salmonflies on the yuba

[medfly]

are there salmon flies on the lower yuba? i swear i saw one today

[SHigSpeed]

Skwala stones look a lot like giant stones (salmonflies). Probably saw those.

_SHig

[medfly]

yea, thats what i figured. although i have seen alot of skwalas on the yuba and this bug was alot more orange and was like a helicopter coming in. made most of the skwalas i have seen on the yuba look like gnats.

exhibit A (although color and size not greatly displayed here)

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c112/buddhahorse/IMG_0457.jpg

[SHigSpeed]

Cool! Bring 'em on! :^)

_SHig

[Ed Wahl]

Medfly, could you take a measurement from your rod butt to the reel seat for reference?
Sure looks like a Salmonfly.

Ed

[Troutstalker55B]

That is a Pteronarcys Californica for sure, seems to be a male. Books and experts give all sorts of sizes and rules to the size and color of bugs, but I have proved them wrong on more than a dozen times. You can't put rules and limits on mother nature - she will break them every time. For example our Velma May here on the MMFR looks nothing like the ones
on the NFFR. Great photo, I live for the big bug.

[medfly]

sweet, thanks for the info. that bug landed there and hung out. was mesmerized for a bit. it then took flight across the water. seeing this thing fly was incredible. it was massive. i cant even imagine seeing a complete hatch of these things carpeting a river, ornamenting the trees. i gotta get to one of those soon.

[RJSFLYTRIP]

I had a Salmon Fly land on my hat while guiding there last week. I thought the same thing. Where did this come from? First one I had ever seen there. Then later that afternoon I watched a Hex float down a flat. What is going on. Wished more of those types of bugs we around.

[CODY]

are you sure its not a golden stone? There are quite a few on the yuba, and you don't hear about salmon flies on the yuba. But who knows? it could be a salmon fly.

[Charlie Gonzales]

Bugs migrate thats for sure. I can only imagine what those fish will be like if a salmonfly hatch takes hold in the Yuba.

[windwalker]

I saw a HUGE salmonfly on the Y near hallwood last spring/summer. The only one I have seen there after years of fishing. Sure was a cool thing to see.

[Nick B]

Salmon flies are actually a lot more common than people seem to think. They have one really limiting factor (water quality), that can dictate presence/absence. I have heard of them on a number of water bodies, including Capel Cr, over by Lake Berryessa. However, their densities can be highly variable. Unlike golden stones (which are predators, and eat almost anything), salmon flies are "shredders" and feed on CPOM (coarse particulate organic matter, or big pieces of wood and plants). Because of this, you often require large amounts of debris in the water to support large salmon fly populations. The yuba is a tailwater, and most of that debris is stuck behind the dams, and therefor has a limited amount of CPOM. The water quality is definitely within the tolerance range of salmon flies, but I doubt there is enough CPOM to support a large population. There is also the possibility of some residing in the tributaries as well. Just my .02$

[EBAC]

Even if there was a a salmonfly hatch guys would be throwing bobbers any way doesn't seem to matter whats hatching.Troutstalker55 how ya been long time no see or hear.

[Troutstalker55B]

Hey Bacon,

You better get your ass up to Davis for the damselfly hatch and fish with me
cause your gonna be a guest on my boat! Dude, it's been a long time....
I hear your a full grown man now (LOL)!

JB

[Ralph]

Formal BMI (Benthic Macro Invertebrate) surveys are done routinely on the Yuba and many of it's tributaries to document the health of the watershed. Pteronarcys (salmonflies) are picked up all the time from about 3,500' down to the Feather. I've never seen Hexagenia in any of the surveys but they do live in the Timbucktoo ponds which are a stone's throw away from hwy 20.

[Troutstalker55B]

Hey Ralph,

Christine and I have seen some very big hatches of salmonflies on the local NID
ditches, way more than I see on the MFFR or the NFY. Oh, here is a great Hex story.
It's Oct. and I'm on Goodrich creek with "thekid"'s dad and we notice a large bug flying around the creek and sure enough it was a hex! That blew me away!

Jon.

[Ralph]

We live right below the Cement Hill ditch. As you say, amazing number of bugs including salmonflies. In the 70's there was a minor July Hex hatch on Martis Lake. They disappeared with the rotenone project and never came back. You'd see one or two on the Truckee and it took me years to figure out the source.

There is a pretty good late Oct/Nov Hex hatch on some of the foothill lakes. Got to wonder if your Goodrich bug got his genetics crossed up!

[590Mike]

Years ago (the old bridge era)there was a salmon fly hatch, quite often you would hear a splash like someone threw a bowling ball in the river and that meant it was time to switch from caddis to stoneflies. I haven't seen any stoneflies since the river has been "washed out" and the streambed has changed so much. Stones making a comeback on the Yuba is very good news.

[JT]

I saw a salmonfly nymphal shuck at the Highway 20 bridge on the Yuba last year. The next week this beast landed on my rod around Sycamore Ranch.