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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.

Case view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.

I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.

The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.

Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
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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Summer_doug has attached this picture. The message is below.
My personal best caught in late August.
Summer_doug
Detroit, MI

Posts: 46
Summer_doug on Mar 6, 2020March 6th, 2020, 6:09 am EST
It has been a long time since I've had the fly line on the water and even longer since I've had the opportunity to target trout. So, I've found myself day-dreaming about about my next adventure and dreaming of past encounters.

I've spent a lot of time practicing technique at a park a few miles from mom and dad's place. Generally creeping out very early in the morning so that I can be back just in time for my boys to wake up.

On the last day of summer vacation, I lucked into my personal best largemouth on my recently built fiberglass 4 weight and 4x tippet with a size 8 crayfish pattern.

My legs were weak and my hands were trembling. So after a quick release, I sat on a stump and just... did nothing. After a few thank-filled minutes. I decided that probably meant it was time to head home.
From Michigan
Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Mar 6, 2020March 6th, 2020, 2:22 pm EST
Nice fish! I remember those days of getting out early before my kids woke up. We have some trout streams 15-20 minutes from the house. We fish when we can.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Mar 7, 2020March 7th, 2020, 1:49 am EST
What kind of rod is that?
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Partsman
Partsman's profile picture
bancroft michigan

Posts: 321
Partsman on Mar 7, 2020March 7th, 2020, 6:34 am EST
Very nice doug! Im lucky enough to have a small pond out back that has some really nice bass in it, and there are a couple of ponds that the sod farm owners let me fish that also have nice bass and bluegills. When I was a kid back in the late 60's early 70's my grandparents had a place on lake near Oscoda, I fished a Shakespear wonderod and poppers in the weed beds out front of the cabin. What fun, on bass and big bluegills, I really miss that place.
Mike.
Summer_doug
Detroit, MI

Posts: 46
Summer_doug on Mar 15, 2020March 15th, 2020, 12:25 pm EDT
Matt, I’m sorry this reply took so long. I don’t remember what the blank was that I used for this, but I believe it was from Hook and Hackle. It was a step above the usual Chinese fiberglass blanks that I have seen.

Due to a mishap on another build, I had an extra blemish to cover up which is why the tiger wrap is so long. I started sanding the bottom of the fourth section for the reel seat without thinking that this was a travel rod and had five sections. I think I salvaged the overall appeal and I have noticed no effects on the action.
From Michigan
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Mar 15, 2020March 15th, 2020, 5:06 pm EDT
FATBOY!!!! How far over did that bucketmouth bend your fly rod?

Bass rock! Congrats Doug!

Just returned from my Florida trip to find in my house...TWO rolls of toilet paper!!!

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 Mar 17, 2020March 17th, 2020, 12:28 pm EDT
"My legs were weak and my hands were trembling. So after a quick release, I sat on a stump and just... did nothing. After a few thank-filled minutes. I decided that probably meant it was time to head home."

1) It is almost certainly impossible to outdo yourself once you have landed a really big fish, so as anything else you get that day is going to look small, it is time to relax!

2) I once landed, on a dock so far above the water I had to lie down on it to net the fish, a 19 1/2" smallmouth...on a 7'-3-weight. Still don't know how, pure fish fighting skill combined with luck...though I no longer do, I decided I needed (and got myself) a good stiff drink. And celebrated!! No cameras (??? - this was 2010) but plenty of witnesses, once I ran up from the dock to the house ("Someone else is gonna see this!!!") and threw open their walk-out basement door with my elbow...crazy day & I needed a drink!

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

Posts: 46
Summer_doug on Mar 18, 2020March 18th, 2020, 2:02 am EDT
I’m lucky if I get a moment like that each year. It’s amazing how the fish can always surprise us!
From Michigan

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