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Posts tagged "hex nymph pattern"

Late December Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - December 23, 2024

As December winds down, so does the year. Thanks to all of you who got into the boat this past year and spent some time fishing for the so many different species we luckily have in our watersheds – it was a privilege to guide you and spend some time together on the water.

For those still looking to get out, you might find the warm-up in this week’s forecast will give you the excuse to get away from the visiting in-laws and chase after some steelhead on the local rivers.

Conditions remain ideal for this time of year. With the cold weather the past week, water temperatures are in the mid to upper 30s. Look for fish to be on the inside of the bubble line or even tail-outs of runs if there is some sun out. Deeper, slow holes with structure from wood and or ledges are classic winter spots worthy of fishing thoroughly.

I’m always a fan of fishing an egg or bead with a nymph this time of year and as long as the water is clear my first choices are pale orange or even bleached patterns like Oregon cheese. Nuke eggs and rag style eggs tied in subtle colors are more natural looking. Size 8 eggs and 8 mm beads would likely be your best bet. Nymphs would include green caddis in #10, hex nymphs and steelhead buggers.

Happy Holidays and all the best to you on and off the water in the New Year!

Ted

 

The annual newsletter has just gone out. If you aren’t subscribed, you can read (and subscribe) here.

Spring Steelhead – A few dates remain available for Spring 2025 in March and April – “think Spring”
2025 Fishing Season – It’s not too early to look ahead to next year and get your dates planned and secured.
Gift Certificates – Available for Half or Full Day Guide Trips or a Casting Lesson making perfect gifts for anglers

fishing, fishing guide, fly fishing, gift certificates, green caddis, hex nymph pattern, nuke egg pattern, steelhead fishing, traverse city

“Winter Time, and the fishing isn’t easy”

Posted by Ted Kraimer - January 18, 2020

It’s been a see-saw winter with snow, mild temps, more snow, etc. But the calendar notes it is January and any chance to get out and fish this time of year should be considered a bonus.

Despite the warm-ups, the water temperatures on local rivers remain in the lower 30s. Whether you are looking to fish for trout or steelhead, the name of the game is to fish the slower water where fish are kind of doing the equivalent of hibernating. When a fly comes into their window, they have plenty of time to inspect it so leader size and realistic patterns can make the difference.

If fishing streamers for trout, small sink-tips or floating lines with heavily weighted flies is a good approach for a while until things warm up.

Steelhead anglers will find that fishing under a float or indicator might provide the best drag-free presentation right now; fishing a realistic and action-enhanced hex nymph pattern is one of my favorite flies to tie on this time of year.

Not into winter fishing? Here are some ideas on how to spend the new couple of months until the white landscape is replaced with green.

Good luck.

Ted

June’s Big Bugs – With summer comes some of our best dry fly fishing – don’t miss the Drakes, ISOs and Hex
Fall Steelhead – Spring season is almost all booked so be sure to get your fall dates before they too are gone.
2020 Fishing Season – We are booking dates through 2020 – don’t miss the prime times.

2020 fishing season, fall steeelhead, fly tying, hex nymph pattern, local rivers, steelhead fishing, winter, winter fishing

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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