You've hiked long and hard through the hot afternoon to get to this
spot. As you clear through the brush and reach the quietly gurgling
river, you see precisely what you've been waiting for since your
morning cup of coffee back at camp. You stare across the slow riffle to
the slack pool on the opposite bank, and there in the glint of
low-angled sunlight, you see a cloud of yellow dancing above the water.
Fishing the spinner stage of a thick
Hexagenia
hatch can be an exciting hour for any angler, but it can also be a
frustrating one if the fish are feeding selectively and you don't have
the right fly in your box. The classic
Hexagenia Spinner pattern is a time-tested fly designed to imitate spent
Hexagenia
mayfly spinners. It's built for punishment with a prominent, reinforced
tail, thickly wrapped, segmented body, and thick hackle collars. When
that next epic
Hex fall is on at your favorite spot, be sure you've got a row of these old school yellow spinners in your fly box.
Specifications:
- An old school, time-tested fly pattern that's most effective when Hexagenia spinners are on the fall and selective trout are on the rise
- Hexagenia imitation in the spinner life stage
- Use as a realistic adult imitation when matching the hatch
- Dead drift the fly through slow water; lakes, backwater, and eddys are the most productive water types for this fly
- Best results are obtained just prior to or at dusk when Hexagenia are most actively returning to the water's surface to create mating swarms; these bugs can also return to the river to mate at other times of day, so be prepared to fish this pattern at a moment's notice
- Hexagenia can be an important hatch because of their sheer size, but particularly wary trout in calm water will often make subtle moves at these spinners
- SIZE 4
When and Where to Fish the Hexagenia Spinner
This
mayfly spinner is fished as a realistic imitation when matching the
hatch. Be prepared to fish this fly in slow backwaters and eddys just
before dusk or a bit earlier on cloudy days – this is the time when Hexagenia
adults will most commonly return to the river to create mating swarms.
Always be prepared to fish a Hex spinner fall, however, as they can
return to the river at any time throughout a day of fly fishing. When
fishing the spinner portion of the Hexagenia
hatch, look for slower pockets of water above faster riffles and runs
as well as areas that may provide good cover for big fish venturing
into calm territory to snatch up a spent bug.
How to Fish the Hexagenia Spinner
Fish
this fly in very slow water; backwaters and eddys below faster water
are prime real estate for these large spent mayflies. When feeding
trout are keyed in on spent Hexagenia
spinners, fish the water carefully and aim for specific rises as wary
trout in slow water with little cover may not want to make a giant
commotion. When fishing this fly pattern in a lake or river
environment, don’t be afraid to “twitch” the fly during the
presentation by gently moving the rod tip up and down or feeding line
back and forward through the guides with your stripping hand. When Hexagenia
fall to the water's surface as spent insects, they ride high in the
surface film, so it's important to keep the fly as dry as possible;
adding an extra false cast or two can rid the fly of extra water. Dry
fly floatant also works well.
Hexagenia
Hexagenia,
brown to light yellow in color, are giant mayflies that occur in North
American trout water from the Midwest to the Northeast. In the West,
these large insects are only locally distributed through in thin
populations in the Pacific states of California, Oregon, and
Washington. During the larval stage, Hexagenia create shelter by digging burrows in soft, muddy substrate in slow moving water of rivers and lakes. Hexagenia
follows the life stages of a typical mayfly life cycle and hatches in
the Western United States from spring (May) to late summer (August). Hexagenia
in the eastern states are often referred to as the “Great Leadwinged
Drake” and are most active in the Midwestern to the Northeastern United
States from June to September. Western species of Hexagenia are often called the “Big Yellow May.”
Hexagenia Spinner Life Stage
During
their emerger life stage, these insects leave the safety of their muddy
burrows and begin their relatively slow hatch to winged adult duns. In
river systems, these giant nymphs call low energy backwaters and eddys
home and as emergers, they don’t venture too far away from their larval
environments. “Hex” nymphs
require the muddy substrate of these environments to create their
protective burrows, so look for emergent, crippled and adult insects in
these areas. As newly hatched winged adults, Hexagenia
mayflies get off to a slow start, often pausing for a few moments on
the water's surface prior to flying away to nearby vegetation to seek
suitable mates. These bugs will remain in these hidden patches of
brushy cover for up to two days before returning to the river to mate.
During the mating process, males will create large mating swarms into
which females will fly to be fertilized. The fertilized females will
deposit their eggs on the water's surface and then fall into the drift
as spinners along with the spent males. Feeding trout will key in on
these spinners, so be prepared to fish to specific rises as soon as the
first females begin to fall from the sky.
Leland on Umpqua
In
1972 a man named Dennis Black and his fly tying skills found themselves
in high demand. Mr. Black, then a professional production fly tyer, was
famous in the industry for his unsurpassed skill and speed with
whipping up tremendously beautiful and precisely constructed flies. It
wasn’t long until this young fly tying superstar realized that he ought
to take his consistent approach to quality to the next level. Shortly
after this realization, a small army of fly tyers had banded together
to support Mr. Black’s vision. With the likes of Dave Whitlock, Jack
Dennis, and Andy Puyans, Mr. Black was officially in business.
Dennis
Black’s new company Umpqua Feather Merchants quickly extended its reach
and fly production capabilities with expansion into India, Sri Lanka,
and Thailand, where the world’s first and full blown “fly tying
factories” were built. Since those early days, only the highest
standard of excellence has marked Umpqua and this commitment to quality
and efficiency continues to spur the company forward. Dennis Black’s
innovative vision for “fly production” has truly revolutionized how the
fly industry operates and has ultimately made the majority of
production flies better. From the first “royalty system” for rewarding
the most creative professional fly tyers to streamlining production
systems and offering a range of other products, Umpqua Feather
Merchants just seems to “do it all.”
Today, Umpqua Feather
Merchants is without a doubt the world’s best and most prolific
supplier of hand tied fly fishing flies as well as fly tying hooks and
materials, and they recently got better! Umpqua’s brand new, state of
the art headquarters in Louisville, Colorado marks another paradigm
shift in the way fly tying business is done. From its vast warehouse to
its specially designed inventory management and tracking system, Umpqua
is poised to continue its energetic trajectory and lead the way for the
next generation of flies and fly tyers.
Umpqua on Umpqua
"As
you may or may not know, we're the largest producer of quality
hand-tied flies in the world. We also make available through your local
fly shop a wide array of the finest fly-tying hackle and Tiemco hooks.
At
Umpqua we offer everything the angler needs to a have a first class
fishing experience. (Everything that is, but the water and the fish.)"
Umpqua on Dennis Black and the “Obvious Quest”
“The
idea first took shape in the hands of our founder, Dennis Black, back
in 1972. As a fast and facile professional fly tyer, Dennis was known
for his skill and speed at producing hundreds of dozens of flies each
year for the larger mail order houses. But he was also quick to realize
how fast the demand for excellent flies would outstrip the abilities of
cottage industry types like him.
The Obvious Quest: To create
excellent flies in sufficient supply – without sinking his standards.
In response, Dennis developed (with characteristic care) a methodical
plan: First, he enlisted the tying expertise of the likes of Dave
Whitlock, Jack Dennis, Andy Puyans and others, to help him set the
standard of excellence for Umpqua flies.
Next, Dennis
established the first of what would eventually be five separate
fly-tying “factories,” first in India, then in Sri Lanka, and finally
in Thailand. The primary focus at each of these factories was on
producing the very best fishing flies possible, constructed of the very
best materials available. From the beginning, the quantity of flies
produced was secondary to the quality and excellence of each fly
pattern. These high standards were assured by the personal involvement
of the fly designers themselves, and by the ever-increasing skill,
imagination and creativity of the Umpqua production fly tiers. Today,
you will find no flies more skillfully tied than those available from
Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Finally, Dennis created a system of
royalty payments, to reward professional tyers like Whitlock, Lefty
Kreh, Randall Kaufman, Larry Dahlberg, and Bob Popovics for uniquely
good patterns.
The Result: Today, Umpqua produces umpteen
thousand dozen flies, from micro-scopic midge imitations to the huge
patterns favored by marlin and sailfish. And the "Umpquality" – you’ll
see for yourself.”
