Fly of the month02.11 Czech Nymph
This “fly of the month” represents the latest in the Tim Wilhelm/Tom Adams series. For those who attended the January meeting, you should recognize this.
Tim:
I knew I would be disappointed when I decided to “call in sick” for the January meeting. I had heard about Czech nymphing, knew that it was somewhat of a hot new technique (if anything is really new in fly fishing) and I wanted to learn more. So when Tom Adams suggested we do Czech Nymphs for the fly of the month I thought it would be a great opportunity to research the technique.
Almost every article I found started with the same sentence: “The development o mayflies, stoneflies, sedges, midges and other insects takes place on the bottom, under stones, among underwater plants and in sediments.”
That reminded me of the advice given to me by Bill Chambliss of Chambliss Paint & Tackle of West Richland, Washington almost 40 years ago about fishing for steelhead in the Columbia River. (The store was located on the banks of the Yakima River and Bill’s dad ran the paint store while Bill ran a tackle store in the back room.) Bill said: “If you ain’t loosing tackle, you ain’t catching fish.” Made sense to me then just like Czech nymphing does now. If you are going to catch fish you got to put your bait (flies, lures, whatever) where the fish find their meals and most of the time that is along the bottom of the stream or river.
The following are excerpts come from Pavel Adamovsky’s article on Czech nymphing:
The principle of nymph-fishing with the Czech nymph is short-distance fishing, practically under the tip of the rod that is held with an outstretched arm. The fly line hangs under the tip of the rod, and its end often does not even touch the water surface. Two or three nymph flies of various weights are used. Some of the classic Czech nymphs are the so called Bobeshs - the original Czech name which needs no translation since the technique has quickly spread and is now widely used. But other types of flies are used also (jig flies, flies with beads etc.). Czech nymphs are weighted flies tied on gammarus hooks (see image below), imitating freshwater shrimps or the case-less larvae of sedge flies. Imitative as well as colorful patterns are used, mostly in sizes 8 - 16. The Czech nymph is quite a simple fly to tie. It is characterized by a rounded (bent) gammarus hook that is weighted with a lead wire. The body is created from natural or synthetic dubbing. Another typical feature of a Czech nymph is the back, made from latex foil or a material with similar characteristics. For the ribbing of the fly monofilament or colored wire is used. A real Czech nymph is always tied very thin, so that it sinks very quickly towards the bottom
Paradoxically, the history of the Czech nymph has its beginning in Poland. During the international fly fishing competition there in 1984, the Czech competitors got acquainted with the method of fishing at short distance used by local competitors. Most of the Polish competitors were forced to fish short, because they had no fishing lines at their disposal and had to substitute them with thick nylon monofilament. Flies used by the Poles were imitations of Hydropsyche and Rhyacophila sedges. The Czech competitors picked up the short nymph method very quickly, and by the next year they were using it during the World Championship, which took place on the Polish river San and where Czech team won second place - just behind the Poles! In 1986, this short nymph method brought the first gold medal for the Czech team, when the Czech Slavoj Svoboda won the title of world champion in Belgium. The first Czech nymphs were tied from materials that would bring smiles to the faces of today’s fly tiers. Imagine a plastic foam body from a washing sponge, ribbing from horse hair and a back from a mackintosh or bast (note: a bast may be a plant fiber.) The use of gammarus hooks gave the Czech nymph its characteristic shape, and the initial thick patterns evolved into thinner ones with the appearance of new higher quality tying materials. At the beginning of this history, imitative patterns like scuds and caddis larvae were preferred. The originally monotone bodies of these flies were later enriched by various color spots, and this trend has gone so far that in today’s fly boxes we can find nymphs of various color combinations not having anything in common with natural patterns.
Fly of the Month 02.11 Czech Nymph
Hook: Curved scud style, Gammarus Hook, standard length. Tiemco 2488 or equivalent, Size: 10, 12, 14 ,16
Thread: 8/0 Uni or equivalent to match color
Body: Spikey dubbing –three colors
Ribbing: 5/0 tippet
Back: 1/8 Clear or color scud backing
Note: This is one method that falls under the heading of Czech nymph there are though several other similar and very different methods that are used in Czech nymphing.
Directions :
1) Overwrap lead or lead free weight beginning about one third of the distance from the eye and continue to one or two wraps forward of the hook point. Keep wraps tight and push together if necessary.
2) Start thread wraps immediately in front of the lead wrap and using wide soft loops take thread to behind the lead and start building a taper of thread to trap the lead. Do not build up the taper completely but advance the thread over the lead without so much tension as to push the thread between the wraps. The taper toward the eye can be completed, but, do not crowd the eye. Bring the thread to the hook bend and let the bobbin hang. Note : it is not necessary to completely cover the lead with thread. Just enough to make dubbing easier.
3) Using a three inch piece of tippet, tie in where the lead stops and the taper begins and bring the thread back to the hook bend in tight secure wraps. You may use pliers to “mash” the tippet somewhat flat where it is tied in. This will help keep a thin profile. Let the bobbin hang.
4) Cut a two inch piece of scud backing and choose one end to cut two forty five degree angles to form a very short point. This will help in tying in. Tie the scud backing in at the same spot the tippet was tied in and after one or two secure wraps of thread on the tip, begin pulling the scud backing with slight pressure and wrapping back down the hook to the finish point of the ribbing. This will narrow the scud back, but do not make it so narrow as to not cover the dub on the next step. Move the backing out of the way.
5) Dub the thread and advance to forward of the lead and let the bobbin hang. The dubbing should be in three colors. One lighter for the abdomen in the color of choice. The second color is a “flash” color, and usually red, orange, pink or yellow. It is very narrow in width, about one of the segments. The third color is the thorax and is usually the same color as the abdomen but in a darker hue. Note: there are no steadfast rules and this can be a creative venture in the colorations.
6) Pull the scud backing over the dub. Note the coverage and by adding more or less pulling pressure you may cover or uncover the dub. The material when tied in should cover about half of the sides. Wrap the scud backing with two wraps of thread and let the bobbin hang.
7. Advance the tippet material in firm open wraps to imitate the segmentation of a caddis. Tie in after making one wrap to bind the scud back and clip both the scud back and the tippet. Tie in tightly to avoid slipping. Do not crowd the eye. Cut the thread.
8) Use a permanent color marker to add interest and detail to the scud backing.
9) Using a bodkin or dub tool pull and loosen some fibers at the thorax to mimic legs.
10) Cement the head.
There are many, many variations in color and color combinations including these fly patterns: Czech brown with red, Czech brown with yellow, Czech brown with orange, Czech green with pink and Czech olive with orange.
- Tom Adams, Tim Wilhelm
This “fly of the month” represents the latest in the Tim Wilhelm/Tom Adams series. For those who attended the January meeting, you should recognize this.
Tim:
I knew I would be disappointed when I decided to “call in sick” for the January meeting. I had heard about Czech nymphing, knew that it was somewhat of a hot new technique (if anything is really new in fly fishing) and I wanted to learn more. So when Tom Adams suggested we do Czech Nymphs for the fly of the month I thought it would be a great opportunity to research the technique.
Almost every article I found started with the same sentence: “The development o mayflies, stoneflies, sedges, midges and other insects takes place on the bottom, under stones, among underwater plants and in sediments.”
That reminded me of the advice given to me by Bill Chambliss of Chambliss Paint & Tackle of West Richland, Washington almost 40 years ago about fishing for steelhead in the Columbia River. (The store was located on the banks of the Yakima River and Bill’s dad ran the paint store while Bill ran a tackle store in the back room.) Bill said: “If you ain’t loosing tackle, you ain’t catching fish.” Made sense to me then just like Czech nymphing does now. If you are going to catch fish you got to put your bait (flies, lures, whatever) where the fish find their meals and most of the time that is along the bottom of the stream or river.
The following are excerpts come from Pavel Adamovsky’s article on Czech nymphing:
The principle of nymph-fishing with the Czech nymph is short-distance fishing, practically under the tip of the rod that is held with an outstretched arm. The fly line hangs under the tip of the rod, and its end often does not even touch the water surface. Two or three nymph flies of various weights are used. Some of the classic Czech nymphs are the so called Bobeshs - the original Czech name which needs no translation since the technique has quickly spread and is now widely used. But other types of flies are used also (jig flies, flies with beads etc.). Czech nymphs are weighted flies tied on gammarus hooks (see image below), imitating freshwater shrimps or the case-less larvae of sedge flies. Imitative as well as colorful patterns are used, mostly in sizes 8 - 16. The Czech nymph is quite a simple fly to tie. It is characterized by a rounded (bent) gammarus hook that is weighted with a lead wire. The body is created from natural or synthetic dubbing. Another typical feature of a Czech nymph is the back, made from latex foil or a material with similar characteristics. For the ribbing of the fly monofilament or colored wire is used. A real Czech nymph is always tied very thin, so that it sinks very quickly towards the bottom
Paradoxically, the history of the Czech nymph has its beginning in Poland. During the international fly fishing competition there in 1984, the Czech competitors got acquainted with the method of fishing at short distance used by local competitors. Most of the Polish competitors were forced to fish short, because they had no fishing lines at their disposal and had to substitute them with thick nylon monofilament. Flies used by the Poles were imitations of Hydropsyche and Rhyacophila sedges. The Czech competitors picked up the short nymph method very quickly, and by the next year they were using it during the World Championship, which took place on the Polish river San and where Czech team won second place - just behind the Poles! In 1986, this short nymph method brought the first gold medal for the Czech team, when the Czech Slavoj Svoboda won the title of world champion in Belgium. The first Czech nymphs were tied from materials that would bring smiles to the faces of today’s fly tiers. Imagine a plastic foam body from a washing sponge, ribbing from horse hair and a back from a mackintosh or bast (note: a bast may be a plant fiber.) The use of gammarus hooks gave the Czech nymph its characteristic shape, and the initial thick patterns evolved into thinner ones with the appearance of new higher quality tying materials. At the beginning of this history, imitative patterns like scuds and caddis larvae were preferred. The originally monotone bodies of these flies were later enriched by various color spots, and this trend has gone so far that in today’s fly boxes we can find nymphs of various color combinations not having anything in common with natural patterns.
Fly of the Month 02.11 Czech Nymph
Hook: Curved scud style, Gammarus Hook, standard length. Tiemco 2488 or equivalent, Size: 10, 12, 14 ,16
Thread: 8/0 Uni or equivalent to match color
Body: Spikey dubbing –three colors
Ribbing: 5/0 tippet
Back: 1/8 Clear or color scud backing
Note: This is one method that falls under the heading of Czech nymph there are though several other similar and very different methods that are used in Czech nymphing.
Directions :
1) Overwrap lead or lead free weight beginning about one third of the distance from the eye and continue to one or two wraps forward of the hook point. Keep wraps tight and push together if necessary.
2) Start thread wraps immediately in front of the lead wrap and using wide soft loops take thread to behind the lead and start building a taper of thread to trap the lead. Do not build up the taper completely but advance the thread over the lead without so much tension as to push the thread between the wraps. The taper toward the eye can be completed, but, do not crowd the eye. Bring the thread to the hook bend and let the bobbin hang. Note : it is not necessary to completely cover the lead with thread. Just enough to make dubbing easier.
3) Using a three inch piece of tippet, tie in where the lead stops and the taper begins and bring the thread back to the hook bend in tight secure wraps. You may use pliers to “mash” the tippet somewhat flat where it is tied in. This will help keep a thin profile. Let the bobbin hang.
4) Cut a two inch piece of scud backing and choose one end to cut two forty five degree angles to form a very short point. This will help in tying in. Tie the scud backing in at the same spot the tippet was tied in and after one or two secure wraps of thread on the tip, begin pulling the scud backing with slight pressure and wrapping back down the hook to the finish point of the ribbing. This will narrow the scud back, but do not make it so narrow as to not cover the dub on the next step. Move the backing out of the way.
5) Dub the thread and advance to forward of the lead and let the bobbin hang. The dubbing should be in three colors. One lighter for the abdomen in the color of choice. The second color is a “flash” color, and usually red, orange, pink or yellow. It is very narrow in width, about one of the segments. The third color is the thorax and is usually the same color as the abdomen but in a darker hue. Note: there are no steadfast rules and this can be a creative venture in the colorations.
6) Pull the scud backing over the dub. Note the coverage and by adding more or less pulling pressure you may cover or uncover the dub. The material when tied in should cover about half of the sides. Wrap the scud backing with two wraps of thread and let the bobbin hang.
7. Advance the tippet material in firm open wraps to imitate the segmentation of a caddis. Tie in after making one wrap to bind the scud back and clip both the scud back and the tippet. Tie in tightly to avoid slipping. Do not crowd the eye. Cut the thread.
8) Use a permanent color marker to add interest and detail to the scud backing.
9) Using a bodkin or dub tool pull and loosen some fibers at the thorax to mimic legs.
10) Cement the head.
There are many, many variations in color and color combinations including these fly patterns: Czech brown with red, Czech brown with yellow, Czech brown with orange, Czech green with pink and Czech olive with orange.
- Tom Adams, Tim Wilhelm