I’ve followed Aaron Jasper and his ascent in the fly fishing world, namely through his tireless pursuit to perfect European nymphing techniques, and written extensively (see article list below) about the short- and long-line nymphing techniques, including Czech nymphing and French nymphing he teaches. Now, after over three years of research, practical testing, and instruction [...]
4 Tips to Catching Big Trout Down Deep
This Fly Fishing Tip is brought to you by RiverBum.com and Jake Ricks of Utah Fly Guides. What Lies Beneath There’s just something in all of us that wants to know what lies beneath. That’s a big part of the reason we fish. The deeper and darker the run or pool on a river the [...]
Fly Fishing with Strike Indicators: Smoky Mountain Style
Ian and Charity Rutter of R&R Fly Fishing give us some pointers on fly fishing nymphs with a strike indicator in small mountain streams in their latest episode of Advice from the Guides video blog. High Stick Nymphing Video Filmed in the Great Smoky Mountains on Little River and Middle Prong of Little River, the [...]
European Nymphing Fly Rod Craze or Bandwagon?
Well I guess European nymphing, or Euro nymphing, is officially a craze with several major manufacturers looking to get in on the action with new longer specialty fly rods targeting the US market this year. European Nymphing Craze I’m not exactly sure when it happened but European nymphing techniques including short-line Czech nymphing, and long-line [...]
[Video] How-to Make a Backing Sighter for a European Nymphing Rig
Add a little color to your European nymphing leader with a backing sighter and see strikes like never before. Learn how in this short video from Trout Predator Online.
[Video] How-to Make a European Nymphing Coiled Mono Sighter
This quick video tutorial shows you how to build a coiled mono sighter used in place of a strike indicator when fly fishing with nymphs. (Click here to watch video on on YouTube)
Used in several European nymphing methods, including French nymphing and Spanish nymphing, a coiled mono sighter greatly increases strike detection.
What’s a Sighter
The concept of a sighter was introduced in our last post on how to build a French / Spanish nymphing leader where we introduced two types of sighters including a coiled mono sighter and a backing sighter.
How-to Make a Coiled Mono Sighter
Making a coiled mono sighter is very easy. There are 3 basic steps:
1. Wrap hard monofilament around a cylindrical shaped object
2. Boiled for 5-minutes
3. Freeze
The heating and cooling cycle sets a coil into the monofilament resulting in what looks like a spring made from monofilament. Watch the video for more details.
How-to Rig a Coiled Sighter
When French nymphing or Spanish nymphing the coiled sighter is typically tied in about midway down the leader. I prefer loop-to-loop connections for ease of use. Alternatively, you might use a Davy Wotton Leader Knot to attach the upper end of the sighter to the butt section of the leader and use a loop-to-loop connection between the sighter and tippet section.
Give It A Try!
You may garner a few strange looks when you whip out your coiled mono sighter stream side and even a few giggles as you begin to fling this thing about. But trust me; the laughing will stop when you start out fishing everyone on the stream!
I guarantee you will be amazed, that is if you are willing to give it a try.
The Beat Goes On
We’re in the home stretch of our European nymphing tutorial . Next up we’ll take a look at how to build a backing sighter and then we’ll finish out the series with a European nymphing fly rod review – yee haw!
Now stop reading this and go boil some mono!
p.s. If you get any snide comments from the significant other while practicing this Euro alchemy – share them with us using the comment box below, we all enjoy a good laugh!
p.s.s. If you would like a European recipe for a coiled mono sighter give Fishing on the Frontier – Part 14 – Improved Take Detection a read.
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[Video] How-to Rig a 2-Fly Czech Nymphing Setup
A little intimidated by the thought of fishing 3 or 4 flies like the Czech’s do? So was I, and frankly it’s a bit of a pain in the butt. Not to worry though, a 2-fly Czech nymph setup works pretty darn well too.
2-Fly European Nymphing Rig
In this video tutorial (click here if you can’t see the video above), Aaron Jasper of Trout Predator Online shows us how to rig a 2-fly European nymphing setup that can be used with a Czech nymphing leader or when fishing a Spanish or French style nymphing setup.
A Simple Dropper Fly Setup
The setup as shown in the video is often used by the Spanish and French and consists of 5 feet of 5X fluorocarbon tippet material coming off a backing or coiled-mono sighter to an anchor fly. A second, lighter fly, is tied off a dropper about 20-inches above the anchor fly. We will discuss how to make and use a backing sighter and coiled sighter in our next few articles on Spanish and French nymphing techniques.
The same 2-fly setup can be used to build a Czech nymphing leader, only we would not need the sighter using this short-line nymphing technique.
Improved Surgeons Knot
The dropper fly is tied in using a double or triple Surgeons Knot, as shown in the video (I know it is a little hard to see), or an Orvis Tippet Knot can be used. When using a Surgeons knot I take the dropper tag and throw a half-hitch above the Surgeons Knot. This makes the dropper come off the leader at more of a right angle and helps reduce tangles. The Surgeons and Orvis Tippet Knots are illustrated at Orvis Animated Knots.
Note: When tying in the dropper make sure to attach the fly to the lower tag end of the Surgeons Knot. If you use the upper tag (the one going back toward the fly line) the knot will come apart. I learned this the hard way, several times!
Spanish / French Nymphing Techniques
Spanish nymphing and French nymphing, are they all that different? Find out in our next How-to article on European nymphing techniques by subscribing to The Fly Fishing Reporter Newsletter.
Enjoy!
p.s. Subscribe to The Fly Fishing Reporter to receive a weekly digest of our Fly Fishing Reports, Trip Planning, Gear Talk and How-To articles, and Fly Tying Videos.
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[Video] How-to Build a Czech Nymphing Leader
Czech Nymphing Leader
Aaron Jasper demonstrates a Davy Wotton leader knot that can be used to construct a Czech nymphing leader. I attended Aaron’s Euro Nymphing Clinc earlier this year where he demonstrated how to build and fish a Czech nymphing rig. If what follows sounds confusing, trust me it’s not. It’s just hard to explain. If you get a chance I’d highly recommend attending a clinc like the one Aaron put’s on or getting out on the water with a guide who is proficient using European nymphing techniques. Until then, give this a try.
A typical Czech nymphing rig is 10 to 14 feet long and consists of:
- 3 feet 20 lb monofilament (Golden Stren is often used to aid in strike detection)
- 2 feet 14 lb mono
- 3 to 6 feet of 4x or 5X fluorocarbon to the first fly tied on a dropper (usually a smaller nymph)
- 18 to 24 inches of 4x or 5x fluorocarbon to the anchor fly (usually the heaviest nymph, e.g. Czech nymph) tied on a dropper in a 3-fly rig or at the end of the tippet in a 2-fly rig
- 18 to 24 inches of 5x fluorocarbon to the last fly in a 3-fly rig
The droppers are typically tied in with an Orivs Tippet Knot or a Triple Surgeons knot with a 4″ to 6″ tag.
The key to this leader setup is that it is built with smaller diameter mono as opposed to a traditional tapered leader, as is favored in the US, which has a thick, heavy butt section. The smaller diameter mono, and fluorocarbon tippet (which is heavier than other mono tippet materials), enable the leader system and your flies to sink quickly through the water column. This is very important when Czech nymphing where you typically use very short drifts and you need to get your flies down quickly as is often the case when fishing pocket water and heavy riffles where this nymphing method lends itself well.
Up Next French and Spanish Nymphing Leaders
Up next we’ll take a closer look at how to build leader systems used in the French nymphing and Spanish nymphing techniques as we continue our mini-series on European nymphing techniques. If you would like future articles on Euro nymphing via email sign-up for our weekly newsletter on the Fly Fishing Reporter homepage. As always, we welcome your feedback and would love to hear about your experiences with Euro nymphing. You can drop us a line using the reply box below or leave us a voicemail on our new toll free voicemail line 8-IFISH-1230.
Enjoy!
Euro Nymphing: Czech Nymphing, French Nymphing, Spanish Nymphing
Czech Nymphing and Spanish Nymphing techniques, sometimes referred to as Euro Nymphing, are all the rage these days but what are they? Watch the video and find out.
(Click here to watch video on YouTube)
Czech Nymphing
Simply put Czech Nymphing is a short-line nymphing technique that uses an upstream dead drift presentation that is akin to what we call High Sticking here in the US. The difference being that the Europeans typically fish 3 or 4 flies off droppers tied 18” to 24” apart methodically combing the water with very short drifts (sometimes as little as 3 to 4 feet).
Watch the video again and you’ll see what I mean. Also pay attention to how taunt the leader is. There is no belly in the line and there is no line lying on the water. This differs significantly from many of the nymphing techniques popular here in the US and aids tremendously in strike detection.
Spanish Nymphing
Spanish nymphing is very similar but uses much longer leaders (up to 30 feet) enabling you to fish at greater distances than with the Czech method as is shown in this second video by Aaron Jasper of Trout Predator Online. Although the video is about how to set the hook when nymphing Aaron is using a long line Euro nymphing technique. He is even using a coiled mono sighter as a strike indicator. Look closely and you’ll see right where the line enters the water. The Spanish nymphing technique is great for fishing for wild trout or heavily pressured fish or when you just can’t get that close to the fish.
(Click here to wath on Youtube)
Equipment, Rigging and Techniques
In the coming weeks we’ll take a closer look at fly rods, leader construction, sighters (as oppose to indicators) and techniques that are specific to Euro nymphing and differ quite a bit from what we are use to here in the states.
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