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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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Landscape & scenery photos from the West Branch of the Delaware River

This fish almost got me into the coveted "20/20 club."  It's a 20 inch brown caught on sulphur-flavored Galloup's Cripple tied on a size 18 3X-fine dry fly hook.  It's also my biggest fish to date from the Catskills.
An 18-inch Catskill brown trout.
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
This is a common sight on the large Catskill rivers in early May, a mother goose guarding her nest.  They like to nest on midstream islands where anglers are prone to walk from one fishing spot to another, and they do not back down.  This one was hissing at me and I didn't want to get any closer.

From the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
A tributary on the left approaches the large Catskill river on the right.

From the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York

Underwater photos from the West Branch of the Delaware River

The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
Here's the head of a sea lamprey which migrated up the Delaware River to spawn.
The West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
These are red-spotted newts, Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens.  Thanks Gonzo for the ID.

From the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
Here's the body of a sea lamprey which migrated up the Delaware River to spawn.

On-stream insect photos from the West Branch of the Delaware River

Many beetles of this species were jumping around the rocks like popcorn on a mid-April afternoon.  I'm sure they end up in the water for the trout at times.

From the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
I didn't manage to collect a nymph, but here's the hollow shuck left over from an emerged dun, showing the basic pattern of the nymph.

From the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York
A thick mating swarm of Tricorythodes mayfly spinners hovers the West Branch of the Delaware near Hale Eddy one early fall morning.  View the picture full-size and you'll be able to make out the wings and tails on most of those little white dots.

This was one of many such clouds visible all up and down the river.  The mayflies were impressive, but the trout did not hold up their end of the bargain -- there was not a rise in sight.

From the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York

Closeup insects by Troutnut from the West Branch of the Delaware River in New York

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