8 Essential Items for a Hex Trip

Hex fishing is what we love to do. Something we look forward to all year. Whether you are new to the hex game or not, here’s a list of 8 things you should absolutely have before you hit the water!

1. A Headlamp

For the love of God, do not try and stumble around the river at night without a light. A headlamp is a safety thing, more so than a fishing aid. There’s a huge variety to chose from when to comes to headlamps and anyone of them is better than none. I personally would suggest getting one that’s at least 300 lumens, that also has a red light feature. Red lights are great for tying on new flies and orientating yourself without blinding anyone else on the river or affecting your own night vision.

Now some things to remember. When it comes to headlamps, for the sake of all of us, do not fish with your headlamp on full blast. As a matter of fact don’t fish with your headlamp on at all. Fish won’t rise when you’re blasting a theater grade spotlight at them. Honestly, I don’t even know if that’s true, but I never wanted to be the idiot on the river trying to test it and find out. So use the red light when you need to see. I personally think it’s acceptable to turn your main light on when you are trying to land a fish. Lights are also acceptable when taking a QUICK photo. Other than that, the only other acceptable time to turn on your main light is when you are leaving the river and heading back to you car.

2. The Correct Rod and Reel

Who would’ve thought, you can’t fly fish without a fly rod. But in all seriousness, you should make sure you have the right gear for what your doing. And this is all about setting you up for success. Don’t make your night a living hell by showing up to the river with a 3 weight or 4 weight. You want a rod with a bit more backbone, and something that can turn over those bigger hex flies. If you have a 5 weight, I’m not going to tell you to get a new rod. But, I definitely wouldn’t show up with anything less than a 5. I think a 6 weight is the perfect hex rod. Enough backbone to horse in a large trout in the dark. And also the strength and line weight to really turn over those big flies with ease. Plus if there are no bugs, a 6 weight makes a great mousing rod.

3. Bug Spray

Let me just start with this. Bug spray is the most economical choice when it comes to keeping the mosquitos off you. It’s cheaper than buying a $50 bug resistant hoodie, and dropping another $40 on finger-less gloves. Now, some warnings. Yes, deet will destroy some of the other things you carry for fly fishing. NEVER spray bug spray on your headlamp, and NEVER spray it on your fly line. Honestly, just don’t spray it on or near anything plastic. It seems to really eat through plastic based things. Which makes you wonder what it does to your body? If you’re that nervous and don’t have a specialized bug hoodie, you can try to just power through the mosquitos. I know some old guys that tried to tell me they don’t get bit. They’re lying though, the mosquitos get BAD, and twenty bites on each hands is not a good time.

4. Fly Selection

You need flies to fish a hatch right? You’re mostly fishing the spinner fall here, but sometimes duns pop up at the same time. So should you use a spinner pattern? A parachute? Have both? Obviously it doesn’t hurt to have both. But I’ve found that certain patterns seem to work no matter what stage the bugs are at. A lot of Y wing Catskill style hex patterns seem to work for both stages. A Troutsmens Hex, Ed McCoy’s Boondoggle Hex Spinner, or our very own Scorpion Style Hex is all you really need. Hex shouldn’t be all you carry though. Be prepared, have some isonychia patterns, some brown drakes, some stones, and maybe even some sulfurs. If the big bugs don’t show up, those big trout will still feed on something. But I still like to keep it light, one small tin filled with whatever flies I think could make an appearance. It’s getting dark and I’m not going to fumble around through my pack looking for flies.

5. Short Heavy Leaders

This is the time for the low Xs. 3x at the very least, but I would suggest 2x to 0x. It’s dark, the diameter of the leader doesn’t matter. You just want something strong to horse these fish in with, and something a little stiffer to turn the flies over. You don’t want to play a 20+ inch fish on 5x in the dark, you want to just pull that sucker in. You also want to shorten your leaders. While presentation still matters, you don’t need 9 feet here. Shit, some of these fish wont even be 9 feet away from you. Get 7 and a half feet…and maybe even cut it down. A set up I like is a 1x leader cut down to 7 ish feet, you can tie on a foot to two feet of 3x tippet when it’s still light out for any isonychias that may appear before it gets dark. Once it gets dark…cut off all of the 3x tippet, and tie your hex on.

6. Something to Carry Your Gear

You need something to carry all of this stuff. For years I tried to manage with just the pouch in my waders. It’s still a lot to try and fit. I try to pack light, and keep things condensed. As I stated before, I don’t want to be fumbling through my pack in the dark. While I still usually bring my pack (because I now feel naked fishing without it)…I keep everything I need condensed and in front of me. A great idea would be some sort of lanyard system. But who makes such a lanyard that can hold your tin and all of your other essentials like tippet, floatant, nippers, forceps, etc. Oh we do! Our Deluxe Lanyard is perfect for hex fishing. Everything you really need is right in front of you and you don’t need to open any pockets, not even a wader pocket!

7. A Good Sturdy, Virtually Indestructible Net

You thought we’d go through this without plugging our net? Fat chance. You’re fishing for big trout here. 20 and upwards to 30 inches! You’re not landing these guys with you hand. Especially in the dark. Minimum three nets. Okay, I’m joking a little, but you definitely need at least ONE net. So get a net, and bring a net. Tell your friends to get a net too. There’s always one guy who just ends up being the net man the whole trip anyways. Which net do I recommend for hex trips? If you’re wading the Reach is the perfect size. The little bit of extra handle and hoop really helps out in the dark when trying to land a fish fast. You could go with the Reach XL if you want a little deeper bag. If you’re floating, the Drift would be the go to.

8. Good Company

It’s always better fishing with some friends. And it makes these long late nights a hell of a lot more enjoyable. I get it if you like to be by yourself. I do too. But even as a grown man, I don’t like being on a remote river in the pitch black by myself. Some of these hex nights require a lot of waiting, and that can get boring if you’re all alone. Plus, more friends means more hands on deck to net that trophy you’re going to catch! And now you have a photographer with you too! But be courteous, don’t show up with 10 guys and 30 pack. This isn’t canoe camp. Keep it to 3 guys and a pint or two. Enjoy yourself, have a good time, but respect the river, respect yourself, and everyone else trying to do the same thing you are.

-Nick