# What kind of insect is this??



## Melo313 (Feb 4, 2013)

Saw a bunch of them hatch on the Clinton river February 18th 2013.. Curious because I wanna put this fly under a float!  

 



I know it's hard to see, I have no flash on my phone so I had to use my headlamp and blindly take the pic.


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## Brown duck (Dec 16, 2005)

Hard to say from the pic and without scale, but I'd say it's most likely a little black stonefly (right time of year).


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## pikestalker (Dec 30, 2010)

Try this web site, http://www.insectidentification.org...rch2=&search3=&search4=Michigan&Submit=SEARCH

You should be able to find it. I found a couple of close ones, but can not tell for sure.


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## flyfisher4life1 (Sep 5, 2011)

Yup it's definitely a stone fly.


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

Common this time of year. Mostly in the 16-20 sizes, but I have seen ones up to a 12.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Absolutely a Stonefly. I have cleaned Steelhead that literally had a ball with 100's of Stoneflies in their stomachs. Anytime temps get above freezing, at this time of year, there will be Stones hatching.


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## The Downstream Drift (Feb 27, 2010)

Yup, the guys are right. It is a Little Winter Stonefly. 

This is the bug that watershed councils and other conservation groups head out in search of during mid to late January every year. Why go searching for them in the freezing cold? These are one of the most sensitive bugs to pollution in the state of Michigan. If there are Little Black Stoneflies in the river it is generally a pretty clean system.

This time of year there are a ton of these bugs in the Clinton below Yates. They can also be found all over the banks of Paint Creek, Stoney Creek and the North Branch of the Clinton. It is a very positive thing to see these bugs. Not to mention, the steelhead love them!


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

If you can stand to pass on the steelies for a half hour you can have some great dry fly action during a mating flight. I used to see this a couple times a year when I fished the PM a lot and I would carry a 5 wt rigged for dries on warm days just in case. The tendency of stoneflies to run across the water is also a real help to a hack like me.


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## flyfisher4life1 (Sep 5, 2011)

kzoofisher said:


> If you can stand to pass on the steelies for a half hour you can have some great dry fly action during a mating flight. I used to see this a couple times a year when I fished the PM a lot and I would carry a 5 wt rigged for dries on warm days just in case. The tendency of stoneflies to run across the water is also a real help to a hack like me.


I want to try that but I never did see a steelhead take them, in winter you also see a midge hatch.


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

flyfisher4life1 said:


> I want to try that but I never did see a steelhead take them, in winter you also see a midge hatch.


I've never seen steelhead rise either. Some days the trout, including some darn good ones, can go crazy though and 40 degrees can almost feel like June if you are casting to rising trout. Come to think of it, 40 isn't that unusual for June in the UP. Summer fishing isn't quite Nirvana but it can smell a little like teen spirit.


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## Melo313 (Feb 4, 2013)

Damn thanks a lot gentlemen! That's why I love this website I'm already learning so much. Definitely throwing some of these on the next warm day we have.


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## fishhuntfun (Jan 11, 2013)

Melo313 said:


> Damn thanks a lot gentlemen! That's why I love this website I'm already learning so much. Definitely throwing some of these on the next warm day we have.


Black Stone nymphs work on pretty much any trout/steelhead stream in Michigan and I know for sure they work on the Clinton


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## Melo313 (Feb 4, 2013)

Have definitely used them before, but not with the knowledge I now have for a lil confidence boost :]


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