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.

Stream photos

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Ephemerella mucronata Mayfly Nymph Ephemerella mucronata Mayfly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington

This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.

17 Recently Added Photos

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.

Pictures and specimens from my 2018 Montana trip

By Troutnut on June 12th, 2019, 11:16 am EDT

I finally got around to uploading all the photos from a fishing & bug photography trip I took to Montana (and the surrounding area in Idaho and Wyoming) in August 2018. For the first ten days, I fished by myself from dawn to dusk, slept in my car, and got off the water only long enough to drive to the next fishing spot. It was a whirlwind tour of the famous waters of the West and many not-so-famous ones, sometimes stopping for just a few hours to wet a line in a river that takes a lifetime to master. I'll be back again to concentrate my efforts.

It might be a while (or never) before I have time to go through and narrate each day of the trip on the front page blog, so for now I'll just suggest browsing those posts and letting the pictures tell the story. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Firehole River, where cold mountain water meets hot geyers in what Ernest Schwiebert rightfully called "The Strangest Trout Stream on Earth."

My biggest cutthroat trout to date, an 18-incher from a stream that shall not be named:

A herd of bison crossing the Yellowstone River:

A Rock Creek cuttbow that put up one hell of a fight for its size:

Another gorgeous cuttbow from a stream I'm keeping secret, this one with mostly "bow" and less "cutt":

My personal best brook trout, fat and almost 16" long, from the same river:

And a stately caddisfly from the Henry's Fork:

Enjoy!

Comments / replies

Partsman

bancroft michigan

Posts: 321

Partsman on Jun 13, 2019June 13th, 2019, 12:49 pm EDT

Awesome Jason, your photography almost takes us with you. Thanks for sharing.
Mike

Wbranch

York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635

Wbranch on Jun 14, 2019June 14th, 2019, 5:35 am EDT

Jason,

Great pictures! You know of course that Montana Fish and Wildlife consider the Eastern Brook Trout an invasive species and in many waters they compete with wild cutties and anglers are requested to kill the brook trout. That is one heck of a gorgeous brook trout. It's a shame that they rarely grow to that size in their original eastern range (except for NE Maine and the Magalloway and Rapid Rivers)

Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.

Creno
Grants Pass, OR

Posts: 302

Creno on Jun 14, 2019June 14th, 2019, 6:35 am EDT

Nice pics of nice fish and places - and a stately caddis indeed. A Grammotaulius lorettae Denning 1941 female.

Jmd123

Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474

Jmd123 on Jun 18, 2019June 18th, 2019, 3:46 am EDT

WOW!!!

No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...

Troutnut

Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758

Troutnut on Jun 18, 2019June 18th, 2019, 4:43 pm EDT

You know of course that Montana Fish and Wildlife consider the Eastern Brook Trout an invasive species and in many waters they compete with wild cutties and anglers are requested to kill the brook trout.

Yeah, I'm aware. I released this one, because brook trout are there to stay in this drainage. There are native cutts above an impassible barrier higher up.

Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

Martinlf

Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047

Martinlf on Jun 24, 2019June 24th, 2019, 7:54 am EDT

Cool, Jason. Thanks!

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

--Fred Chappell

Wbranch

York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635

Wbranch on Jun 25, 2019June 25th, 2019, 12:27 pm EDT

It would of been a shame to kill that big brookie. Just a great fish and something many guys will never catch that big unless they travel to the northern woods of Maine or Labrador.

Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.