Back Lake Hex Hatch Update: 7/3

It was finally a beautiful evening on Back Lake last night. The wind was nearly non-existent, there was no threat of rain or thunderstorms (which we’ve seemingly had every evening so far), and the hexagenia limbata were coming off in abundance.

A funny thing thing happened on the way to catching fish however …

There were a lot of hexes hatching last night. It seemed to start around 7:30 and it grew in intensity right up until we couldn’t see anymore. This was the first night with these conditions after a reasonably warm day in Pittsburg. The hex hatch really fires up when we have hot, humid weather – it is this weather that triggers them to stir from the muddy bottom of the lake.

That was all good news, and quite a few of the hexes seemed to be making it off the lake to freedom (Braveheart reference). There were quite a few rises where the majority of the anglers were, so a fair amount of the hexes were being taken. What I and the boats around me found out is that the vast majority of the rising fish happened to be bass, not trout.

In fact, I saw one trout break the surface (it leapt out of the water about four feet after a fleeing hex) all night, and the cruising trout that are so common during the hex hatch simply weren’t there.

What’s happening? I’m not sure because there are plenty of trout in the lake, and the surface temp is still cooler than normal for this time of the year, so the trout should be in the upper water column, eagerly taking hatching hexagenia …

Perhaps it was the area of the lake that the majority of us were in (a historically great area of the lake to catch trout during the hex hatch), or the trout have yet to catch on that the floating buffet is upon them, but it will be interesting to see what happens the next several nights.

Our hottest and most humid weather yet is coming in the next few days, so hopefully the trout start coming to the surface and enjoying those hexes …