I know that “Czech Nymphing” is a technique or style of nymphing, but whenever I see a fly called a “Czech Nymph” it is always the same type of fly - grub-style and heavily weighted. Are all “Czech Nymphs” imitating a caddis larva, mostly with a hot spot? I never see a heavily weighted mayfly-looking nymph with a hot spot called a “Czech Nymph”. I realize you can use any type of heavier weighted fly in a Czech Nymphing rig, but is that just the type of fly that was originally used in that set-up and is now called a Czech Nymph?
I’m leaving in a week and a half for my annual trip to northern New Mexico and a couple of streams - the Costilla, Comanche, and the Culebra in southern Colorado to name a few - have a lot of deep undercut banks that the “Czech Nymphing” technique could be productive in and I just got curious about the origin of the name of that style of fly.
My favorite colors for the Czech Nymph: a gray body with a pink thorax, very effective. I tie it on a curved scud hook. That pink on the nymph really works.
Had a fantastic day on the Missouri fishing this beneath a dropper (even had a few take the dry); I really like the Wapsi rainbow dubbing along with the pink hotspot.
I think the terminology – Czech, Polish, European, etc. – can get confusing. In George Daniels book "Dynamic Nymphing, he shows a variety of nymphs that are useful for this style. There are “grubs” or caddis larva like flies, as well as mayfly nymphs, worms, scuds, and others.
To me, a Czech style nymph is simply one that is tied to sink fast. It is usually tied with heavy weight such as a tungsten bead, usually tied thin / sparse to facilitate sinking, and frequently has a hot spot. I see it as a tying style that is used to compliment the fishing style.
I have stopped referring to the technique as Czech or Polish. My system is a bastardized version of the two that I have been using for close to 30 years. I suppose it would be called Euro nymphing… Short leaders of 6 to 11 feet is a kin to Czech/Polish, long leaders out to 25 feet would be close to French/Spanish. Just my opinions from afar. I have never been formally trained in the techniques. I developed my own over 30 years ago. I have glanced at a video, and read a couple articles to know that they are similar.
It is all very confusing as it is an evolving technique, not something that is defined in absolute terms. Also it was used successfully in competition fishing. Dis information is the friend of anyone who has a method in their arsenal that other competitors do not have.
Jan Siman used the technique to become world rivers champion. His flies are not as heavy as you might expect. They are, though, very slim. As I often say to people when talking about weighted flies, “Weight doesn’t sink flies! Density does.” It is possible (not practical) to cram enough light weight materials on a hook with a tungsten bead to make it float. There is more to tying a fly to fish deep than just adding weight. Therefore, Jan Siman’s flies tend to be very slim.
I was first introduced to Czech Nymphs by Oliver Edwards in the 1990s. At that time he was part of the England International Team. He explained that he had been unable to work out how the Czech Rivers Team had incorporated pearl tinsel into their flies, so had added it as an extra rib before the back was pulled over. The way that it had been done was to chop up fine pearl tinsel into about 3/16" pieces and incorporate it into the dubbing. If you look at “authentic” Czech Nymphs on sale from people like Jan Siman, you will see they now all use two ribs. What did I say about dis information!
Left fly shows the Oliver Edwards’ 2nd rib style. Right fly the original method of incorporating pearl tinsel in the dubbing.
Any serious research into tying Czech Nymphs will turn up the use of square lead wire to add more weight than round. My advice is don’t bother! It is expensive to buy, expensive to use, harder to use, and doesn’t add much more weight than round wire does. Square lead wire isn’t really square. It has rounded corners. It doesn’t add as much weight as you might think, and that is further reduced by the rounded corners. Here’s a sketch to show you what I mean.
If you do the math you may get as much as 16% extra. Square lead wire is around 50% more expensive. It comes in cut in lengths of about 8 inches. That means that you will have more waste than you do with a spool of wire. You have to get it onto the hook shank without it twisting. As you are putting it onto a curved hook shank there will be wedge shaped gaps between each turn, that are much larger than they would be with round wire. Is the extra weight worth the extra expense and effort? I think of it as more of a marketing ploy than a real advantage.
The nymphs that made Czech Nymphing famous did not have bead heads. There was a rule, now repealed, in international rivers competitions, that no weight should be visible on the fly. This ruled out the use of beads at that time. Of course it is still evolving, so now you can use beads.
When all is said and done it is very difficult to tie down what the authentic Czech Nymph really is. It is facinating though, to look at the development of these flies. Especially as the people who originated them are still around to ask.
Cheers,
A.
