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.
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This one pretty clearly keys to Kogotus, but it also looks fairly different from specimens I caught in the same creek about a month later in the year. With only one species of the genus known in Washington, I'm not sure about the answer to this ID.
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Report at a Glance
| General Region | Missouri Ozarks |
| Specific Location | n/a |
| Dates Fished | 9/9 |
| Time of Day | late afternoon, early evening |
| Fish Caught | about a dozen wild rainbows |
| Conditions & Hatches | Perfect. Various mayflies coming off, not any one really dominant bug, just the usual small stream variety. Water was up and plenty cold (59-62 degrees) |
Details and Discussion
Motrout on Sep 9, 2010September 9th, 2010, 2:48 pm EDT
Once again I went on the stream mentioned under the "warm water and it's affect on a small trout stream" thread. It's been pretty nice and cool lately in the Ozarks, with plenty of rain. The stream was really low the last time I fished it, but this time it was right at normal flow, or maybe even a little above. The fishing conditions just couldn't have been better. There was a light, but steady rain, and the air temp was in the upper 60s. The water temperatures were also perfect, ranging from the upper 50s to the low 60s.
Any place where there was a little bit of current I caught fish. This stream happens to have a lot of dead water, including a number of long, slow, unproductive pools that stretch for several hundred yards. That sounds like a bad thing, but it does serve to keep the fish in pretty predictable places.
The fish weren't selective at all (they rarely are on this creek) and I caught 10 or 12 fish on a Parachute Adams, size 14. As a rule, the fish were pretty small, but I did get a couple good ones in the 12-14 inch range. I also scared one fish that looked to be about 17 or 18 inches;that would have been a real trophy on this little stream. The fish were really looking up, even though there wasn't ever what you'd call a large number of bugs on the water. In any case, it was a lot of fun on a nice little creek. These fish went through hell from late-July through mid-August with the hot weather (I once recorded the water temp at 75 degrees, and a friend of mine told me he once saw it at 77) and the flows got to be desperately low. Still, it seems like a very good number of fish managed to survive that. I know at one point most of the fish were crammed into small spring-holes just trying to cling to life, and it's really encouraging to see them doing so well now. Trout are tough little critters.
Any place where there was a little bit of current I caught fish. This stream happens to have a lot of dead water, including a number of long, slow, unproductive pools that stretch for several hundred yards. That sounds like a bad thing, but it does serve to keep the fish in pretty predictable places.
The fish weren't selective at all (they rarely are on this creek) and I caught 10 or 12 fish on a Parachute Adams, size 14. As a rule, the fish were pretty small, but I did get a couple good ones in the 12-14 inch range. I also scared one fish that looked to be about 17 or 18 inches;that would have been a real trophy on this little stream. The fish were really looking up, even though there wasn't ever what you'd call a large number of bugs on the water. In any case, it was a lot of fun on a nice little creek. These fish went through hell from late-July through mid-August with the hot weather (I once recorded the water temp at 75 degrees, and a friend of mine told me he once saw it at 77) and the flows got to be desperately low. Still, it seems like a very good number of fish managed to survive that. I know at one point most of the fish were crammed into small spring-holes just trying to cling to life, and it's really encouraging to see them doing so well now. Trout are tough little critters.
"I don't know what fly fishing teaches us, but I think it's something we need to know."-John Gierach
http://fishingintheozarks.blogspot.com/
http://fishingintheozarks.blogspot.com/
PaulRoberts on Sep 25, 2010September 25th, 2010, 4:39 pm EDT
Nice report.
I often fish a generalized fly pattern, relying in presentation to do the catching. But, for me, the game gets much more interesting when I follow insect life. There are times, even on small relatively infertile waters, when the right fly can make a BIG difference. I live for that kind of intimacy with trout streams.
I often fish a generalized fly pattern, relying in presentation to do the catching. But, for me, the game gets much more interesting when I follow insect life. There are times, even on small relatively infertile waters, when the right fly can make a BIG difference. I live for that kind of intimacy with trout streams.
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