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.

Artistic view of a Perlodidae (Springflies and Yellow Stones) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This one seems to lead to Couplet 35 of the Key to Genera of Perlodidae Nymphs and the genus Isoperla, but I'm skeptical that's correct based on the general look. I need to get it under the microscope to review several choices in the key, and it'll probably end up a different Perlodidae.
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.

By Troutnut on July 27th, 2020
During my previous trip to Slough Creek with a friend in late June 2019, we caught many nice fish on streamers, but the water was still high from snowmelt. I wanted to give it a try during a better time of year for dry fly action, so I returned at the end of July, 2020. I started hiking around 1:30 pm and reached camp at 4:00. A lightning storm that had been skirting around me stopped skirting and struck, so I crawled in the tent for a 45-minute nap. I finally got out to fish at 6:30 pm under cloudy but thunderless skies.

I quickly lost one good fish on a hopper. I also tried for way too long to catch one big fish sipping tiny mayfly duns, none of which came close enough to me to catch and identify. All I got from the fish were one or two splashy refusals. I caught a different, more sporadic riser, about 16" long, on an olive female Trico dun pattern, imitating a tiny BWO. The next pool upstream had more rising fish, but beavers and ducks put them down. I eventually caught a plump 17-incher toward dark on a big ant pattern.

The water was low, clear, and very easy to cross in many places. Lots of sandhill cranes added sound effects that felt appropriate to the place, and two whitetail does and a spike buck wandered within twenty yards of me.

Photos by Troutnut from Slough Creek in Wyoming

Slough Creek in Wyoming
Slough Creek in Wyoming

Quick Reply

Related Discussions

Topic
Replies
Last Reply
10
Aug 27, 2011
by Cutbow
11
Oct 19, 2009
by JOHNW
9
Jan 15, 2012
by Wbranch
Troutnut.com is copyright © 2004-2024 (email Jason). privacy policy