The fly box · No. 28 of 36
Czech Nymph
Caseless caddis larvae and freshwater shrimps rolling along the river bed.
- Kind
- Nymph
- Hook sizes
- 8–14
- Season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- For
- Grayling and trout
- At the vice
- A moderate tie
The dressing
| Hook | Curved heavy-wire grub hook, barbless, sizes 8–14 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Olive or brown, 8/0 |
| Tail | None |
| Body | Olive or cream dubbing for the abdomen, a narrow band of orange or pink dubbing as a hot spot, then a short dark brown or black thorax |
| Rib | Clear or coloured monofilament, 0.12–0.16 mm, wound over the shellback |
| Hackle | None; a few thorax fibres picked out underneath |
| Wing | None; a shellback of narrow latex or stretch film strip covers the back |
| Also | Underbody of lead-free wire, flattened from the sides; optional fine tinsel rib under the shellback |
Tying it
- Wrap lead-free wire along the shank, cover it with thread and squeeze it flat from the sides with pliers.
- Tie in the monofilament and the shellback strip well round the bend.
- Dub a slim abdomen over two thirds of the body.
- Add two or three turns of bright dubbing as a hot spot, then a short dark thorax.
- Stretch the shellback forward over the back and tie it down behind the eye.
- Wind the monofilament in even turns to the eye, tie off and whip finish.
- Pick out a few fibres under the thorax and varnish the head.
Fishing it
Wade close and fish it almost under the rod tip, in runs from knee to waist deep. Two or three nymphs go on a leader no longer than the rod, the heaviest in the middle or on the point, with 4X (0.18 mm) or 5X (0.15 mm) tippet. Flick them upstream, let them sink, then track them down with the rod held high and only a metre or so of fly line out. Lift at the end of each drift and at any pause. Move a step and repeat.
Where it comes from
Short-line nymphing with heavy, curved flies took shape among Polish and Czech river anglers in the 1980s, and the Czechs refined both the method and the fly that now carries their name. The pattern is thin from the side and heavy for its size, with a smooth shellback that sheds water, so it sinks quickly through fast current to the fish.