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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.

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.
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TedderX
Posts: 6
TedderX on Jun 2, 2016June 2nd, 2016, 4:31 pm EDT
I'm looking for good books on trout fly fishing.

Are there any good suggestions out there?
Adirman
Adirman's profile picture
Monticello, NY

Posts: 479
Adirman on Jun 3, 2016June 3rd, 2016, 9:43 am EDT
Yes, the book "trout" by Ray Bergman, truly a Flyfishermans bible :)
FlyGuy123
Posts: 4
FlyGuy123 on Jun 3, 2016June 3rd, 2016, 11:54 pm EDT
I love all the books by John Gierach, Trout bum being the most popular one. Standing in a River Waving a Stick and Death, Taxes, and Leaky Waders are both great too.

If you are interested in tying The Master's Fly Box is a good read. The author interviews different experienced fly fishermen and talk about their favorite patterns and contain a lot of pattern descriptions.
Salmon and sea trout fisher that sometimes get the chance to fish brown trout. Occasionally write about trout fishing.

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