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Posts tagged "hex nymph"

March Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 4, 2020

As we flip the calendar to March it’s apparent that the days have become longer, temps a little warmer, and the sun is making an appearance a little more often. Was it me or did it seem like the sun went south for the winter this year?

Much of the snow pack has diminished thanks to the recent sunshine and a continued gradual melt would be ideal as we start up our spring steelhead season. Last fall and early winter’s rain saturated the ground and filled the swamps so high water is just a weather event away.

River conditions on both the Manistee and Betsie are in good shape – clarity is fine and water temps are in the mid to upper 30’s depending on the day. A bit of sunshine can give the water a slight bump in temperature and help trigger the fish from their winter funk. Fish are mixed right now with some fall holdovers taking up residence in the deeper, slow water with some fresh fish trickling through the river systems and moving up the soft seams.

Like the fall, there hasn’t been any one pattern working better than another. With the clarity, consider using brighter eggs, but not bold, and the size should be a little larger (#6) than you would think to encourage fish to move a little to eat. Realistic nymphs like hex, caddis and black stones are all popular and proven winners this time of year whether you are fishing them below a float/indicator or bouncing them along the bottom.

Good luck.

Ted

Spring Steelhead – Only a few days in mid-March remain open for the spring season.
Trout – May and June aren’t far away and offer ideal conditions for both streamer and dry fly fishing.
Fall Steelhead – Some good dates in Oct. and Nov. remain available but they are starting to become limited.

betsie river, black stone, caddis, egg patterns, fly-fishing guide traverse city, hex nymph, manistee river steelhead, march steelhead fishing, tippy dam, trout

Hex Nymph for Trout and Steelhead

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 20, 2019
Hex Nymph Final

Hex nymphs are important to Michigan fly fishers because their distribution density is vast, the physical size is easy to see and calorie-rich, and the realistic swimming movement all contribute to its success. Steelhead anglers know this pattern to work extremely well fall through spring just as trout anglers know its importance come June when the nymphs get active just prior to the celebrated hex hatch.

There is no shortage of existing hex nymph patterns that any search engine query will turn up, however a number of requests from customers asked if I would demonstrate this pattern after their success using it. This version is mostly a slight adaptation to Andy Burke’s Hex Nymph that I first learned to tie in Randall Kaufmann’s book Tying Nymphs in the early 90’s.

Hex Nymph with Antron Dubbing

Feel free to make variations of this pattern for your needs – ideas include tying some with lead wire, using different dubbing materials, altering the hook and the thorax region to make it an emerger pattern for trout.

The materials offer a lot of movement to imitate the natural’s “swimming” motion – in fact, I tie a slightly longer tail to enhance the movement. The gills provide another element of realism while the silhouette also suggests a goby. Tying some hex nymphs using Antron dubbing offers a little sheen to the hex nymph but you will find both color variations in my fly box when fishing both steelhead and trout.

 

Hex Nymph Natural

While I like the curve/bend of the original Tiemco 200R hook for trout fishing, I find that when fishing steelhead the hook sometimes bends or breaks when lifting the fish at the side of the boat. The Daiichi 1720 has been a great substitute but without the good looking curved shank. For an emerger (see photo at the bottom of page), the Tiemco 5212 is a light wire model that helps it float/sit in the film.

An advantage fly tyers have is they can tie variations not available commercially. Since hex nymphs reside in lakes and rivers for two years, they range in size, yet fly shops pretty much only offer large patterns. Try tying this in smaller sizes – say as small as #10 – to imitate the juvenile hex nymphs, but will also suggest other decent sized nymphs also found in the river.

Recipe

Hook: Daichi 1720 #6
Thread: Uni 6/0 – Tan
Tail: Gray Marabou from Pheasant or Grouse skin
Back: Turkey Tail treated with Flex Seal
Gills: Aftershaft feather from Pheasant or Grouse
Rib: Gold Wire – Small
Abdomen: Rabbit Dubbing – Cream
Thorax: Rabbit Dubbing – Cream
Wingcase: Turkey Tail treated with Flex Seal
Legs: Hen Saddle Feather – Grizzly
Eyes: Mono – Black, Small

Tying Instructions

 

Hex Nymph Step 1

Step 1. Place hook in vise and wrap thread base from behind eye to above barb.

 

 

Step 2. Select a small natural marabou feather from a pheasant or grouse skin and tie in
above barb so the natural tips extend rearward one hook shank’s length.

Hex Nymph Step 2.5

Step 2.5 Optional. If you want a lead underbody, wrap .025” wire about 1/3rd of the way behind hook eye.

Hex Nymph Step 3
Hex Nymph Step 3.5

Step 3. Cut a narrow piece of turkey tail feather that has been treated with Flex Seal.
Tie in the narrow end with the treated side of the feather facing up. An non-recommended alternative
to using a treated turkey feather is using Thin-Skin.

Hex Nymph Step 4

Step 4. Tie in wire.

Hex Nymph Step 5
Hex Nymph Step 5.5

Step 5. Tie in aftershaft feather at its base. These are delicate so use care.

Hex Nymph Step 6

Step 6. Dub a slightly tapered abdomen stopping about one hook gape’s distance from the hook eye.

Hex Nymph Step 7

Step 7. Carefully lay the aftershaft feather over the abdomen and tie down and trim.

Hex Nymph Step 7

Step 8. Pull the turkey tail over the aftershaft and tie down. Do not trim the excess feather.

Hex Nymph Step 9

Step 9. Wind the rib through the abdomen being careful not to trap the aftershaft feather fibers. Tie off and trim.

Hex Nymph Step 10

Step 10. Fold the turkey tail over the back and secure with a few wraps – this will be your wingcase.

Hex Nymph Step 11

Step 11. Dub a short section but large diameter thorax. This should be thicker than the abdomen.
Tie in mono eyes just behind hook eye.

Hex Nymph Step 12

Step 12. Tie in Hen Saddle Feather by the tip

Hex Nymph Step 13

Step 13. Dub the rest of the thorax but not up against mono eyes.

Hex Nymph Step 14

Step 14. Wind Saddle Feather about 2 times through thorax and tie off, trim.

Hex Nymph Step 15

Step 15. Lightly dub around the mono eyes.

Hex Nymph Step 16

Step 16. Pull pheasant tail over the thorax making sure the
saddle feather is evenly distributed to each side. Tie off and trim.

Hex Nymph Final

Finished Hex Nymph

Hex Nymph Quigley Cripple Emerger

This version of a Quigley Cripple adds a sparse amount of Z-lon to the tail and omits the wingcase.
In the thorax region, use stacked deer hair and a brown and grizzly hackle.

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New Years – January 2016 Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - January 6, 2016

Happy New Year!

With a bunch of white stuff on the ground and a thermometer spending more time below the freezing mark than above, opportunities to fish have been limited.  Still, when conditions are comfortable (think no or little wind) steelhead are playing along with our game plan of bending the rod. Steelhead numbers are decent for winter thanks to some timely rains late in the fall – these fish should “winter-over” until spring, with more trickling in all winter long.

Look for fish in the Manistee to be spread throughout the system from Tippy Dam to the mouth and with a tendency to lurk in the deeper, slower water in and around structure. Now is a good time to fish indicators/floats to suspend flies above wood  but drift fishing and evening swinging a fly is working with water temps in the mid to upper 30’s  – a rare occurrence for January.  This time of year I like to fish a relatively large egg pattern (#6) in tandem with a hex nymph that has lots of motion to it. The Betsie and even the Boardman has had some fish in them for those looking to fish a smaller river and/or have limited time and need to fish close to home/work.

Trout fishing remains a possibility on the Manistee with the streamer bite continuing to produce, however you want to slow that strip down and fish some of the slower moving water rather than the fast stuff. It’s not a bad idea to shorten that fly’s size a little bit, too – fish are getting lethargic.

Keep cabin fever at bay by looking at the forecast and get out when those breaks in the weather offer an opportunity to spend it on the water rather than at the fly tying bench.

Good luck.

Ted

Click here to read the December / Winter 2016 Newsletter.

Trout – Browns below Tippy Dam continues despite the weather – look for warm-ups and get out.
Steelhead – Fish numbers are decent and should provide opportunity throughout the mild forecast winter.
Spring Steelhead – Typically starting late March and extending through April – got your dates secured?

Betsie, boardman, fishing, fly fishing, hex nymph, manistee, rivers, steelhead, swinging flies, tippy damn, trout

Late March/Early Spring Steelhead Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 24, 2015

It’s officially Spring! The first of the Cranes have migrated back to the river banks while the colder nights confirm that we are still in the very early part of the season.   Steelhead fishing has been a little slower than normal for this time of year since the number of fall fish that wintered over was lighter than normal and significant ice cover on the rivers this winter kept fresh steelhead migration to a minimum.

We have had a little increase in water flow as some warmer days reduced the snow pack and contributed to the river – clarity and levels are ideal right now. Water temps are in the high 30s and just barely nudging into the 40s on the Manistee and Betsie Rivers.  Cold nights are making for slow starts to the day but the sun helps warm up the water and angler alike – it feels good to be on the water again.

Look for fish to be holding out in winter water – that is, the bigger, deeper holes as fish wait for water temps to increase and to begin their spawning.  As more fresh fish move into rivers, look for them to share a lot of the same water as well as the transitional runs on the days when fish seem to be moving. An increase in water volume and warmer temps will really trigger a surge in migration as fish are near pier heads/river mouths waiting to move. Lately the better fly patterns have been Hex Nymphs, egg patterns in shades of orange and Stonefly Nymphs.

Good Luck.

Ted

The Spring Newsletter just went out – click here to read and/or subscribe.

Spring Steelhead –  From mid-March through early May on the Manistee and Betsie. Few dates available.
September Salmon – Dates are limited for fishing the Betsie River in early Sept. and later on the Manistee.
2015 Fishing – It isn’t too early to get your fishing trips planned for the year. Booking all species/seasons.

fishing report, fly fishing, hex nymph, manistee river, steelhead

A White Winter Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - January 17, 2014

It’s been a while since my last fishing report. Most of you know that Winter came in hard and a little early this year and we have barely had a break in the weather. The old saying, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,” might be appropriate as the week of sub-zero temps we experienced have made the days when the mercury rises into the 20s seem warm.

Those brave enough to get out have been able to find some winter steelhead in the local rivers (Manistee, Betsie, Boardman) thanks to the fall’s bountiful run. I imagine just about all the rivers on the West side of the state have a decent number of hold-over/winter steelhead in them. With water temps just over the freezing mark most fish are going to be condensed to the deeper holes and on the inside of any seam. Should there be some structure (wood) or rocks in it, all that much better – they feel safe in there and don’t have to fight the current as much. If fishing smaller rivers cover all those secondary holes on the way to the deeper ones but don’t spend too much time in there.

While the duck and chuck method will work this time of year, it’s the floating line with indicators/floats that seem to have the advantage as it gives you a better drag-free drift and can also help you suspend your flies above any wood or other snags in some slower water. For more on rigging, click here.

Winter – in my opinion – is a great time to fish a realistic hex nymph – they are relatively big, have good motion, and should be a realistic imitation.  Other flies that have done well for me in the winter include caddis – both in bright green and cream, hare’s ear nymphs, and always an egg pattern. Once the sun (remember the sun?) comes out a little more often be sure to have some small stone flies in your box.

Should the weather keep you from fishing there are plenty of things to do to keep you engaged in the sport: tying flies, reading books, watching dvds, cleaning out your vest and gear bag or even planning a trip or two.  Click here for some ideas on how to keep busy during real winters like the one we are experiencing. And if the winter-blues has you a little stir crazy grab your skis, snowshoes, or skates and get outside.

Good luck

Ted

Steelhead -With fish in local rivers Spring  steelhead fishing should start as soon as the weather changes.
2014 Fishing – It’s not too early to start booking your 2014 dates – reserve you place in the boat today.

boardman betsie, fly fishing report, fly tying, hex nymph, manistee, stone fly, winter steelhead
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