Bug & Wildlife Days (Originally "Stillwater Excursion"......)

I just acquired a float tube (second hand). This is a new toy for me. I couldn't help but testing it right on!!

DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT try to walk forward with fins on your feet!! 

Instead take side-step or walk backward - lessons learned with the cost of pain on my knee!!

So I hit two local reservoirs. First one foremost, just to see if I can manipulate this craft and then hoped to catch a few trout. Well, I didn't sink in. Then, not much to say about actual fishing......... Yet days were spectacular filled with different views (caused by different angles on the water), wildlife, and lots of aquatic insects!!

I was slightly afraid that this would look me as a poor prey floating on the water and peck me and my tube!

Ennis Lake is producing tremendous insects and their activities right now!!
I found something furiously yet funnily dancing near the water surface. It was a damselfly nymph.

I was able to capture motion videos!
After the photo above was taken, I released it. Then it swam toward back to me and seemed to find me as a standing willow tree or something on which it would eventually hatch!?

These two videos are not just funny but should teach us how damsel nymphs look like and move, which stimulate us about how to mimic these movements by designing new fly patterns and by varying the retrieving methods.

Right after, I spotted something huge on the water. By this time, my attention was more into bugs rather than fishing.....

It was the biggest mayfly species I ever seen!! - I believe it would be the largest size of calibaetis.

It looked almost all "flight-less", I mean, too big to fly!!

Spruce Moth were also observed. This summer may be the cycle of its peak!!?? - very exciting outlook!!

I saw it!!! Salmonfly is quietly yet positively starting!!

Beautiful calibaetis spinners!!

I haven't mentioned that I lost the original sample tray with measurements sometime during last winter. I tried to make a tray at least with the minimalist measures.

Not perfect pictures but you can see what I attempted to do.

Just so many bugs on the surface!

Even PMD were observed on Ennis Lake.

I wish I were as good a fisherman as this fella (not on the stillwater).

Well, hope to report some real fishing report with the float tube any time soon.
But these insect activities really gave me a positive outlook for this summer. Salmonflies and PMD are soon to come!! Then spruce moth cycle!
Oh, the last but not the least, though Yellowstone River is still in the middle of runoff, water level is dropping. Clarity is next..........