Czech nymphs have been subjected to great changes since the beginning of the 1980s. Many variants have been tested, and most of those who have tried the Czech method for some time have picked out their particular favourites. However, there is a steady flow of new materials on the market that enable creative fly tiers to develop new patterns that challenge the old established ones. In my opinion, this is what makes fly tying and fly fishing so exciting.

One of these hooks was the Mustad Ultrapoint 39951. The circle hook is certainly not a new invention, but for trout and grayling I have only seen midge larva imitations tied on such hooks. Our testing has revealed that the circle hook has excellent hooking properties, and it will definitely create a revolution within international fly-fishing competitions. In addition to superior hooking properties, the curved in point makes it less vulnerable when the fly bumps into rocks on the bottom, and it won’t get easily stuck on twigs and plants.

Originally, Mustad designed the circle hook to be used for Coalfish and Pollack, but they are very happy about the fact that fly fishers have found new areas of use. The smallest size they make it in is size 6, which corresponds to size 8 of other curved hooks, but according to Geir Sivertzen at Mustad, size 8 will be added in 2004 – if there’s interest in the market.

The other new hook from the Norwegian hook-maker is the Mustad Longpoint LP 440, which can be bought in large and small sizes. This is also a good alternative for tying Czech Nymphs. Another suitable hook is the Authentic Czech Nymph Hook from Partridge, which is a barbless version.

WEIGHTING AND MATERIALS

I weight all my Czech Nymphs. Weighting must be adjusted to current and depth of water, which is why I tie my favourite patterns in three to four different weight categories. For this purpose you should get hold of lead wire in the dimensions: 0.2 – 0.4 – 0.8 and 1.0 mm. In order to show the weight of the nymph I use different colours of tying thread. The heaviest ones I tie with dark thread and for the lighter ones I use a light thread.

For the past few years it has become popular to use tungsten beads on Czech flies. In very fast running water this is almost a necessity in order to get the fly down to the fish fast enough. Personally, I use balls of 3 and 4 mm, and mostly in gold, nickel and copper. Many materials can be used for body dubbing: common is hare’s ear, opossum, rabbit, squirrel, polar fox, muskrat, antron and SLF or mixtures of these. In my opinion the dubbing should consist of a mixture of soft and stiff fibres, but the stiff ones should not be too long. In case the dubbing material is too course, the fly will tend to be too bulky, and this will reduce the sinking speed. Ready-made dubbing brushes can also be used, which is definitely an alternative for everybody who has a hard time creating evenly built bodies.

Most Czech Nymphs are tied in two or three colours. Usually the back body is lighter than the thorax. Between these it’s common to use two to three windings of dubbing in a bright colour – a hot spot – as a contrast to the back body and the thorax, e.g. yellow, orange, pink or red.

RIBBING AND BACK SHIELD

There are basically two types of ribbing used for Czech nymphs: body ribbing and back-shield ribbing. The back shield is almost always ribbed with monofilament, silver or gold wire. In addition, some nymphs are ribbed with variants of flat tinsel or Nymph-rib before the back shield is added.

Throughout the last twenty years, many different materials for making back shields have been tested out, among others catguts, eel skin and latex gloves. The material has to be elastic, transparent and durable. Looking at the materials on the market today, in my opinion, it’s the Czech manufacturers Hends and Jan Siman who have the best selection. Both make back shields from vinyl in a variety of colours. I prefer Jan Siman’s because they are stronger and appear to uphold a more even quality than Hends’s. The material can be bought in pre-cut bands of fixed breadth and as small sheets for cutting your own back shields according to your own requirements. Different fly sizes require different sizes of back shields, which is why I prefer the sheets. The Czech materials are dim on one side and shiny on the other, and for my nymphs I always choose to use the dim side up. For the past few years, back shields in various flash materials have also proved to function well. The back shield should always be so wide that it covers the sides of the fly and prevents dubbing fibres to stick out on the sides. This is important for the sinking speed. With the exception of the flash materials, I will normally choose a back shield in the same colour, but in a darker shade than the back body.

Materials List: Cream & Orange Czech Nymph: Hook: Mustad Ultrapoint 39951 # 2-10 Thread: Colour depending on the weight colour coding Weighting: 0.2-0.8 mm lead wire Back Shield Ribbing: 0.15 mm monofilament Back body: Cream coloured muskrat Thorax: Dirty orange muskrat Back shield: Pearl magic shrimp foil (Jan Siman) Tungsten Brown Czech Nymph: Hook: Mustad Ultrapoint 39951 # 2-10 Thread: Colour depending on the weight colour coding Weighting: 0.2-0.8 mm lead wire Ball head: Gold tungsten, 3-4 mm, adjusted to the size of the hook Body ribbing: Light brown Nymph rib (RB-10, Hends) Back Shield Ribbing: 0.15 mm clear monofilament Back body: Light auburn coloured muskrat followed by two to three windings of orange muskrat Thorax: Dark brown Blends (Hends, BD-2822) Back shield: Light Brown Magic shrimp foil (Jan Siman)

Olive Czech Nymph: Hook: Mustad Ultrapoint 39951 # 2-10 Thread: Colour depending on the weight colour coding Weighting: 0.2-0.8 mm lead wire Body ribbing: Light brown Nymph rib (RB-10, Hends) Back Shield Ribbing: 0.15 mm clear monofilament Back body: Light olive coloured muskrat followed by two to three windings of red Blends (1095, Hends) Thorax: Olive muskrat Back shield: Olive Magic shrimp foil (Jan Siman) Tungsten Czech Nymph:   Hook: Mustad Ultrapoint 39951 # 2-10 Thread: Colour depending on the weight colour coding Weighting: 0.2-0.8 mm lead wire Ball head: Nickel tungsten, 3-4 mm, adjusted to the size of the hook Back Shield Ribbing: 0.15 mm clear monofilament Back body: Dirty pink coloured muskrat followed by two to three windings of bright pink muskrat Thorax: Blue grey muskrat Back shield: Pearl Magic shrimp foil (Jan Siman)

Tying Instructions: Photos and fly by Tom Skyrud

Step 1: To avoid displacement of the lead body while you are tying in the other materials, it’s a good idea to add a layer of super glue on the shank before you wind on the lead wire.		Step 2: Place the lead wire a bit down in the hook bend across the hook and make sure that the end slants downward. Take hold of the end with your left hand and use your right hand to wind the lead wire forward, making sure the windings are tightly wound. Remove excess wire.
Step 3: Attach the tying thread and tie in the Nymph Ribbing and 0.15 mm monofilament well into the hook bend.		Step 4: Dub some Light olive coloured muskrat dubbing onto the tying thread. Only use enough dubbing material to cover up the lead wire (this is why it’s important that the windings are tight) so that light olive dubbing covers 2/3 of the body.
Step 5: Dub a small red hot spot onto the thread and tie it in by two or three windings.		Step 6: Dub dark olive muskrat onto to the tying thread and wind it tightly forward towards the eye of the hook.
Step 7: The next step is to create the ribs. This is done by making seven to eight windings of Nymph ribbing.		Step 8: Use a pair of scissors on the back shield and make a tiny apex extending forward. Tie it in just behind the hook eye. This will allow you to make a good-looking head. Pull the back shield over the body and tie it in by 7-8 windings of monofilament in such a manner as to get distinct body segments. Build a nice, conical head.
Step 9: Use a dubbing brush or a dubbing needle to pull out fibres from the dubbing, particularly from the dark part of the thorax. Fibres extending on the side can be removed. This is important so that the fly won’t be slowed down when sinking towards the bottom..		Step 10: A Czech Nymph is ready for a deep dive.
View from behind.		Dubbing material.

Some excellent Czech Nymph variants:

Cream Circle Tungsten

Pinky

Mustad Longpoint Nymph		Rainbow Nymph

Article translated from Norwegian
by Jan Espen Andresen.