Hex Emerger

Tied and Submitted by: Brian Kozminski

Materials:

Hook Mustad 37160 #6-12

Dubbing: Hare-tron Golden Brown and OliveTan

Tail: Pheasant

Carapace: Turkey and underlay of Pheasant plume

Rib: fine copper wire

Wing: Deer Hair, stacked and flared(color- your choice)

Under-Wing: 3mm foam(tan, grey, brown)

Hackle: Bugger hackle- two colors- one Grizzly, one dun or cream(your choice again)

Thread:  UTC  ultra Denier 140 or 8/0 olive

 

‘ODE TO MR JOHN’

Every town has them, some more famous than other, yes. But when one mentions former booming logging towns like Deward, Grayling, Lovells, and Luzerne, iconic tyers with names like Roberts,  Smock, Finnie,  Madsen, Stephan,  Borcher  and most recently Gates come to mind. But I am located on the other side of the state, in a little town named after our state gem (which is really a fossil)- where a gent named Swartout tied for “The Judge” up on his French Pond many decades ago. Times have changed, our thirst for information on the internet superhighway has deleted the need to seek information at the local café or pry information from the bartender at your local watering hole. All the while, cost effective patterns from either S. Africa or binomial Eastern Countries that have rhyming names, can cheaply fill your fly box, but you get what you pay for.

                I met Sheets a few years ago, he kindly asked  to assist a tying class I was instructing at a local hotel. I didn’t know what I was in for when I accepted his offer to audit the class, his skills were far beyond that of my own and I quickly became the Padawan pupil and penciled many notes from my newly acquired Jedi Master. We have travelled many river miles chasing glorious denizens of N. Michigan coldwater streams, often accompanied  by the soundtrack of Ryan Adam’s(NOT ‘Cut’s Like a Knife’) or Greg Brown’s Yellow Dog-“Laughing River”. Many of those journeys we have pulled around the corner on ‘E’ and witnessed the lights go out on the only gas station around for many miles and amazed at the acrobatic talents of spooked raccoons that can instantly flip a 360 when startled. But our bond is the feathers and fur we tie. His patterns have been to Alaska, Florida, Montana and recently to the rugged terrain of Chile. His patterns and ideas are innovative and yet simple, I have learned many a trick of the trade watching him work at his vise.  One afternoon he pops over at my house and exclaims-

“ I got an idea and I have to try it out! Let me at your vise-”

“be my guest.”

Five minutes later he produces a fly that any self-respecting finned fellow would gladly gnaw on. This is one of those many occasions that has developed a top producing fly in both our boxes. It is simply the “Hex Emerger”- but we tie it in many sizes and colors to cover any mayfly emergence, try it as a drake, get daring and go as small as you can for hennies or other flies in your region.

If you want flies that will catch fish on the North Branch, you can purchase a few dozen imports from Bong Bong for around $30 and take your chances, or take the time and talk to your bartender, waiter, fly shop owner, maybe even the chef, and they might find you worthy enough to hook you up with a pattern that few know or even heard of. Trust them that fly may work wonders  on the waters that they fish, the choice is yours- support local.

Tight Lines,

Koz