Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana

Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

Stream photos

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Epeorus albertae (Pink Lady) Mayfly Nymph Epeorus albertae (Pink Lady) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Epeorus albertae (Heptageniidae) (Pink Lady) Mayfly Nymph from the East Fork Issaquah Creek in Washington

This specimen keys to the Epeorus albertae group of species. Of the five species in that group, the two known in Washington state are Epeorus albertae and Epeorus dulciana. Of the two, albertae has been collected in vastly more locations in Washington than dulciana, suggesting it is far more common. On that basis alone I'm tentatively putting this nymph in albertae, with the large caveat that there's no real information to rule out dulciana.

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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.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Differences I'm dying to know about

This topic is about the Mayfly Genus Tricorythodes

A cult following is something to which few insects can lay claim, but the tiny Tricorythodes mayflies certainly qualify. Their widespread, reliable, heavy hatches draw impressive rises of ultra-selective trout which demand the most of a technical dry-fly angler's skills.

It is surprising that such a great hatch took so long to come to the attention of fly fishermen. The Tricos were first introduced to anglers in a 1969 Outdoor Life article by Vincent Marinaro, who misidentified them as Caenis. By the early 1970s the identification had been corrected but Swisher and Richards still wrote in Selective Trout, "Few anglers are familiar with these extremely small but important mayflies." The next wave of publications boosted Tricorythodes to its current fame. I suspect their early dismissal was due in part to tackle limitations; anglers in the 1950s had no means to effectively tie and present size 22-28 flies.

Example specimens

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Female Tricorythodes (Trico) Mayfly Spinner

Lateral view of a Female Tricorythodes (Leptohyphidae) (Trico) Mayfly Spinner from the Bitterroot River in Montana

This female Trico was collected with an associated male and many others.

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Male Tricorythodes (Trico) Mayfly Spinner

Lateral view of a Male Tricorythodes (Leptohyphidae) (Trico) Mayfly Spinner from the Bitterroot River in Montana

This specimen was collected along with a female. The forewing venation and styliger plate of the male give a confident identification as Tricorythodes explicatus according to Baumgardner 2009.

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Tricorythodes (Trico) Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Tricorythodes (Leptohyphidae) (Trico) Mayfly Nymph from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington

Reify
Easton, Pennsylvania

Posts: 8

Reify on Jul 8, 2018July 8th, 2018, 3:44 am EDT

What are the differences between Baetis, Caenis and Tricorythodes may flies. I get different answers from different FF buddies.

Thanks in advance

Taxon

Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311

Taxon on Jul 8, 2018July 8th, 2018, 8:13 am EDT

Hi Dave-

In their winged lifestages, Baetis mayflies have (2) tails, whereas Caenis and Tricorythodes mayflies have (3) tails.

Caenis and Tricorythodes mayflies, which have only forewings, can be differentiated based on forewing venation, whereas Baetis mayflies generally have greatly reduced hind wings, or for a few species, are completely absent hind wings.

Hope this helps, but if this just leads to more questions, I would be happy to answer them.

Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com

Martinlf

Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047

Martinlf on Jul 9, 2018July 9th, 2018, 9:39 am EDT

The Trico hatch for most of here in the East, leads to fishing spinners, which typically fall when the cooler morning air reaches about 70 degrees. This spinnerfall is often an early to late morning event. Those who fish the Trico duns typically fish a female pattern, as the males hatch at night, and the females hatch around sunrise, or earlier, until fall when one may find them coming off mid to late morning in the cooler weather. Spring Baetis, the most fished hatch where I live, typically come off a bit later in the day, between 10 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., though this is not the only time they can hatch. These are duns. I believe both males and females hatch roughly at the same time, unlike Tricos. Fishing the spring Baetis here rarely focuses on spinners, at least in my experience. I don't know much about Caenis.

"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell