modern Michigan dry fly · date unknown
Polar Hex
Likely origin A single Fly Anglers Online page names Neve and gives the recipe, with no date.
History
Jay Neve, a commercial tyer from Bellevue, designed the Polar Hex for the Hex spinner fall. The Hex (Hexagenia limbata) is the largest mayfly on Michigan trout streams, and it hatches mostly after dark from late June into early July.
The fly has stripped ginger quill tails, a mixed brown and yellow body and sparse spent wings of polar bear hair; white calf tail works in its place. For the spinner fall, trim the hackle top and bottom so the fly lies flat in the film.
Materials
| Hook | Dry, sizes 2 to 6 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Yellow 6/0 |
| Tail | Two stripped ginger hackle quills |
| Wings | Polar bear hair, or white calf tail, tied spent and sparse |
| Body | Light brown and yellow poly dubbing, mixed |
| Hackle | Ginger |
Sources
- "Polar Hex." Fly of the Week, Fly Anglers Online, March 29, 2010.
- "Mayfly Species Hexagenia limbata (Hexes)." Troutnut.
Know more about this fly's history, or spot a mistake? Send a correction.
No photo yet. Every photo on michfly is of a fly tied for the site, so they're added a few at a time.
Original recipe cards for many Michigan patterns are kept at the Michigan Dry Flies archive, built by the late Tom Deschaine.