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.

A beautiful braided reach of the Sag River, with the Philip Smith Mountains in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in the background.

From the Sagavanirktok River in Alaska

Stream photos

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Pycnopsyche guttifera (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva Pycnopsyche guttifera (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

Dorsal view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington

This specimen appears to be of the same species as this one collected in the same spot two months earlier. The identification of both is tentative. This one suffered some physical damage before being photographed, too, so the colors aren't totally natural. I was mostly photographing it to test out some new camera setting idea, which worked really well for a couple of closeups.

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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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Bitterroot river April mayfly nymph ?

Leskorcala has attached these 2 pictures to aid in identification. The message is below.

Leskorcala
Posts: 16

Leskorcala on Apr 7, 2020April 7th, 2020, 3:41 pm EDT

Love to pick few brains to ID this black and white mayfly nymph I just collected one on Bitterroot river in Montana April 7th I found it under tree trunk
Thanks

Millcreek
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 344

Millcreek on Apr 8, 2020April 8th, 2020, 5:28 am EDT

Definitely a member of Heptageniidae. Might be a Rhithrogena. If you still have the specimen, put it on it's back and see if the gills form a "suction cup", or if they meet in front and back, like in this picture.

https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0816+0153

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein

Leskorcala
Posts: 16

Leskorcala on Apr 8, 2020April 8th, 2020, 5:08 pm EDT

Thank you for your help fortunately i did not collect the specimen, i will try next time out.Very different in black and white or cream markings which i have not seen often.

Millcreek
Healdsburg, CA

Posts: 344

Millcreek on Apr 8, 2020April 8th, 2020, 5:25 pm EDT

I'm guessing at Rhithrogena. Seems likely because of the general aspect of it. The color is unusual for Rhithrogena but there are several undescribed species of western Rhithrogena nymphs.

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
-Albert Einstein

Konchu

Site Editor
Indiana

Posts: 498

Konchu on Apr 10, 2020April 10th, 2020, 6:50 am EDT

That looks like my search image of a living Rhithrogena. I'm only aware of R. undulata having been found in the Bitterroot R in MT, but like Millcreek said, we don't know as much about the nymphs as we'd like. The record I have was from a June emergence, FWIW.