Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin

Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata

The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.

Stream photos

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Pycnopsyche guttifera (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva Pycnopsyche guttifera (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

Dorsal view of a Pycnopsyche guttifera (Limnephilidae) (Great Autumn Brown Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington

This specimen appears to be of the same species as this one collected in the same spot two months earlier. The identification of both is tentative. This one suffered some physical damage before being photographed, too, so the colors aren't totally natural. I was mostly photographing it to test out some new camera setting idea, which worked really well for a couple of closeups.

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27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.

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Mayfly Genus Nixe

The only species currently in this genus reported to produce fishable hatches is Nixe lucidipennis.

Angling books sometimes mention hatches of Nixe criddlei and Nixe simpliciodes. These species have been moved to the genus Ecdyonurus.

Where & when

In 68 records from GBIF, adults of this genus have mostly been collected during July (53%), June (21%), August (16%), and May (6%).

In 7 records from GBIF, this genus has been collected at elevations ranging from 3 to 2722 ft, with an average (median) of 1781 ft.

Genus Range

source

Map of specific collection sites

Hatching behavior

These species hatch in or near the surface in calm water. Emergence is quite fast, but the duns may drift a while.

Spinner behavior

Time of day: Dusk

Habitat: Riffles

The female spinners oviposit by flying over the water and dropping down to the surface to release some eggs, then taking off to do it again. They eventually fall spent.

Start a Discussion of Nixe

References

Arbona, Fred Jr. 1989. Mayflies, the Angler, and the Trout. Nick Lyons Books.
Caucci, Al and Nastasi, Bob. 2004. Hatches II. The Lyons Press.
Knopp, Malcolm and Robert Cormier. 1997. Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera . The Lyons Press.