fishing
Photo credit Kirk Webb
cutthroat trout are also present in lesser numbers. Between the more famous summer mayfly hatches of green drakes and pale morning duns, there lies a confusing, mysterious hatch of serratella mayflies. The serratellas on the Fryingpan are an adaptation that is unique to the river. Upon inspection they appear to be a baetis, a blue wing olive, species of sorts. They are tiny in size and generally range in hook sizes from No. 20s to No. 26s (less than an eighth of an inch long). Much like a baetis, they have a dark brownish-olive body with short, dun-colored wings. They hold their egg sack between their never upright, backswept wings and scurry in a frenzy along the river’s surface trying to pump and 16
summer in aspen // 2013
dislodge their egg sack. As legend has it, upon construction of Ruedi Reservoir and Dam, these insects had to either adapt or become extinct. With the cold river temperatures created by the bottom release reservoir, these insects found numerous ways to survive and adapt to the new conditions. One was to become asexual, another flightless, and yet another being how they deposit their egg sack. Why these insects adapted in such differing ways is beyond anyone. Numerous anglers have stumbled across these unique insects and thought to have discovered a new insect species. Rumors are told of these anglers trying to name this “new” insect after themselves; for example, serratella kirkwebbis. Though durations and