Header image
Enter a name
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.

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.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Photos by Troutnut

Beautiful almost 19" brown.
Feisty 17" brown
Swans on the Namekagon

Comments / replies

Martinlf
Martinlf's profile picture
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047
Martinlf on Sep 14, 2019September 14th, 2019, 4:37 pm EDT
Nice work. School has me too busy to fish right now, so I'm enjoying your trips. Dries, nymphs, streamers?
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Sep 21, 2019September 21st, 2019, 6:34 pm EDT
Awesome photos. Do you enhance the colors with some editing software?
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Troutnut
Troutnut's profile picture
Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Sep 22, 2019September 22nd, 2019, 4:18 am EDT
This trip was all streamers. Caught four pretty good browns and missed several others. The water was high from recent rains, over 2X the normal flow for this time of year.

The colors are fairly natural. All digital photos have "enhanced" colors, whether manually or automatically behind the scenes, but I try to get them as close as possible to what I remember in-person. That big brown was gorgeous.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist

Quick Reply

Related Discussions

Topic
Replies
Last Reply
5
Mar 17, 2019
by Dmcwil01
3
Mar 27, 2013
by JOHNW
Troutnut.com is copyright © 2004-2024 (email Jason). privacy policy