good piece on Czech nymphing

[RobJeeves]

www.bishfish.co.nz/articles/fresh/czechnymph.htm

I have used this technique with pretty good success. Mostly with only 2 nymphs as with 3 it can become more work the fishing is supposed to be. Also something that they do not mention in the article… you can pin a plastic bead (egg pattern) about 3 inches above the top fly of the brace and you have one more "bait" being shown to the fish.
Using this technique with 2 anglers you can really cut down on how long it takes to find the "hot" fly for that day. Once the hot fly is found I usually just switch to that fly until it cools off. Anyway hope it helps someone.

[Nick Pionessa]

first off, welcome to the board.

i have not used the specific technique with much success and i feel it doesn't do well on our small streams because the angler has to get too close the the spot. it seems more suited to bigger faster water where the fish are approachable. of course we do have some opportunity to do it here on the bigger waters.

a friend and i fished a small stream this spring with him using the czech technique and he did get a couple of fish but both were after the dead drift and when the fly was swinging downstream. we did have great success fishing nymphs with a tiny indicator and staying back from the water and casting the indy/dropper rig upstream and drifting it through the run. adjusting the depth for each run and kneeling down back away for the creek and making longer casts.

what i honestly don't understand, aside form the three flies, is how this technique differs from standard, old school, high stick nymphing technique. it looks the same to me and i haven't read anything about it that defines it's difference other than it was being done in the parallel universe of europe instead of the US. seems more like a title difference than a technique difference to me, even after reading the posted article.

[DejonHamann]

Many Americans, if not Europeans, are still trying to define and understand these methods. "Euro Nymphing" is a term I see being used more and more to group the closely related techniques like: Czech Nymphing, Polish Nymphing, Spanish Nymphing, French Nymphing.

And yes, many of them are very similar to "High Sticking" - especially the Polish Technique. And yes, many of the closer range techniques do not translate well to our local waters.

However, like so many of our higher level angling practices, the really good stuff lies in the subtle differences between the techniques. Each one has a different place and time and utilizes different leader lengths and construction, proximity to fish, water depth & speed, etc. etc.

True Czech Nymphing is the most aggressive and least limited, range wise, of the practices. You need to get literally within a rods length of the fish. First intended for fast, riffle knee high Grayling water is adapts well to any piece of water where you can get that close and not spook the fish.

The real key to Czech Nymphing is that you are "leading" the flies through the water column at varying paces faster than the current. This is done with about one foot of fly line out the tip of the rod, and 3 often heavily weighted flies tied on droppers. The technique takes place completely upstream of the angler with "casts" occurring on a frequency of every 1-3 seconds. "Flip, Splash, Draw. Flip, Splash, Draw."

I rarely use the Czech Nymphing style in our area. Mostly variations on French or Spanish, but honestly Dry/Dropper is usually the best approach. There are definitely sections of rivers, certain riffle runs, and oddly enough fishing the reservation for Steelhead Juvies where it is very effective though.

[Nick Pionessa]

JH thanks for some clarification on the subject. i was not aware of the addition of the lead in fishing the flies czech style. in american nymphing (i just coined that so remember ) it is typically done by just letting it swing after the dead drift rather than imparting action during the drift.

[RobJeeves]

Thanks for the welcome Nick
Yeah the Czech deal is pretty cool if the water you are fishing is good for it. Some times when using this technique I felt like I was fishing with that Japanese rig where the line is the length of the rod and attached to the tip…know what I mean? They just lift the tip and keep the line tight. Anyway as JH said aboveit is effective in the correct type of water. I just moved back to Buffalo after spending 15 years in NC fishing those little freestoners that come right of the mountain. I hardly ever had more the 3 or 4 feet of flyline out… arm and hand raised over head keeping the line tight as the flies shot through the little pockets. Deadly approach if you are stealthy enough.
JH you hit the nail on the head with this description! That is a great way to explain it:
“The real key to Czech Nymphing is that you are leading the flies through the water column at varying paces faster than the current. This is done with about one foot of fly line out the tip of the rod, and 3 often heavily weighted flies tied on droppers. The technique takes place completely upstream of the angler with casts occurring on a frequency of every 1-3 seconds. "Flip, Splash, Draw. Flip, Splash, Draw”
I have to admit I have had a hard time adjusting to the water here. Most of the water there is fast and the fish is either going to take the fly or not; they don’t have a lot of hatches and the fish are very opportunistic… if you get a nice drift through a fishy looking spot you should get a strike. I am getting better at fishing the slower water but I still have a ways to go. I would say 20 fish days casting a lot and quickly (as JH also said) and covering a lot of water were the norm for me in the faster water there so slowing down and being more deliberate is challenging to me… maybe I have the A.D.D all the kids seem to have these days…lol.
I have some friends on the NC fly fishing team. Do you guys remember a quarterback Heath Shuler? His cousin Eugene is a great fly fisher and leads up the NC team. He is the one who turned me on to this method… the team uses it whenever they can to maximize “fly in the water” time.

[cluster]

i have a friend who uses a combination of what he calls French and Spanish nymphing techniques. It is very similar to the czech style but instead of a 9 foot leader a 25 foot leader is utilized with a sighter.

Ive tried it a little bit and it definitely produces fish. This particular friend of mine has been doing this for a season now and kills it on all sorts of streams. Anywhere there is moderate to fast water he catches lots of fish.

On a river like the swift in MA where im lucky to catch one or two fish, he will have days with 20+ fish. By perfecting this technique fish can be caught in all waterspeeds. He also will catch fish on huge stoneflies, size 10 scuds and huge caddis larva. He says its doesnt matter what the fly is as long as it is presented well. After watching this in person i can say that it is amazing.

[anguishedangler]

Here is a good resource that defines the small differences and teaches the basics of the different methods of european nymphing - only 15 bucks
www.cabelas.com/fishing-dvds-videos-cabelas-european-nymph-techniques-dvd.shtml
Sorry,I am not trying to steer people to a big box retailer on my second post, this just really helped me out.
I used this video in preparation for a guided trip with a good friend that taught me this method.
Learning European Nymphing has about doubled my confidence on the water.

[M.Ralph]

The current issue of Fly Tyer has a short piece which tries to define a few different styles of Euro nymphing. The long-line tech. mentioned by cluster are of interest to me and I would like to try this tech this upcoming spring. What is you friend using for a sighter? I am thinking of making some coiled mono sighters. Also, how long of rod is he using?

[anguishedangler]

I use the Greys 10' 4wt. I use the coiled mono sighter - a good tutorial for making it is www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPH3hRG7OYc

The author of that article you are speaking of just put out a video out on all those methods. I ordered it around Christmas and am awaiting its arrival.
When I watch it, I'll post my review of it in this thread.
The link to the video if interested is europeannymphing.com/

[anguishedangler]

I am going to try to list the resources I found extremely valuable on European nymphing. The will be listed in order of importance and also coicidentally in order of introductory to advanced progression.

1. The European Nymphing with Jack Dennis and Vladi DVD. This video gives the history and good demonstrations of the techniques associated with euro nymphing. Jack Dennis is a former US National Fly Fishing Team head coach. He has his own online store called snake river books. For 30 bucks, you can get the video and 6 nymphs tied by Vladi, the biggest name in european nymphing and inventor of the Vladi worm tied with a pink condom.

2. This link does an excellent job of giving an overview www.snakeriverbooks.com/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=FP01

3. At this point in the learning process, I had a guide/ friend take me to show me the technique in action.

4. I read the book Czech Nymph and other related fly fishing methods by Karel Krivaec. It is expensive and hard to find and not an absolute necessity to learning techniques, but would be outstanding for those who want to tie their own patterns because it shows an absolute plethora (yes El Guapo I said plethora) of them.

5. DVD European nymphing techniques and fly tying by Aaron Jasper of New Jersey. Aaron does an outstanding job on the video in his explanation, teaching and it is of high qulaity. The reason I put the video last in the learning progression is because although you can probably get everything you need from just this, Aaron is so specific in his instruction that he gives a lot of little finer points to bring your game to the next level. My only cool feedback on the video would be that Aaron shows the leader construction at the end of his short and long leader segments when I think it would make more sense to do it at the beginning, but that is just me. Aaron writes a pretty cool blog that I subscribe to the Fly Fishing Evolution flyfishingevolution.com/

6. Also, how to build a coiled mono sighter is very helpful www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPH3hRG7OYc

Well, I am by no means an expert at Euro nymphing, but the techniques I have mastered have given me exponential confidence and avbilities on the water.