Dry FlyintermediateGreat Lakes
Hex (Hexagenia)
$5.95
Available Sizes#4 - #8
Color Variations
Yellow/CreamTan
Once a year, in June, the largest mayflies in North America emerge from Michigan rivers at dusk, and every brown trout over twenty inches loses its mind. You fish the Hex hatch in the dark, by sound, casting toward splashes you can barely see. It is the closest fly fishing gets to a horror movie, and it is absolutely magnificent.
Meet the Tier
Greg Schultz
Schultz Outfitters
Ypsilanti, MI
Resident fly tying expert at Schultz Outfitters (founded by Mike Schultz, 2003). Orvis Fly Tier of the Year (2008). Greg's steelhead, trout, and smallmouth patterns are trusted across Michigan's Great Lakes tributaries.
Orvis Fly Tier of the Year (2008), Orvis contract tier, resident fly tying expert
Meet All Our TiersQuick Facts
TypeDry Fly
Difficultyintermediate
SeasonsSummer
Target SpeciesBrown Trout
Sizes#4 - #8
Best LocationsAu Sable River, MI; Pere Marquette River, MI; Manistee River, MI
Where to Fish It
Au Sable River
MI · Freestone River
Pere Marquette River
MI · Freestone River
Manistee River
MI · Freestone River
Map unavailable. Locations for Hex (Hexagenia): Au Sable River, MI; Pere Marquette River, MI; Manistee River, MI
Related Reading
region guide
Great Lakes Fly Fishing: From Hex Hatches to Musky
The Great Lakes region offers a staggering diversity of fly fishing — from legendary Hex hatches on northern Michigan rivers to chrome steelhead on Lake Erie tributaries and trophy muskellunge in the bays. This is the complete guide to fishing the freshwater coast.
seasonal playbook
The Summer Guide: Long Days and Willing Fish
Summer is fly fishing's season of abundance. Sixteen-hour days, prolific hatches, aggressive fish, and the full spectrum from mountain trout to saltwater flats. This is your playbook for making the most of the warmest, longest, most generous months of the fishing year.
hatch guide
The Complete Guide to Mayfly Hatches
Mayflies are the foundation of trout-stream entomology. This guide covers every major hatch — BWOs, PMDs, Green Drakes, Sulphurs, Tricos, and Hendricksons — with the biology, timing, and fly selections you need to fish them effectively across the country.
hatch guide
The Hex Hatch: After Dark on the Great Lakes
The Hex hatch is the defining event of Great Lakes fly fishing — a massive emergence of North America's largest mayfly that happens after dark and brings the biggest brown trout of the year to the surface. This is how to prepare for, find, and fish the most anticipated hatch in the Midwest.
technique
Water Temperature: The Master Variable
Water temperature controls everything. Metabolism, feeding intensity, insect emergence, dissolved oxygen, where fish hold, and whether they'll eat your fly. Understanding thermal dynamics across freshwater and saltwater systems is the single most reliable way to predict fishing quality before you even leave the truck.
technique
After Dark: The Night Fishing Guide
The largest brown trout in any river feeds almost exclusively at night. The biggest smallmouth in your favorite river moves into the shallows after dark. And the redfish on the marsh flat feed through the night on every tide. Night fishing is where trophy hunters go when they get serious — here's how to join them.
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