Senyo's Shadow Hex

The Shadow Hex is a Hexagenia imitation by Greg Senyo, a Pennsylvania-born steelhead tyer known for his synthetic materials and his book Fusion Fly Tying. He now lives in Michigan and is part of the staff at Schultz Outfitters, the southeast Michigan shop on the Huron River. The shop published a video of him tying the fly and sells a Shadow Hex tying kit, which went on sale in summer 2026.

Senyo built it around Shadow Fibers, one of the newer synthetics he ties with, and calls it a quick tie, simple enough to put together at the truck before an evening on the water. A twisted bundle of fibers makes a segmented body, a ragged tail doubles as a trailing shuck, and a folded foam back keeps it afloat. A trimmable wing of Widow's Web serves as a sighter, and by leaving the wing up or setting it spent, the same fly can stand in for a dun or a spinner.

The Huron has a Hex hatch of its own, far from the better-known northern Michigan rivers. Schultz Outfitters' river report lists Hex among the Huron's notable hatches, an Ypsilanti tourism article puts Hexagenia among its midsummer hatches, and a 2009 True North Trout post recalls big smallmouth taken on it after dark. No source found yet says in so many words that Senyo designed the Shadow Hex for the Huron. It is listed with the Huron because it comes from a Michigan-based tyer at the river's best-known fly shop.