Header image
Enter a name
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.

Dorsal view of a Zapada cinctipes (Nemouridae) (Tiny Winter Black) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
Nymphs of this species were fairly common in late-winter kick net samples from the upper Yakima River. Although I could not find a key to species of Zapada nymphs, a revision of the Nemouridae family by Baumann (1975) includes the following helpful sentence: "2 cervical gills on each side of midline, 1 arising inside and 1 outside of lateral cervical sclerites, usually single and elongate, sometimes constricted but with 3 or 4 branches arising beyond gill base in Zapada cinctipes." This specimen clearly has the branches and is within the range of that species.
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.

Wbranch has attached this picture. The message is below.
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Feb 6, 2020February 6th, 2020, 12:13 pm EST
This picture is related to a post by Summer_doug and his mysterious little fish. Someone mentioned it might be a steelhead smolt. This picture is what steelhead smolts generally look like. Quite a bit different than
Summer_doug's fish. While this fish is about 7" long even smaller smolt's have this same appearance.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Feb 6, 2020February 6th, 2020, 12:18 pm EST
I agree with you Matt...See my response to his post. -Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Millcreek
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 344
Millcreek on Feb 6, 2020February 6th, 2020, 1:03 pm EST
I still believe it's a steelhead parr. These accounts are from California and show several lifestages of steelhead.


http://calfish.ucdavis.edu/species/?uid=39&ds=698

http://parkway.scrwatershed.org/theriver/species/southern-steelhead.html


"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Feb 6, 2020February 6th, 2020, 1:10 pm EST
I don't know - Summer_doug's fish has a deeply forked tail and there don't appear to be very many spots on the caudal fin like the steelhead smolt pictures I have seen. Maybe Jason could chime in hear with a more definitive and educated opinion of the origin of this little guy.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Millcreek
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 344
Millcreek on Feb 6, 2020February 6th, 2020, 1:24 pm EST
Yeah, I agree that Jason's opinion would be welcome. I don't know either - it could be a salmon parr.
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein
Summer_doug
Detroit, MI

Posts: 46
Summer_doug on Feb 6, 2020February 6th, 2020, 10:05 pm EST
A poster here referenced Chinook salmon parr as the most likely identification. After looking at numerous pictures online, I could see the resemblance.

I also see similarities with Coho salmon parr, but I don't really know what to look for.

I've been using this as an opportunity to try and understand the life stages of our Michigan fish.
From Michigan
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Feb 7, 2020February 7th, 2020, 3:58 am EST
Chinook is my guess. They do actually spawn here in MI once in a while!

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Feb 7, 2020February 7th, 2020, 4:00 am EST
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/library/pdfs/habitat/adfg_hr_id_cards_v1.1.pdf

Chinook for sure! As I said, a high number of parr marks is distinctive.

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

Posts: 4
Swpabrown on Feb 11, 2020February 11th, 2020, 10:59 am EST
Hello new member here i am a lifelong trout nut looking forward to this forum
i cant help but think the pic is a rainbow they look alot like the wild rainbows we have here in a couple isolated headwater streams in pa jus a guess

Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Feb 11, 2020February 11th, 2020, 12:07 pm EST
Hello pabrown,

I posted the picture of a steelhead (rainbow) smolt (a young trout or salmon) in response to the OP by Summer_doug about the identification of a very small trout species he caught in Michigan. That smolt is by no means wild and it was most likely raised in a hacthery. PA stocks 1 million smolts into the streams entering Lake Erie every year. I've read they get about a 10% return of adult steelhead. That's at least 100,000 adult fish to no more than about a dozen little creeks.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Troutnut
Troutnut's profile picture
Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Feb 20, 2020February 20th, 2020, 4:51 pm EST
I posted in Summer_doug's thread too, but I think Summer_doug's fish is a Coho, and of course Wbranch's fish above is a rainbow/steelhead. I explained the reasons for going with Coho instead of Chinook in the other thread.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Feb 27, 2020February 27th, 2020, 8:40 am EST
and of course Wbranch's fish above is a rainbow/steelhead.


I posted my picture because it is obvious Summer-doug's fish is NOT a steelhead.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.

Quick Reply

Related Discussions

Topic
Replies
Last Reply
6
Aug 2, 2016
by PaulRoberts
Troutnut.com is copyright © 2004-2024 (email Jason). privacy policy