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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata

The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.

Lateral view of a Onocosmoecus (Limnephilidae) (Great Late-Summer Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
This specimen keys pretty easily to Onocosmoecus, and it closely resembles a specimen from Alaska which caddis expert Dave Ruiter recognized as this genus. As with that specimen, the only species in the genus documented in this area is Onocosmoecus unicolor, but Dave suggested for that specimen that there might be multiple not-yet-distinguished species under the unicolor umbrella and it would be best to stick with the genus-level ID. I'm doing the same for this one.
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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Underwater photos from the Couderay River

The Couderay River in Wisconsin
The Couderay River in Wisconsin

On-stream insect photos from the Couderay River

This nighttime flash photograph shows a bunch of Ephoron mayflies flying around during the hatch.  So many of them fly around with their dun shucks attached that it seems like they molt from the dun to spinner stage in mid-air.  Actually they molt on streamside vegetation like other mayflies, but they sometimes take off to mate before they're completely finished.

From the Couderay River in Wisconsin

Closeup insects by Troutnut from the Couderay River in Wisconsin

Female Stenacron (Heptageniidae) (Light Cahill) Mayfly Dun from the Couderay River in Wisconsin
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