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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This one seems to tentatively key to Holocentropus, although I can't make out the anal spines in Couplet 7 of the Key to Genera of Polycentropodidae Larvae nor the dark bands in Couplet 4 of the Key to Genera of Polycentropodidae Larvae, making me wonder if I went wrong somewhere in keying it out. I don't see where that could have happened, though. It might also be that it's a very immature larva and doesn't possess all the identifying characteristics in the key yet. If Holocentropus is correct, then Holocentropus flavus and Holocentropus interruptus are the two likely possibilities based on range, but I was not able to find a description of their larvae.
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Report at a Glance
| General Region | Susquehanna River |
| Specific Location | Below Harrisburg and above the Maryland line |
| Dates Fished | Mid July to late October |
| Time of Day | 8 - 2 |
| Fish Caught | Smallmouth |
| Conditions & Hatches | minnow hatch, crayfish hatch, Luekon blizzard emergence at dusk, Brown drake if you stay to dark |
Details and Discussion
Wbranch on Jun 16, 2018June 16th, 2018, 11:01 am EDT
A bunch of older pictures that may have been posted up, or not, before.
WARNING if seeing pictures of non fly fishing gear offends the sensibilities of any Troutnut Forum member please be advised to not scroll down any further. I often make forays onto the Dark Side while pursuing Micropterus dolomieu.
I have many more pictures of 18" - 20" smallmouth but don't want to over do it with my ego hero shots.
WARNING if seeing pictures of non fly fishing gear offends the sensibilities of any Troutnut Forum member please be advised to not scroll down any further. I often make forays onto the Dark Side while pursuing Micropterus dolomieu.
I have many more pictures of 18" - 20" smallmouth but don't want to over do it with my ego hero shots.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Partsman on Jun 17, 2018June 17th, 2018, 12:32 pm EDT
Beautiful pictures Matt, I love smallies and used to do pretty good on the ausable above five channels dam, my wifes family had a cabin there and we had blast back in the day. As hot as the tempture is getting so early in the summer smallies may be a good option. I know Jonathon does really well on smallies below five channels, and really loves the fishing there. Im going to give it a go if the trout fishing becomes a no go because of water temp. Thanks for some great pics.
Mike.
Mike.
Jmd123 on Jun 17, 2018June 17th, 2018, 2:43 pm EDT
Oh yeah, those tiger-striped bronzebacks! Nice work Matt, and I bet a nice workout too! Those guys are brutes, they make largemouth look lazy, even give a rainbow of similar size a run for their money. I see a couple on flies there, Matt.
As Mike says, it's just about time for me to hit Cooke below Five Channels, should be plenty of hatching going on there now and we are probably not far from Hex hatches with this latest heat wave. I hid in my air conditioning all day and let the tourists feed the deer flies (they love this hot weather, so I imagine the downstaters got munched pretty bad). Tomorrow or Tuesday though, depending on weather, will be my next foray - gotta hit the Rifle, [REDACTED] Pond, and Cooke to complete my first round of fishing.
Tight lines whatever you are after!
Jonathon
As Mike says, it's just about time for me to hit Cooke below Five Channels, should be plenty of hatching going on there now and we are probably not far from Hex hatches with this latest heat wave. I hid in my air conditioning all day and let the tourists feed the deer flies (they love this hot weather, so I imagine the downstaters got munched pretty bad). Tomorrow or Tuesday though, depending on weather, will be my next foray - gotta hit the Rifle, [REDACTED] Pond, and Cooke to complete my first round of fishing.
Tight lines whatever you are after!
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Martinlf on Jun 17, 2018June 17th, 2018, 4:34 pm EDT
Nice fish, Matt!
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
Adirman on Jun 18, 2018June 18th, 2018, 1:23 am EDT
Nice pics my friend !! Looks like you had a nice time 😊
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