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The hexagenia limbata commonly referred to as simply the “hex”, the largest of the mayflies in the northwest. These mayflies are 1-2 inches long and once a year they hatch by the thousands on one of our local favorite fly fishing only lakes, Merrill Lake.

The hatch generally starts sometime in early July, and stretches through late August. The hatch is triggered by the hot summer days. This is one time of the year when the lakes lunker browns and wary rainbows lose caution when munching on the large insects making them an easier target for the angler.

The hexs begin emerging about an hour before dusk and will last several hours into darkness. Nymphs can be fished along the bottom before the bugs start coming off the water but when you see the bugs swarming all around you theirs your sign to change to the top water. Using an emerger cripple imitation can be especially productive due to the actions the bugs make trying to rid their nymph shell and dry their wings before being devoured and also a dun hex paradrake. If you don’t have any of the specific imitations try large sparkle duns, cripples, or adams flies. The hexs are very bright, they have yellow bodies, and a little yellow in their wings. So any similar shaped fly with yellow should produce. One of my favorite areas to fish in the lake is off the east shoreline, sticking pretty close to the shore. The shrubs growing in the water provide a good place for the bugs to thrive. But you will most likely find them emerging from the water on all parts of the shoreline. It is truly amazing watching the water bubble with huge mayflies trying to dry their wings and fly away, and watching the fish bringing death from below smashing the mayflies time after time. Last year I brought my girlfriend out for the hatch and she isn’t a veteran fly fisher by no means, and she even ended up landing 4 fish in one evening, in my opinion it is by far the best time to fish at Merrill. But I do warn you to be ready for a lot of false hook sets, and curse words to be shouted.

Good luck, see you out there.
-tight-lines.

If you want to leave the crowds behind, and aren’t afraid to put a few miles on your boots then head into the high country. Some of the best times I’ve had fishing was the 4th of July at about 4300ft elevation off of a snowy bank in a lake many miles from any pavement. The mountain lakes offer a great way to catch some very anxious fish, because of the lakes being covered in snow from the previous winter.

In early summer you can throw almost any sort of streamer fly and be ravagely attacked by cold water fish but later in the summer pay attention to the top water and what’s emerging off the surface. The very high lakes mostly hold brook trout that generally don’t grow to large size, but can be up to 18-20+ inches. Regardless of their size brook trout are some of the scrappiest fish I’ve come across. High lakes will also hold cut-throats, browns, and rainbows. The best tool you can bring in with you besides your fishing rod is a float tube, many of the lakes in early summer will be partially frozen yet with limited access from the bank. Typically early summer fish will be lethargic from the cold water requiring a slower presentation, typically sticking closer to the surface, and the shoreline will be your best bet. Some patterns that I’ve found successful this year already have been smaller size 6 bead head olive wollybuggers, size 6 and 8 crayfish patterns, size 6 white woolly buggers, with a 10 ft Umpqua 6lb leader, tippet usually not necessary. Something to remember is to keep the presentation to a slow retrieve. Often times these lakes will be gin clear and you will be able to see the fish slowly coming after the fly many times this will get people in trouble by setting the hook to soon, by watching trout bum diaries I’ve learned to say a little phrase “God save the queen” before setting the hook. But once there on the line the fish quickly wake up and the ride is on. Another method for fishing the lakes for larger fish is to slowly troll larger woolly buggers or egg sucking leeches with a sink tip, also finding inlets where small creeks flow in with structure can be very effective, calm areas unaffected by wind, shallower weed beds, and the downwind side of the lake where bait drifts too are some effective areas to keep an eye for. Its still early summer and some lakes are still frozen or access roads blocked by snow drifts, but you’ll never know until you get off your couch and go find out. Good luck to ya. Keep your hooks sharp and your tip up.

Your All Around Friendly Fly Fishermen- Lonny Brooks AKA Tight-Lines

Welcome to the fly fishing section of Fishing addicts Northwest. We hope to hear and learn about your insight in the sport of fly fishing. In these articles we take a no bull crap approach to the sport we love.

To be soundly educated in the sport of fly fishing, and be able to match knowledge with others you dang near have to live for the sport, sometimes it means sacrificing maybe some friends, time, money, jobs, and relationships (she’s not worth it). To the dedicated fly fisher finding the balance between chasing the steelhead in the upper east fork, locating the scrappy brookies in the small spring creeks, matching the hatch in a still alpine lake, and the trials of everyday life is often challenging. After all, once the addiction starts… it never stops. In our next month article we will be covering the preseason preparations for the June 1st opener.

by
-Lonny Brooks aka tight-lines
& Cody Lindberg aka troutbum89