or squeeze it down so it isn't so high.
If you do a lot of Internet searching you can often find deals on quality hooks. I was buying a Gamukatsu up eye black nickel hook in size #8 for steelhead and they are very expensive. The per hook price is about $.37 each in packages of eight. I found an Owner hook that is actually a nicer hook imo that I can buy in bulk packages of 63 hooks per envelope for $.165 each.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Plecoptera on Sep 30, 2015September 30th, 2015, 7:38 pm EDT
If you register on the Orvis website, eventually they send you coupons. My favorite is the $25 off any regular price $50 purchase, get that maybe 1 or 2 times a year. They have a line of standard flies like Adams, Hares Ears, etc. that are regularly $1.50. So total up $50 and end up at $.75 for a decent fly. I tried two batches of web discount flies. Lost half of each snapping the hook debarbing them. I have never snapped a TMC, Daiichi, or Mustad. With my Orvis stash for the regulars, I just tie the ones that are really tough to get. A tungsten head, non-lead rapped, #16 - #18 olive caddis is rare indeed. Actually, it seems like any well weighted fly in a good pattern is a home tie, but they make dynamite point flies on a two fly nymph rig. As to learning to tie, in Colorado any of the TU chapters have a tying section that will do just about anything to get you started. I stopped taking freebie material that members kept pushing at me, it was getting excessive to store.
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