Back Lake Hex Hatch Update: 6/27

So, we’re just about a week through the annual hex hatch at Back Lake, or “the most wonderful time of the year”, if you’re an angler. We probably have at least a week of solid hatching activity left ahead of us, and then a slow dwindling of the hatch after that.

The last two nights out on the lake have displayed some commonalities as well as some differences. First, the things that were the same.

The nightly timing of the hatch is late, with the heaviest activity happening from 8:45 onward. Not so many hexes coming off before that, but then the witching hour comes, and it’s on like donkey kong. Lots of bugs coming off last night as darkness started to take over, and lots of working fish too …

The majority of the fish taken on top have been bass (some decent sized ones too), but our boat landed three nice trout last night – two brawling rainbows and a brown. The Popcorn Hex worked well for me, and it was the size of a kernel by the end of the night. The Sparrow also was a good pattern early on, when most of the activity was primarily subsurface.

Last night’s weather was a departure from the night before. While Thursday night was mostly calm and pleasant, the wind was gusting with the threat of a storm last night. Much like the Big Bad Wolf, it huffed and puffed, but never quite blew our house down. We found a more sheltered side of the lake to ply our wares, and the fish were there in numbers and seeing our offerings.

Speaking of weather, we have a more seasonable (70’s) week ahead, but there’s a chance of thunderstorms nearly every night coming up. Choose your spots wisely to be out there, and come in fast if there’s thunder – the weather changes very fast on the lake.

Observations …

I have noticed only a few hex coming off earlier in the night in the last week. The vast majority come off as daylight fades, from 8:45 – 9:15 PM, and while some are undoubtedly ending up as a dinner guest for a fish, there’s more than a few that make their escape. They come off in great numbers during difficult light conditions – clearly a biological response for some hexes to be able to lay eggs for next year’s crop. The fish can’t get them all.

The timing of this year’s hatch seems to be right on schedule, and far earlier than last year’s July 4th emergence. June 20 to July 4 is the usual timeline for the hatch, and it really seemed to begin on June 21 this year.

Finally, we saw several large caddis also hatch last night, and Cindy was positively giddy. I can see her throwing a large Gray Hornberg the next time she’s out there …