Anyone that has read a fly fishing magazine in the last few years has likely seen an article talking about Czech style nymphing or Czech style nymphs. The Czech Republic Fly Fishing Team developed this method of fishing to comply with international rules that prohibit the use of a suspension style strike indicator in competitions (no thingamabobbers or corkies allowed!).

The (BASIC) Czech setup is a simple one. From the fly line, starting with a 10” to 20” piece of bright colored line called a sighter* add 6 to 10 feet of straight fluorocarbon tippet.

4X and 5X are the standard sizes of line to use but 6X can be very useful for the clear waters of some spring creeks and highly selective fish.

A standard dropper rigging is preferred over tying the second fly as a trailer off the bend of the hook of the first fly. To tie a standard dropper rig on your Czech style line is very easy using a Blood Knot, Triple Surgeons Knot or a Tippet Ring.

Usually anglers tie the heavy nymph on the top tag and a lighter fly at the bottom and that is usually the way to go, but it can be switched to the heavy one on the bottom depending on conditions. My feeling is, the more you are fishing in rough, pocket water fish the heavy fly on the bottom, and in riffles and runs put the lighter fly on the bottom. I often fish 2 very similar weighted nymphs together with very good success. I do not enjoy fishing 3 nymphs but it is done with the heavy nymph tied in the middle.

With 2 nymphs weighted with tungsten bead heads, you will be able to achieve some amazing depths, and with no strike indicator on the line you simply raise or lower the rod tip to let more or less line sink, and to steer the flies in to the sweet spot.

French Style Nymphing – The Slinky

Another great method for European style fishing is the French style. The French method uses a coiled piece of line that spreads out like a slinky alerting you to a fish. While Slinky’s are called sighters,  they act more like an indicator compared to the Czech style sighter but remain legal in competitions because they are not able to suspend the nymph like a bobber.

I’ve used the French Coil as a sighter and held it over the water with the flies dangling almost straight below. I’ve also applied a paste floatant* to it and floated it on the surface with the flies dead drifted behind like a strike indicator.

That is the beauty of these French Slinky’s, you can do anything with them and they detect even the most delicate take or subtle moment of the fish “just tasting” your nymph.

To make your own slinky at home, wrap your chosen size and colored monofilament around a dowel peg, taping one end with a thin strip of electrical tape. Make 18 to 24 wraps, with each wrap butting against the previous wrap and then finish with a 2nd strip of tape. You need to leave about 6 to 8 inches of “tag” coming out of each side of the dowel. Now comes the fun part. Get a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Once you have a rolling boil going, throw the dowel wrapped with the mono in to the boiling water and leave it there for 5 minutes. The reason I use thinly cut strips of electrical tape is it withstands the heat and is water proof so it holds up during this important process of changing the molecules of the nylon. Once you’ve hit the 5 minute mark remove the sighter from the boiling water and put it in the freezer overnight. I recommend making a dozen of these at a time, and having several to use for a week of fishing. Once you get to the river and decide to use the slinky, untape each end of the dowel and pull the mono off from the dowel and attach to your line. Keep the dowel for another slinky making session.

While the Czech style sighter will last all season long and beyond, a French Slinky is usually pretty stretched out after a half of day of fishing so plan on using at least 2 per day. They can be revitalized on the stream by dipping them back in hot water so some people will bring a thermos of hot water just for this.  But these are really cheap to make and you can carry several with you for the day. Firehole River anglers in Yellowstone Park may have an advantage with the boiling hot pools near the river!

Casts are short and controlled, usually you are only casting up to the length of the rod and fishing the nymphs just below the tip of the rod. This is where a longer rod comes into play. You can do Czech nymphing with any rod, but a purpose built 10* or 11 foot rod for a 2 or 3 weight is a big help in the reach needed to drift the flies into the best spots. You’ll notice the lighter line weights are really different  compared to your standard 9 ½ foot 5 or 6 weight rods that are perfect for indicator rigs. The lighter line weight rods offer a lot more sensitivity and feel needed for this style of fishing. This simply means you will be a more effective Euro Nympher with a long, light rod.

Once you cast the flies upstream you hold the rod over the line, specifically aiming your tip top on the rod just a few inches downstream of where the line penetrates the water, and you gently pull the line through a controlled drift  where you will be totally connected to the flies in the current. Hooking fish is sometimes electric because the line is tight and in touch with the nymphs so much more than slack line, dead drift techniques. There is no better connection to the trout than by correctly fishing with the Czech method! Other times hooking a fish is a 6th Sense and you just aren’t sure why you set the hook…. but you did and it worked! Every day is different and every fish is different.

European nymph fishing uses pretty simple equipment in most cases. Here is a list of what I use when I’m out on the river….

Rods

Most 9’ to 11’, 2 or 3 weight rods tend to be the most effective for this style of fishing. My favorite is a 10’ 3 weight for my own fishing. Sage, Echo, Beulah and Fenwick all have rods that fit the bill and the budget. FFP offers Fenwick at the economy level, and Sage at the varsity level. Echo and Beulah in the middle both make awesome rods for a great price. Any of these manufacturers 10’ 3 weight models will take you Euro Nymph Fishing any place you want to go and do it well!

Reels

To balance a 10’ or 11’ rod you’ll likely want to upsize your reel just a little bit. I like a smooth disc drag reel and feel drag is important in fighting a fish well. Abel, Bauer, Lamson and Galvan all make very good reels to balance a European Nymphing rod.

Line

This is the most important part of the system! Euro Nymph lines are special tapers and they are built on ultra light cores. An ultra light line will not sag and will detect the strike better than a standard WF or DT line. Rio, Cortland and Airflo all produce excellent Euro Nymph specialty lines and are worth the investment to do it right.

Sighters

• Czech Style #1
  FTB King Snake Sighter. Easy to use and set up, just loop it to the line and add tippet.
• Czech Style #2
  Umpqua Bi Color Sighter .03X. Easy, loop to the line and tie on a tippet ring and add tippet from there.
• Hybrid
  Umpqua .03X & Umpqua or Rio 2x or 3x Bi Color Sighter
• French #1
  Quite a few things will work, but the .03X UFM Bi Color is a great choice, Green or Gold Stren Nylon in 15 to 20 # is also excellent to make a slinky with.
• French #2
  Umpqua or Rio 2x or 3x Bi Color Sighter

Tippet Rings

For attaching 4x, 5x or 6x tippet to a heavier sighter it is the absolute best way to secure a good connection. Cortland/Climax and Rio make excellent rings that are standard of the industry.

Tippet

It’s all Fluorocarbon in this game. Fluoro is over 90% invisible in the water and is stronger than nylon material in the same diameter. There is no other choice for effective nymph fishing. 4x, 5x and 6x will be all you really need in most cases. Rio and Trout Hunter are my 2 favorite fluorocarbon tippets. 4 pound Seagaur makes an excellent and cheap tippet section but has inconsistent measurements so beware if you need to really be spot on with tippet diameter.

Rio Euro Nymph Leader

Rio makes a leader that is a Hybrid type so you don’t have to. Basic in design, and perfect for fly fisher’s who don’t want to tie up their own. You know who you are!

Snake River Mud

Rub some on your tippet to help it sink and be even more invisible. When the fishing is tough this makes the fish more confident your fly isn’t a fake.

Micro Shot or Soft Weight

Not often needed because a long, light tippet with 2 bead head nymphs goes down and dirty pretty quickly, but every once in a while a little extra weight does the trick.

Flies

There are so many nymphs that will do the trick for this style of fishing. Check out the Euro Jig style flies and the Double Tungsten Micro nymphs. A fly called the Frenchie is a commonly known pattern for this technique, but don’t forget about your old favorite nymphs like PT’s, Micro Mayflies, Prince, Rainbow Warrior and Possie Buggers.

Landing Net

When you are landing a large fish on 5x tippet you quickly realize how much easier this is done with a good net.

Wading Staff

You will wade in some faster water than you are used to, so you can fish that one perfect pocket. A staff will give you confidence to be there.

Euro Nymph Guided Class

In the world of fishing, there is always confusion in the beginning and interpretation to apply to the way you think it will work best on your own waters. To get you through the process of learning Jeff Perin, the owner of the Fly Fisher’s Place offers an all-day European Nymphing class at the Crooked River to get you up to speed on these techniques.

For $400, 1 or 2 people can join Jeff on the water learning to use Czech style sighters and French style slinky’s. You’ll learn rigging techniques, discuss equipment and how to prepare for any situation plus get the opportunity to use equipment to see how you like it before you are ready to buy your own.

Lunch is provided. All you need is a fishing license and to buy the recommended fly selection for the day.

Additional Resources

The book Dynamic Nymphing* by George Daniel is incredible for those interested in all of the Euro Nymph techniques, flies, equipment, presentation and much, much more.

DVD’s by Aaron Jasper* and Steve Parrot* will show you “how to” on these techniques and be a great primer before you begin or a great reminder of techniques to come back to once you’ve begun.

The main reason to try European Nymphing is because it is fun, it will make you a better fly fisher and you might even catch more fish than your fishing buddy. Let the Fly Fisher’s Place help you get started or get better at this.