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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.

Dorsal view of a Neoleptophlebia (Leptophlebiidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
Some characteristics from the microscope images for the tentative species id: The postero-lateral projections are found only on segment 9, not segment 8. Based on the key in Jacobus et al. (2014), it appears to key to Neoleptophlebia adoptiva or Neoleptophlebia heteronea, same as this specimen with pretty different abdominal markings. However, distinguishing between those calls for comparing the lengths of the second and third segment of the labial palp, and this one (like the other one) only seems to have two segments. So I'm stuck on them both. It's likely that the fact that they're immature nymphs stymies identification in some important way.
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.

Fly Fishing and Trout Prey Videos

Fly Fishing and Trout Prey Videos

One of the most important things to a choosy trout is the one thing my close-up pictures can't show: motion. Fly tyers imitate motion by using lively materials, and fly anglers imitate it with subtle rod-work, but both need to understand how the real critters move. Most of these were shot long ago with an ancient digital camera.

Alaska Range twilight time lapse

I shot a picture every twenty seconds for a few hours as the sunlight faded over the Alaska Range above Black Rapids, and compressed them into this time lapse. It's amazing how much the mountains directly affect the clouds, and I never really appreciated it until I saw them in motion like this.

Blizzard-like Hex Hatch

This video shows just how blizzard-like the Hexagenia limbata hatch can be. I only wish my digital camera had had respectable video capability back in 2005.

The Namekagon is not known as a Hex hatch river, for good reason: the hatch is extremely rare and localized, and there are often few if any trout where the Hexes are. During this trip I caught nothing and heard no risers, but it was still a memorable night out in the middle of nowhere.

Two Phryganeidae caddis larvae fighting over a case

Caddisfly larvae of this family can easily leave and re-enters their cases. I caught two of them playing musical chairs or something with this one... funny!

Winter trout at a spring creek's mouth

In mid-January I visited a spot where a heavily spring-fed tributary feeds into a river without much as much spring flow, creating an area of (in the winter) warmer water where hundreds of brookies were stacked up.

The video quality's as lousy as in all my early videos, but it's still amazing to see so many brook trout in such a small spot.

Dragonfly Nymph Scooting Around

Dragonfly nymphs propel themselves through the water with a miniature jet engine, taking water in below their mouths and shooting it out their back ends. You can see the ripples from the jet out this one's back in this video.

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