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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.

Lateral view of a Clostoeca disjuncta (Limnephilidae) (Northern Caddisfly) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
This one was surprisingly straightforward to identify. The lack of a sclerite at the base of the lateral hump narrows the field quite a bit, and the other options followed fairly obvious characteristics to Clostoeca, which only has one species, Clostoeca disjuncta.
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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By Troutnut on July 22nd, 2017
Following Saturday's success chasing my first Westslope Cutthroat, my goal for Sunday was to find some closer to home. Once again ignoring the regional fishing guidebooks and chasing after half a sentence from an old technical report and some promising squiggles on Google Maps, we found another nice stream tumbling down out of the mountains. Again, there were willing trout in every pool.

My Google Maps sleuthing was a bit off, though. I chose my location based on the presence of some longer, slower, larger pools than were visible in most of the creek. Those turned out to be nearly empty, save for a few fingerlings. The best fish were in the more frequent plunge pools formed by the stream's abundant boulders. Interesting lesson learned.

Photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #200 and Mystery Creek #199 in Washington

Mystery Creek # 200 in Washington
Mystery Creek # 200 in Washington
Mystery Creek # 200 in Washington
Mystery Creek # 200 in Washington
Mystery Creek # 200 in Washington
Mystery Creek # 200 in Washington
Westslope cutthroat close to home
Mystery Creek # 200 in Washington
This is actually the creek we fished Saturday, far up in the headwaters (like the last half mile) where I doubt even the little Cutthroats roam. We passed it on our way to a hike before driving elsewhere to fish Sunday.

From Mystery Creek # 199 in Washington

Comments / replies

Martinlf
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Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Aug 1, 2017August 1st, 2017, 11:06 am EDT
How beautiful. Gorgeous little gems.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell

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