Browndrake Emergence
Bois Brule River, Wisconsin
When a mayfly hatch is happening, the nymphs ascend to the surface of the steam where their wing cases split open and the adult mayfies emerge from that nymphal shuck. Then the adult mayfly, called a dun, drifts along while its wings dry and eventually takes flight. That period of drifting is a vulnerable time when many of these insects are taken by trout. Here is a capture of a brown drake mayfly (emphemera simulans) right as it makes its escape to the air. Photo © copyright by Paul Stillmank.