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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Lateral view of a Female Sweltsa borealis (Chloroperlidae) (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult from Harris Creek in Washington
I was not fishing, but happened to be at an unrelated social event on a hill above this tiny creek (which I never even saw) when this stonefly flew by me. I assume it came from there. Some key characteristics are tricky to follow, but process of elimination ultimately led me to Sweltsa borealis. It is reassuringly similar to this specimen posted by Bob Newell years ago. It is also so strikingly similar to this nymph from the same river system that I'm comfortable identifying that nymph from this adult. I was especially pleased with the closeup photo of four mites parasitizing this one.
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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Sekod has attached these 4 pictures to aid in identification. The message is below.
Sekod
Sekod's profile picture
New London, NC

Posts: 1
Sekod on Aug 26, 2019August 26th, 2019, 9:49 pm EDT
The larger fly had 2 long tails and one very short tail (almost a stub) in between the longer ones. The smaller one had 2 tails. Warmwater river (Little River) in the Piedmont of North Carolina. ID help? Thank you.
Taxon
Taxon's profile picture
Site Editor
Plano, TX

Posts: 1311
Taxon on Aug 27, 2019August 27th, 2019, 6:54 am EDT
Hi Jonathan-

I believe those mayfly subimagoes are both of genus Hexagenia. The larger one is a female, and the smaller one is a male.
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com

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