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.

Of all the pools I've fished, this one was most deserving of the colorful little brook trout it held.

From Mystery Creek # 89 in New York

Stream photos

Featured on the forum

Re: Trico emergers
In the Mayfly Genus Tricorythodes by Bwoklink (Martinlf replied)

Re: Trico Tips
In the Mayfly Genus Tricorythodes by Martinlf

Re: UV spectrum and trout
In General Discussion by Martinlf

Re: closing the gender gap in flyfishing
In General Discussion by Konchu (Smallflyguy replied)

Re: Fishing Kupa River, Slovenia
In Fishing Reports by Slocum (Fish1 replied)

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.

My wild and crazy trip to Florida & back, part 2: fly fishing & bottom bouncing

Jmd123 has attached these 20 pictures. The message is below.

Looking the other way...had this spot almost to myself for a good long time

Oh that feels SOOOOOO good on my sunburned calves (from pier fishing)!!

Coming back to snorkel and kayak fish this spot! One good pass from a jack or pompano but no hookups...this time!

To my left sat two lovely young women from Nova Scotia...who knew how to fish! I ended up giving them the nickname "Porgy Girls"!

A couple of very nice older girls sat to my right...and they caught fish too, nearly showed me up!

HA! Connected at last, with profuse congrats from the ladies! mutton snapper 14"-ish

Whole boat catch from the Miss Islamorada, March 12, 2020...a mess of fish and how many spp?

Got papayas? In front of the hotel office

What the hell did we catch out there Ron? And yes, that's a new fishing hat

Jmd123

Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474

Jmd123 on Mar 16, 2020March 16th, 2020, 1:27 pm EDT

I actually had this lovely little beach all to myself for a while, and I will be back! Much potential, deeper channel right near mangrove thickets on shore, looks waaaaay juicy to me! How about the color(s) of the water??? Gemstones are named for these colors...I got high on sunshine after a particularly ugly and gray Michigan winter, a serotonin buzz that hasn't quite worn off yet. Got to test 2 travel telescopes as well, not a good location for deep sky but Venus was right over the coconut trees so my new 72 mm refractor & 127 mm Maksutov saw first light right then and there! Venus looked very crisp and beautiful, like a tiny half-moon, at 150x in the refractor & 187.5x in the Mak. And it was even warm enough to look at it comfortably!!!

Here's some more of the trip, enjoy! Something to cheer you up as the world around you falls apart...and talk about timing!!! Pulled this one off in the nick of time!

Jonathon

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

Martinlf