Watters Foam Hex – built for time and hope

Watters Foam Hex

Show

Tying Instructions

1. Prepare the foam by trimming a 3/8″ section from a 1/16″ thick yellow closed foam sheet. Trim the foam with a tapered section on each side of the strip. This will give a taper to the extended body.

2. Attach a sewing needle to the vise and secure the midpoint of the foam strip through the needle. Secure the thread to the needle with some wraps and position the thread where you want to create the first division..

3. Wrap around the foam 3-4 times with tight wraps creating the first division, then bring the thread in front of the division and wrap a few times around the needle until you get to the next division position.

4. Continue to create divisions until you have five equally spaced ones. Then whip finish and put a few half hitches into the last division of foam to secure the thread.

5. Re-orient the needle on the vise so the the eye is exposed. Tailing material can be fed through the eye. All you need is about 1/4″ of material going through the eye but you’ll also want about 2″ extending from the other side. Once the tailing material is fed throught the eye, remove the needle from the vise and pull the foam material through the eye. The foam piece should have some of the tailing material exposed and you can lengthen this by pulling on it. Once you have the length, anchor the tailing material to the foam with an application of head cement at the base.

6. Attach the hook to the vise and secure the thread to the shank wrapping the thread to just in front of the barb. This will be the location for another foam division anchored to the shank.

7. Wrap 4-5 times, creating the division than bring the thread forward to the shank, wrapping forward a few times until you get to the final division location, which is just past midshank.

8. Create the last division with 4-5 wraps, then trim off the excess. Clip the corners off the excess to create less bulk.

9. Secure the tag end of the foam with thread wraps,

10. Clip off a section of Deer or Elk Hair. Clean out the underfur and even the tips in a hair stacker. Remove the hair from the stacker with your left hand and position the material so that the hair does not exceed the length of the hook when anchored at the end of the body. Wrap 3-4 times, holding the material in place so that it does not slip around the shank. Clip the excess hair off at an angle behind the eye.

11. Secure the butt ends of the hair with thread wraps. Obtain a hackle that is sized for the hook. Clean off some barbs at the base of the hackle and secure the hackle front of the hair wing.

12. Wrap the hackle 6-8 times, each wrap just in front of the other. Secure the tag end with thread wraps and clip off the excess.

13. Mount extra-small mono eyes just behind the hook eye with figure eight thread wraps. Mark the body for coloration. Whip Finish.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 2302 #8
Thread	Danville Yellow 6/0
Body	3mm Yellow Foam
Tail	2 strandsPearl Krystal Flash
Wing	Yellow Dyed Deer Body Hair
Hackle	Yellow Dyed Grizzly Hackle
Hackle	Extra Small Black Mono eyes

Watters Foam Hex

The Watters Foam Hex is designed by Ken Watters. This is a good foam body hex pattern that can be adapted as a Dun, Para-dun, or Spinner. Foam is an excellent choice for body material on a large surface fly which will sit in the water for some time. The primary Hex hatch ( Hexagenia limbata) within the Sierra is Butt Valley Reservoir and Lake Almanor. The hatch occurs during the evening hours from Mid-June to Mid-July.

Most will fish from Float tubes using nymphs during the early hours of the evening but a good dry fly opportunity exists once the hatch come off, usually by 9:00 pm. The hatch can be of a short duration. Ken’s fly is marketed by Sierra Fly Company of Roseville, CA. Some shops, such as The Fly Shop in Redding, carry it.

Foam Hex, Parachute

Hook	TMC 2302 #8
Thread	Danville Yellow 6/0
Body	3mm Yellow Foam
Thorax	Bright Yellow Hareline Dubbing
Tail	2 strands Med Dun Microfibbett
Wing	Yellow Dyed Deer Body Hair
Hackle	Yellow Dyed Hackle

Foam Hex, Spinner

Hook	TMC 2302 #8
Thread	Danville Yellow 6/0
Body	3mm Yellow Foam
Tail	2 strands Med Dun Microfibbett
Wing	Yellow Dyed Deer Body Hair