Hexagenia Info

afishinado said:
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Big Slate Drakes: The Hexagenia - Fly Fisherman

In search of the nymphs and emergers of this huge and important mayfly.
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A medium sized warm water stream near me gets em right below a huge dam that has probably 10 feet deep of “muck” trapped behind it for 300 yards upstream of the dam. Its a smallmouth, fall fish,panfish, and catfish, and stocked tiger musky fishery. I never stayed to spinner fall to see if smallies or panfish eat em on the surface or not.
 
Fish Sticks said:
A medium sized warm water stream near me gets em right below a huge dam that has probably 10 feet deep of “muck” trapped behind it for 300 yards upstream of the dam. Its a smallmouth, fall fish,panfish, and catfish, and stocked tiger musky fishery.
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Sounds like paradise! :)
 
Dave_W said:
Sounds like paradise! :)
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Mid august does seem to be when they hatch too now that i think about it. Gonna tie some glow in the dark strands I guess anyone looking for hexes just has to find a huge dam back filling with legacy sediment in many cases. Lancaster county must have alot of hexes. Wonder if that conowingo dam does too lol.
 
My friend who has land on the upper Tully sent me pictures from his land that look like hexes.
 
Fish Sticks said:
Mid august does seem to be when they hatch too now that i think about it. Gonna tie some glow in the dark strands I guess anyone looking for hexes just has to find a huge dam back filling with legacy sediment in many cases. Lancaster county must have alot of hexes. Wonder if that conowingo dam does too lol.
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I've wondered whether the sediment behind dams on the lower Susquehanna have an effect on the Hexagenias. The Hex hatch at the Columbia-Wrightsville bridge often makes the news, as enormous quantities are found there, and create hazardous driving conditions.

There are riffles right at the bridge, but just below that is Lake Clarke, backed up by Safe Harbor Dam. You can see this on internet mapping websites.

Are Hexes found in such enormous numbers in the free-flowing sections of the river that are not influenced by dams?

Also, are there many Hexes on the Juniata River?

I've seen some on Penns Creek, but not in large numbers.
 
Has anyone ever observed smallies eating em? I imagine they have too because they eat the white flies that hatch at roughly similar time of year. I’ve heard when white flies popping channel cats eat dries have never verified that one myself though.
 
Slippery Rock Creek gets them in August. Smallies love em...
 
I can say the Allegheny and Kiski get massive hatches. Solid hatches right down into Pittsburgh, but truly massive farther up, to the point sometimes you can't read gas pumps that are covered, and in places below lights they accumulate deep enough you need shovels to clean them up.

Yes, I have observed smallies eating them. In lesser hatches, I have also observed smaller fish feeding on the bugs while the smallies, muskies, etc feed on the smaller fishes that expose themselves surface feeding.
 
Good to know because I don’t think the breeches although famous for white and hex, has had fishable temps even by 10pm on alot of days recently. I night fish it a lot. when spinner fall would be starting is when I start usually but i’ve had to push back to 12 or 1 in past few years due to temps and maybe why I haven’t seen this hatch. Smallies probably an easier way to catch it. Joe Humphreys details some good wet fly fishing during this hatch in the breeches because all the fish are looking up, with all development in Cumberland county have to imagine back then that was a healthier possibly colder breeches? Who knows
 
Meck lists the Big Slate Drake on the Tully starting August 10th. That was posted July 16th.
 
JeffP said:
Meck lists the Big Slate Drake on the Tully starting August 10th. That was posted July 16th.
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Crazy how much earlier everything can be these days. I saw a few sulfurs in April this year. Tan caddis seem to get earlier and earlier too.
 
Nah, that's because the bug in the vid is a hexagenia limbata, not an audrocaudata. i.e. it is not a "big slate drake".

Limbatas come earlier, typically June and July. I know the Tully gets Limbata's, although not in what I would call impressive numbers for that bug. After all, this is the bug that causes bridges to need plowed, shows up on radar in many places, scares a bunch of Pirates fans, lol. It's probably the most legendary mayfly of them all.

I do not know if it gets audrocaudata's or not.
 
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My idea about Hex's and this is only an idea, is that it gets the bait fish out and looking up, which then activates the smallies. Along with that, I have ZERO doubt that a wriggling Hex nymph or a few big spinners on the surface wouldn't be snapped-up by any size of smallmouth. But I don't think I'd ever head out to the river with a Hex nymph or dry for smallies. I'm referring only to smallmouth because that's the only habitat that I see Hex's on , commonly and in my experience. I saw a Hex spinner at the Cranberry Wal-mart a few days ago but haven't seen good numbers elsewhere.
Syl
 
they are in good numbers in NW PA on smaller trout streams.
 
I live very close to the Conestoga River in Lancaster County. There will be a few days maybe in mid-August when I go for my morning run and there are Hex spinners hovering over the streets in my neighborhood.
 
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