Grayling on the Fly

Anglo - Czech Angling Interactions

2012-01-17T22:16:00.000+01:00

The long and distinguished history of fly fishing is full of surprises. I was fortunate to experience one of these by myself. A friend of mine, who was about to relocate from Prague, sold me a part of his large angling library. This included some pre war issues of UK fishing magazine Fishing Gazette. In one of them I was surprised to find an article by Czech fishing author MVDr. Václav Dyk, reporting on the successes of the first Englishmen to fish the Vltava river.

The article was published on June 17^th 1939, and it referred to Mr. Dyk's findings in the records of the domain of Schwarzenbergs in Stožec, dated 1911. The first Englishmen were Messrs. Johnson & Morgan, who visited in 1911 and again in 1912, spending two weeks fishing on each occasion. Their report, as reproduced by Mr. Dyk, reads as follows:

It was interesting to note the things that have changed - and there were a lot of them: the state that Messrs. Johnson & Morgan visited was the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the state from which Mr. Dyk reported was Czechoslovakia and the country I live in now is the Czech Republic. The village formerly called Tusset has diminished after its German inhabitants were removed after WW II and goes by Czech name Stožec. A hundred years have passed.

But one thing has remained constant ever since the visit of the two adventurous Englishmen: the fishing in Upper Vltava is excellent. It remains one of the premier Graling rivers in my country and I will think of the two early visitors fondly the next time I visit there.

Pork 'n Beans CZ Nymphs

2012-01-08T17:19:00.000+01:00

Working on a couple CZ nymph patterns today. Nothing fancy, just plain but nutritious fare to replenish my nymph boxes. A fine way to pass a foul weather day, sitting tight at my tying table, churning nymphs and listening to the History of Rome podcasts.

The tie:
# 8 Skalka Gammarus hook
tan elastic thread
a single layer of flat lead
4 mm golden olive shellback
0.16 mm monofilament spinning line
homemade rabbit dubbing, Golden Olive
homemade mohair dubbing, black
a touch of black CD marker

The tie:
# 8 Skalka Gammarus hook
tan elastic thread
a single layer of flat lead
4 mm brown olive olive shellback
0.16 mm monofilament spinning line
homemade rabbit dubbing, Medium Olive
homemade mohair dubbing, Hot Orange
homemade mohair dubbing, Black
a touch of black CD marker

The tie:
# 8 Skalka Gammarus hook
tan elastic thread
a single layer of flat lead
4 mm brown olive shellback
0.16 mm monofilament spinning line
homemade rabbit dubbing, Brown Olive
homemade mohair dubbing, Claret
homemade mohair dubbing, Black
a touch of black CD marker

A little promo...

2012-01-05T20:27:00.000+01:00

Please have a look a the Back Country Journal - a new project across the pond (isn't it funny how the Americans feel it is them who lives on the here side of the Atlantic? :) dedicated to outdoor writings.

Definitely worth a look, not least because the editor deemed worthy of publication a recent story by yours truly.

PF 2012

2011-12-31T13:06:00.000+01:00

I wish a very happy New Year and good 2012 season to all my friends

Tight lines!

Jindra

The last trout of 2011

2011-12-01T23:13:00.001+01:00

The 2011 trout fishing season in the Czech Republic is now officially over. Today the trout waters closed, not to open until April next year.

The winter frosts have arrived, and cold weather is slowly making fishing unpractical. The night temperature on upper Vltava, which has brought me so much sport in September and October, has dropped to -10°C and the river is thick with ice; the ice cover makes the grayling safe from raiding North Sea cormorants though, which is not entirely bad.

For my closing day fishing trip I decided to visit the river Ohře. It is a tailwater fishery, with relatively warm water flowing from the Nechranice dam. As such it had a decent hatch of Blue Winged Olives even in late November. But the fish were already feeling sluggish and the steady flow of #18 duns was met with very few rises.

After trying the dry fly for some time with no success I determined that my last good chance to get in contact with a fish was a deeply fished nymph. I tied on a heavy pink bug, looking as a cross of a maggot and a strawberry, and was rewarded by a couple of fish. This brownie, caught at half past 3 on November 30^th was my last fish of the 2011 Trout season.

The tie:
#12 TMC 2302 hook, debarbed
3,3 mm Tungsten bead + flat lead underbody
red Benecchi thread
pink embroidery thread for the body

An Order Clearly Spoken

2011-11-27T22:19:00.000+01:00

While browsing the wares of an embroidery shop I discovered a spool of olive thread. And the thread just spoke to me; it felt like a scene in a film, when an old relic speaks to an ordinary guy and he goes to pull a sword from a stone or what not.

The word the thread spoke to me was "Baetis". I dared not disobey such a clear order, and so I purchased the thread and went home to tie some medium sized olives.

Baetis parachute
#16 Dohiku 301 dry fly hook
8/0 UNI thread tan
Coq de León tails
Olive embroidery thread body
Tiemco Aero Dry Wing wingpost
Hare dubbing for thorax
Olive dyed rooster hackle

The end (of 2011 season) is nigh

2011-11-21T22:27:00.001+01:00

The season is definitely getting to its close, and it will be soon that I will turn in my season's tickets and reduce myself to the tying table only. But until that time comes (the Czech season closes on November 30^th) I am trying to get as much fishing as possible.

As thick layers of smog descended on Prague I headed with some friends to fish the river Ohře in north western Bohemia. This river, also called Eger in German, is one of the finer Czech tailwaters fisheries. The days of its former glory are past now, but it still retains aura of certain mystique as river where it is possible (though unlikely) to catch brown trout in the 50+ cm range.

It is also notorious as a moody river, where blank days happen to even the best fishermen. The news we had through the fly fishing grapevine was that a hatch of olives was going on and that the fish were rising freely. Thus we overcame our natural laziness and temperature just slightly above freezing and headed to the famed river.

The the reports turned out to be correct; but one thing the grapevine failed to mention was that even though the fish were indeed freely rising they were awfully choosy in what they put into their little mouths. The sound of fish splashing carried well over the waters and the huge riseforms were impossible to miss. But the wily fish utterly ignored all my fancy offerings, only to rise again once my imitations passed. Frustration rode high.

At the end - after trying out most of my grayling fly box - I decided the imitative approach had failed and turned to attraction. First with my pink Barbie dun and then a little Goldie fly.

The Goldie, while not imitating anything particular, turned out to be just what the fish wanted. Why should the fish prefer such thing to #18 Olive dun when #18 Olive duns were drifting by and being eaten is one of the great mysteries that make fly fishing so alluring.

I was rewarded by several fine grayling and also some rainbow trout. This one has evidently suffered a close encounter with a predator (perhaps a small pike?) in his youth.

Little Goldie Fly:
#14 Hanák 130 BL hook
tan elastic tying thread
UNI 1/32 " tinsel Gold
3 natural CDC feathers

Aspects of Angling

2011-10-27T11:42:00.000+02:00

I have recently experienced two very different visits to upper Vltava. On my first I travelled alone and had a great sport - the conditions were just perfect: a sunny day after overnight frost brought up a strong BWO hatch, the fish were active on the surface and my size #18 Olive Quill met their appetite exactly. I had great time, having caught several fish over 40 centimeters on a dry fly.

The next week I returned south again with two friends. I had shared my enthusiasm with them, so naturally the expectations ran high. Martin and Dalibor were looking forward to some quality grayling fishing and I wanted to play the perfect guide.

Unfortunately the fishing conditions did not repeat themselves. A cold front was passing over the Czech Republic, which brought a strong wind and put a stop to the BWO hatch. The fish were loath to rise and sudden gusts of wind made havoc of our light lines and long leaders. We really struggled to connect with any fish, and the big ones were out of the question.

The surprising thing about all this was that the second trip turned out a great success, but in a different way than the first. The misery that we all shared has brought us all together and as the fishing was no good we could afford to take some time off, enjoy a streamside lunch, tell stories of better fishing and really drink in the eerie beauty of late season Šumava.

The sun cast long and dramatic shadows over the dry meadows, the willows were already bare, the birches still full of colors and the three of us were about as far from civilization as is possible in our densely populated country. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, despite the fact that the fish turned out rather uncooperative.

No Hackle Olive Quill

2011-10-20T23:27:00.002+02:00

A new tying sequence has been added to my SBS pages - No Hackle Olive Quill. It is a neat little fly, a great favorite of Czech grayling and sure to work wonders when the autumn generation of Baetis sp. hatches (i.e. about this time of the year).

I will award a special price to the first person to correctly guess the currency on the picture! :)

October Optimism

2011-10-17T00:01:00.000+02:00

The gloomy days of early October have passed, and the mist and drizzle were replaced by sunny, if crisp and cold, autumn days. Nothing awakens grayling appetite like a combination of overnight frost and a good BWO hatch, so I headed to the mountains of Šumava to pay a visit to what is arguably the best grayling fishery in Czech lands.

By the village of Dobrá the Vltava river meanders through fields of sedge (locally called "pineapples", quite challenging to pass through). In its gentle flow grows ranunculus and other plants, supporting a variety of aquatic life. The banks of the river are littered by concrete bunkers, now overgrown by the forest but still serving as mementos of darker times.

By about noon a mixed hatch started, with blue winged olives and little stoneflies. Even an occasional big sedge (Rhyacophila sp.) could be seen, but it did not seem to find any risers. The most productive imitation were #18 green quill & CDC mayfly and #18 Hare's mask emerger. Especially the green quill was very hard for the grayling to resist.

Over the stretches of Ranuncul I caught several fine fish on a dry fly The surface activity peaked by about 2 PM, but I could see occasional rises until about 5 PM.

The fish showed a surprising variance in color - some were very light, with only a few blackish scales, while other were of very dark complexion.

October Gloom

2011-10-10T22:02:00.003+02:00

After an unusually warm and sunny (and fishing-wise very dull) September the Czech Republic was hit by the old fashioned dull October drizzle. The temperatures dropped about 15°C - from over twenty to just about 6°C - and the fine autumn gloom settled in.

The same change in weather has also signaled the start of proper Grayling season, and as such was eagerly anticipated by many fly fishermen. We are strange creatures indeed...

For the weekend I headed north of Prague to my favorite rivers Kamenice and Jizera. The thin drizzle has caused a slight rise in the water, but as there has been hardly any rain in the past few weeks the countryside was very dry and soaked the thin rain very easily. The rivers were thus still rather low and only a little off color. A hatch of lightly greyish Baetis mayflies started to appear very predictably at around 1 PM and woke up the grayling to action.

I struggled in trying to catch a sizable fish, chiefly because of the sheer numbers and activity of the grayling youths. After a while I stopped my casting and settled to watch the drift of hatching duns and their slaughter by hungry fish. From my place on an old tree stump I could not see any surviving dun passing by alive. The Baetis duns came down like little sailing ships, drifting very gracefully downstream and the grayling picked them off one by one as some sort of sea monsters without showing any hint of mercy.

In a wilder stretch of the Kamenice river I happened to catch an out of season brown trout lady. I released her quickly and carefully, and she rewarded me by posing for a while in the shallow water, so I could make a picture of her in the slow drizzle.

On the Jizera river I caught a smallish Rainbow trout. It has quite surprised me by its unexpected beauty - I am not partial to stocked fish, grossly overweight with their short stubby fins and foolish need to attack anything remotely resembling a food pellet. I was however reminded how graceful they can grow, if stocked as small fry and left to grow feral. Not to mention the unmatched fighting spirit of a nature grown rainbow,

The best imitation of very lightly colored duns proved to be my Eagle Owl emergers, tied in size #18 with wing of CDC and bodies of Eagle Owl herl.

Grayling Candy

2011-10-01T23:12:00.000+02:00

A couple ties for the Ladies, all tied on #18 Hanák 130BL hooks:

A little redhead

The tie
#18 Hanák 130BL hook
14/0 Sheer thread gray
Heron herl
3 CDC feathers
70 dernier red Danville thread to cover the head

Green Quill

The tie
#18 Hanák 130BL hook
14/0 Sheer thread gray
pardo Coq de León tail
3 CDC feathers
a pinch of natural hare fur to make the thorax

Hare Emerger

The tie
#18 Hanák 130BL hook
14/0 Sheer thread gray
3 strands of twisted orange flashabou
body of dubbed hare ribbed with #16 UNI gold tinsel
3 CDC feathers
a pinch of natural hare fur to make the thorax

Washing Line on Bohdaneč

2011-09-29T00:05:00.000+02:00

Organizing the wedding has seriously cut into my fishing time, but with the affair done I decided to seek some quiet - and to replenish my stock of slivovitz - on my favorite small stillwater fishery in Bohdaneč. By this pond is a small distillery specializing in fruit brandy - plums, apples, apricots and the kind. Very much like the lochside distilleries in Scotland, but with a definite Central European twist.

The conditions were not perfect, as it was still quite hot and the water was full of algae, of almost coffee color. The sun was shining brightly and there was no wind. Few fish were active, taking hatching buzzer pupae. In order to connect with them I had to either offer them either a brightly colored orange lure - an effective, but not overly satisfying method - or a midge imitation fished very close to the surface.

At the end the best tactic proved to be the washing line method - using a very buoyant foam buzzer on point and two smaller "catching" buzzers on droppers, with a floating leader and line. My catching flies sank just a couple centimeters below the surface. Thus I was able to have some good sport without having to depart from imitative fly fishing.

Imitative buzzer:
#12 TMC2487 BL hook
Olive UNI 8/0 thread
Olive UNI stretch to form the body
Pearl UNI #16 tinsel
Burnt Orange Neon UNI 1/0 thread
White TMC Aero Dry Wing
Black Opossum dubbing

Buoyant buzzer:
#10 TMC2487 BL hook
Tan UNI 6/0 thread (thicker thread in order not to cut the foam)
White Booby foam post
Hare + Seal dubbing mix dyed Olive
Pearl #16 UNI tinsel

The Most Important Knot

2011-09-15T16:05:00.000+02:00

This Saturday, in the chapel of Holy Trinity in the gardens of Červená Lhota chateau, I will be tying the most important knot of them all.

As a result I spent more time in recent weeks preparing these:

Than tying or fishing any of these:

And if my married friends are right it is not likely to get much better soon. But I am still looking forward to the moment... :)

Translation widget

2011-09-12T20:09:00.000+02:00

Many readers of these pages are using Google Translate tool. I am flattered by the trouble they take to understand my ramblings and to make it easier for them I have added a Translation Widget to the blog.

Out of curiosity I tried to translate the page into my native Czech, and the result was very entertaining - it seems that fly fishing texts are not regular items on menu of the translation robots.

Spreading the Word

2011-09-06T21:47:00.001+02:00

A friend of mine is a keen coarse fisherman, but I have a feeling there is a chance of making him see the light, cast aside his boilies & tripod and convert to Fly Fishing.

I hope a gift of this little fly box - made to suit the taste of trout on our local stillwater - would be enough to tip him to the dark side.

#10 Kamasan B110 Buzzer, Chinese Red

#10 Kamasan B110 Buzzer, Black, Pearl and Orange

#10 Kamasan B110 Buzzer, Dennis the Menace

#10 Black Lure

#10 Orange Lure

#12 GRHE Wet Fly

#12 GRHE Dry Fly

Grayling season is nigh...

2011-08-19T23:34:00.000+02:00

...so its best to get back to the vice and tie some specks of grey dust.

Here are a couple size 20 mayflies of CDC and Muskrat dubbing, taking a rest on a match.

Orange Chickabou

2011-07-26T23:08:00.002+02:00

Even though I live in a big city I am lucky to have friends and relations who still raise chicken, thus giving me a good supply of home plucked chickabou feathers. These take dye very well, and once dyed Orange they make a sure killing lure for bashing stockies on stillwaters.
I found out that by using the same material, while slightly alternating the hooks and beads used, I can target a somewhat different quarry.

This set of earrings will make a gift to a lady friend.

Canon Foam Spinner

2011-07-12T23:23:00.001+02:00

I have been recently forced to buy a new camera - the old one ending its life in a trout stream as direct result of gross negligence on part of its owner.

An unexpected consequence of the purchase was that the new camera came in a very handy foam protective packaging, which just screams "wing material" to any self respecting fly tier :)

The tie:
#14 Dohiku 301 dry fly hook
8/0 UNI thread tan
3 badger hairs for tails
orange dyed peacock quill
Canon G12 package foam wing
a little natural hare for thorax

Caddis Pupae

2011-06-26T22:44:00.001+02:00

A bunch of caddis pupae for a swap. Although the swap is in the UK the flies are of a local pattern that has turned to be successful on Ohře, one of the most enigmatic of Czech rivers.

Memories of BFFI 2011

2011-06-22T21:36:00.003+02:00

This year was my first as a featured tier at the British Fly Fair International, and in addition I was invited to give a presentation on tying the Czech style nymphs in the Fly Tying Theatre. No wonder the show left me with some very strong memories.

I was tying next to Scott Kane from Scotland, a true gentleman and a genuine master of the Clyde style fly dressing, and Roger Salomonsson of Sweden, a versatile tier of both Trout and Tarpon flies. It was both inspiring and fun company.

It was good to meet with a fellow East European tier Stoyan Filipov (who - unlike the civilized Britons, appreciates the qualities of a fine Sliwovitz) and the fly tying legend Alice Conba.

I met with Patrick Del Fatti from Switzerland, an unassuming gentleman and a wet fly tier of uncompromising perfection.

I truly appreciated the full dress Salmon flies tied entirely in hand by Jens Pilgaard. Jens is truly unique in being able to change his personality from tweed clad English country gentleman to a bare chested Viking blacksmith (and back again).

And for the whole BFFI weekend I was truly grateful for the warm welcome of the UK Fly Dressing Forum gang, who graciously made a stranger with a foreign accent truly welcome.

Almost ready for the BFFI...

2011-06-16T23:32:00.000+02:00

... just hope the customs people don't come asking me funny questions at the airport. The contents of my bag might be hard to explain to the uninitiated :)

Lost & Found

2011-06-12T21:44:00.001+02:00

A friend came visiting to the Czech Republic, a great chap I had been in contact via the internet and whom I hoped to finally meet in person. Alas, I was detained by other obligations and we missed each other.

A few days after his leaving I went fishing the river Kamenice. While working a very fishy pool in the Frenchy nymph style I felt a strike; but when I set the hook I found out I had not hooked a fish, just a very tangled leader. When I examined it in detail I found that it had still some flies attached - and from just one look at the flies I knew they were left there by a particular Scotsman. So here is one for Mr. Craig McDonald from Glasgow :)

The fish of Kamenice

2011-05-25T20:21:00.003+02:00

I am spending a few days on Kamenice. I managed to catch the four salmonid species present in the river during a single day: the Grayling (my all time favorite), Brown trout, and two introduced species: Rainbow trout and Brook trout. All of them could be persuaded to take a dry fly, which was even more fun.

Redheads

2011-05-13T22:51:00.001+02:00

I was told men find redheads sexy. Now the $1000 question: do trout as well?

The tie:
Dohiku 301 #14 hook
brown UNI thread
Coq de León tails
tan Muskrat dubbing
UNI Pearl Tinsel, counterribed
3-4 CDC feathers
scruffy Hare dubbing, well teased out
red Danville thread, 70 dernier just for the head

The Green Fairy

2011-05-08T22:28:00.000+02:00

One has but to wonder how the French came to invent the famous leader technique: since no reliable history is known perhaps I might be allowed to fantasy that it is came as a thujone induced hallucination out of a dark recess of a twisted mind...

To keep with my Absinthe inspired idea I decided to call this little creation the Green Fairy.

The tie:
#14 Dohiku 302 wet fly hook
2.0 mm tungsten bead copper
14/0 Sheer thread gray
tail of grizzly rooster
home dyed peacock quill - Olive
home dyed rabbit fur - Hot Orange

Field testing the Dohiku hooks

2011-04-30T17:49:00.000+02:00

With the grayling having just spawned I decided to field test the Dohiku hooks on a water certain to hold only brow trout. With this intention I headed to a small stream west from Prague, which I knew from experience to contain only brownies and some chub.

We did not have any serious rain for a long time, and the water was really low - the stream had flow normally associated with high summer, while it was still only April.

My #16 grayish mayfly of Muskrat fur and CDC matched the hatching mayflies with adequate accuracy, and I had a good sport while confirming the hooking and holding power of my new Dohiku hooks.

I caught a couple brownies in the 20 - 30 cm range on dry fly, but had to cut my trip short due to a sudden storm (complete with hail). The countryside surely deserved the moisture, but the little creek quickly turned muddy and any dry fly action was off.

New Hooks

2011-04-29T21:21:00.000+02:00

My favorite dry fly hooks brand, Hanák from České Budějovice, has lately started having even worse supply problems than usual. I was told it has to do with the earthquake in Japan, where their hooks are manufactured, but regardless of cause it annoys me greatly. I am a conservative person by nature, but when I was unable to purchase size 16 Hanák H130BL anywhere in Prague I was forced to try out a new brand of hooks - I decided on Dohiku from Slovakia.

The tie:
#16 Dohiku 301 dry fly hook
8/0 UNI thread tan
Coq de León tails
natural Muskrat fur
3 CDC feathers for wing
scruffy hare dubbing for thorax, teased out with a velcro brush to suggest legs

So far I am happy with the change, but yet have to ask the fish for a more definite answer :)

Opening the 2011 Trout Fishing Season

2011-04-16T23:07:00.000+02:00

The April 16th - the trout season opening day - is a big day for Czech fishermen. By tradition it is a social occasion; a day to share a glass with your friends and bring home a few stocked rainbow trout if so inclined. The places known to be recently stocked are usually full of spin fishermen; I avoided these and headed north to Jizera, where my friend Kuba has a summer cottage.

The water was still relatively cold - 8°C - but some fly life was apparent; not only this lovely stonefly, but also many smallish Baetis mayflies. Nature was only slowly awakening after the long winter, but some fish seemed to be active. A pleasant surprise was that the recent rains had no impact on the water level.

My friends decided - correctly - that this early in the season the surest way to connect with a fish was by heavy nymphing, and proceeded in a mix of Czech and French style nymphing techniques. I took encouragement from the few solitary rises and proceeded with a dry fly.

As was to be expected the nymph was the more productive technique, but I persevered and was rewarded by a fine grayling - this little fellow had the honor of being my first river caught fish this season. He surprised me a little - I was expecting the grayling to be busy with amorous adventures and was looking for brown trout. I allowed myself a quick picture and released him.

The fly that scored was my Hare's Mask Emerger - my favorite and most productive imitation of the smallish mayflies of Baetis genus.

The tie:
#18 Hanák 130 BL Hook
14/0 Sheer thread Gray
three strands of orange Krystal flash
scruffy hare dubbing
ribbing of #16 UNI gold tinsel
2 smallish CDC feathers
more hare for thorax, well teased out to suggest leggs

Flies for April 16th

2011-04-12T23:21:00.000+02:00

The Czech trout waters open for fishing this Saturday - a day eagerly awaited by many. It will be chiefly a social occasion, but as fishermen we will want a contact with a fish on that day. The water will be cold, muddy and still a tad high, so this weekend will not be a day for dainty mayflies, but for big, fat, nutritious looking pork & beans nymph patterns.

Buchtička fly:
#10 Kamasan B110 Grubber hook (debarbed)
3,3 mm Tungsten gold head
scruffy hare dubbing, well teased out with a velcro brush
pearly tinsel rib

Red Tag
#10 Hanák H260BL
3,5 mm Tungsten copper bead
Hot Orange rabbit fur tag
scruffy hare dubbing, well teased out with a velcro brush
pearly tinsel rib

Green Tag
#10 Hanák H260BL
3,5 mm Tungsten black bead
Fluo Green rabbit fur tag
scruffy hare dubbing, well teased out with a velcro brush
pearly tinsel rib

The spring is come!

2011-04-04T21:55:00.003+02:00

The spring has finally come - and it arrived in force, with this weekend's temperatures well above 20°C. The rivers are still closed in the Czech republic, so I returned to my favorite stillwater fishery, where last year at about this time I had a very pleasant encounter with whitefish (not to mention the Slivovitz, but that is another matter).

Alas, as the weather was so warm and unseasonably pleasant the whitefish did not materialize. For some reason these mysterious fish prefer foul weather, and the warm spring day completely turned them off. I had to make do with regular rainbow and brook trout, both of which were very welcome after the long winter.

One thing this visit had in common with last years was the fact that the key to unlock the secrets of the water was a smallish black buzzer, fished static on the shallows on a floating line and a long fluorocarbon leader.

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B160 Hook
UNI 6/0 Thread black
UNI 1/69" Mylar Pearl for rib
Orange stretch floss for wing buds
2 - 3 layers of clear varnish

How to rouse the passion of a Nyphomaniac?

2011-04-01T00:01:00.044+02:00

A tough question indeed... Though from reliable sources I learned that small tokens of affection help in making the nymph truly manic.

In order to ensure success you should use only the finest materials available. Genuine Argentinean hare instead of your local rodent; chemically sharpened hooks of Japanese origin instead of your usual el cheapo barbed monstrosity - these should best be left to the fish. Don't even think about other than genetically pure Rooster! And the bead should of course be of genuine gold, no brass imitation would ever convince a true lady!

5. Karlovarské muškařské forum / 5th Fly Fishing Forum in Karlovy Vary

2011-03-20T22:06:00.005+01:00

The 2011 Fly Fishing Forum in Karlovy Vary continued in its tradition of the premier Fly Fishing event in the Czech Republic. It served not only as a gathering place for friends from near and afar, but it brought us interesting insights into trout stream ecology and conservation. It was a great continuation of the tradition of the last year's event.

The forum started off on Saturday on a more serious note, with presentations on fish migration, a case study on weir removal and the hotly debated problem of the Cormorants. I was rather surprised by the complexity of the problems and some of the issues involved - for example I did not realize before that important obstacle for weir removal projects is the reluctance of the watercourse operators to "lose" property for which they can claim maintenance funding.
Neither was I aware that the reason Cormorants (huge numbers of which come from the Baltic sea to spend the winter in Czech, causing great damage to fish stocks) are still on the list of endangered species is not their scarcity (their numbers are way back from the near extinction they suffered in the 1970's) but because of intense lobbying from production fishermen, who use their status to claim losses suffered by their feeding on production carp ponds from the state.

The next presentations were by Lee Cummings on Mullet fishing in Cumbria in the UK - his description of Mullet as a chub on steroids and amphetamines at the same time was unforgettable :) René Gerken shared his experience fishing for Sea Trout on Danish rivers, continuing the theme from last year when he described fishing for Sea Trout in the sea. In the last presentation Philipp Sicher from Switzerland showed us the results of his efforts to create a better split cane Spey rod.

On Sunday we had field demonstration of the Spey casting technique by Lee and René, two master casters with great didactic skills. Especially Lee's showing us not just the way Spey casting is done right (he made it seem almost easy) but also the most common mistakes raised a lot of interest.

At the end of the presentation Philipp showed us how the bamboo rod with a silk fly line behaves compared to its modern graphite equivalent.

Smoky Chironomid Emerger

2011-03-15T22:08:00.002+01:00

A friend of mine, who works as a keeper in a ZOO (a very useful acquaintance for a fly tier!) has provided me with a couple of large feathers from one of the many species of Crane that come somewhere from East Asia. These feathers have a wonderful smoky color and nice structure, sort of like that of a Heron but finer.

An application that immediately occurred to me was to use the herl for a chironomid body. Here is a picture of the finished fly when dry:

The tie:
#16 TMC2487 BL hook
8/0 UNI thread Tan
3 herls of an East Asian Crane feather for abdomen
#16 UNI tinsel Pearl for ribbing
3 tips of a CDC feather for wing
a pinch of scruffy Hare for thorax

Once the wing is treated with CDC oil it will hang in the film for a long time, with the body sunk below the surface - and overall looking vulnerable and nutritious at the same time.

And the combination of smoky gray feather and pearl tinsel really does come alive when wet:

Bandit Insurrection

2011-03-12T22:40:00.000+01:00

Grayling and trout beware, Uhorčík and Hrajnoha - the fearsome Beadheaded Bandits - are getting ready for the opening of the 2011 season!

Orange tipped Hrajnoha
#10 Hanák H260BL hook
3.3 mm tungsten bead, gold
Red rooster hackle fibres
UNI 8/0 thread Tan
UNI Neon thread Orange
UNI gold tinsel #16
Homemade Hare dubbing

Green tipped Uhorčík
#10 Hanák H260BL hook
3.3 mm tungsten bead, gold
Red rooster hackle fibres
UNI 8/0 thread Tan
UNI Neon thread Green
UNI gold tinsel #16
Homemade Hare dubbing

Quill Shuttlecock

2011-03-06T22:15:00.001+01:00

One for those smutting moments...

The tie:
#18 Hanák 130 BL hook
14/0 Sheer thread Grey
3 strands of pearl Krystal flash
peacock quill dyed Olive
3 smallish CDC puffs
rabbit fur dyed Hot Orange

Peeping Caddis SBS

2011-03-05T23:36:00.001+01:00

A new Step by step pattern has been added - Peeping Caddis.

A good early season fly, productive in high water conditions and well suited to the short nymph style. It performs the best when fished as "anchor" on point of a two or three fly setup.

Orange Quill Spinner

2011-02-24T23:12:00.001+01:00

The end of the winter is nowhere in sight, and any chance for decent fishing seems remote. I decided to seek solace in tying spent spinners, which remind me of warm summer evenings.

The tie:
#16 Hanák 130 BL hook
14/0 Sheer thread Grey
Coq de León tails
homemade Orange peacock quills (Hot Orange from Veniard) for abdomen
Tiemco Aero Dry Wing for wing
homemade hare dubbing for thorax

Hare Emerger

2011-02-06T23:49:00.000+01:00

The honor to be the first patten in my newly empty Grayling box fell to the Hare's Emerger. It was not a surprising choice - it is a pattern that has brought me many a fine fish over the years, one in which I have an absolute confidence. The combination of scruffy hare dubbing, CDC and a little flash has served me well in many a difficult fishing situation.

The tie:
#18 Hanák 130 BL hook
14/0 Sheer thread Grey
three strands of orange Krystal Flash
UNI #16 gold tinsel
homemade scruffy Hare dubbing
two fine CDC feather tips

Чистка - 2011 version

2011-02-05T23:30:00.000+01:00

The time has come for the annual fly box housekeeping. So like Iosif Vissarionovich of old I gave a hard look to my little Grayling box. In total 180 dry flies and 20 nymphs were found ideologically wanting and were purged without mercy.

The flies seemed to be relatively OK, so I will give them away to some friend or other. And the thought of all the empty spaces, eagerly waiting to be filled with series of new 2011 fly models fills me with trepidation :)

Top 10 Czech Nymph Patterns

2011-01-20T14:02:00.000+01:00

I created a new page (click the link to follow) dedicated to my top ten favorite Czech Nymph patterns. By clicking on the pictures you can view the flies in higher resolution than I normally use in my posts.

And don't forget, the Step by Step sequence to tying "my" Czech Nymph is on my SBS pages.

Depth Charge Caddis

2011-01-18T21:07:00.001+01:00

At the extreme parts of the season the Grayling are huddled in deep holes and refuse to budge. They are still eating though, and can be persuaded to accept a your fly, if it is presented at their level. This heavy monstrosity (slightly bigger and heavier than a rimfire bullet) will do the trick, just remember to keep the bead away from your graphite rod (and don't you ever dare to tie it on a bamboo rod setup, that would be extremely bad manners!).

The tie:
#10 Jig hook
4.6mm Tungsten bead
a layer of flat lead
green UNI Neon thread for the peeping head
a turn of Partridge hackle
natural spiky hare ribbed with gold tinsel

Olive Quill

2011-01-16T21:57:00.000+01:00

My infatuation with dying stuff to color Olive seems to recognize no limits. I have just discovered that a peacock quill will take color quite well - with the obvious implications to my tying :)

The tie:
#16 Hanák 130BL hook
14/0 Sheer thread Grey
my very own super special peacock quill, dyed olive
2 puffs of CDC
rough hare thorax (makes the CDC stand up in Mayfly fashion), teased out a bit to suggest legs

Olive Czechs

2011-01-11T13:48:00.000+01:00

Continued experiments with a white rabbit pelt and Veniard dyes led me to these nymphs.

The abdomens are dyed Golden Olive, Medium Olive and Brown Olive. The last one is natural hare belly for comparison. The hotspots are Hot Orange and Light Claret, front part is natural hare dubbing from the back. Shellback is Honey colored Body Stretch and ribbing is 0.16 mm mono spinning line.

Large Dark Olive

2011-01-10T12:41:00.000+01:00

A new SBS has been added - Large Dark Olive mayfly dun. The Large Dark Olive, or LDO for short, refers to spring generation of Baetis rhodani. Where I live this mayfly is the first of the major river hatches to appear and provides very welcome opportunities for dry fly action.

This SBS was originally written for Fly Fishing Central.

Beaded bandits

2011-01-06T12:49:00.000+01:00

A couple of Tungsten beadheads in the fashion of Uhorčík, the fabled bandit hero from Slovakia.

The ones on the left are #10 Hanák 260 BL and 3.5 mm bead, the ones on middle and right are #12 and 3.0 mm bead.

Aspects of Olive

2011-01-02T23:24:00.000+01:00

My dyeing experiments led me to some interesting shades of Olive color. One that shows promise is the Brown Olive from Veniard; it makes for some (in my eyes) very life-like imitation of Large Dark Olive mayflies.

As an added bonus it serves as a doable abdomen for Czech style nymphs.

Tungsten Density Experiment

2010-12-28T11:51:00.004+01:00

Tungsten beads are popular in fly tying circles, but they are subject to never ending discussions about their quality (or rather cost vs. quality ratio). The discussion usually ends up that the cheap beads are sure to be Chinese (with implication that nothing good ever came from China, with possible exceptions of paper currency, gunpowder, tonkin cane and cheap takeaway food).

By a fortunate coincidence I received a significant order for tungsten beadheaded flies and discovered very competetively priced beadheads on a Polish internet site (www.taimen.com) in a single week. This led to me obtaining enough beadheads to be able to measure their density directly.

I used a method very similar to the one employed by Mr. Archimedes to determine the purity of a golden crown for Hiero II of Syracuse. I measured 10 ml water in a beaker and poured enough 3.3 mm beads for the water level to rise to 20 ml. It took 755 beads to acheive that.

The second step was to let the beads dry and weight them. The 755 beads weighted 188.5 grams, i.e. the observed density of my beads was 18.85 gr/cm³.

The result came as a pleasant suprise, as the observed density was very close to the density of pure Tungsten (19.25 gr/cm³) and significantly above both Brass (around 9 gr/cm³, depending on alloy) and Lead (11.34 gr/cm³). Lower density than pure tungsten was to be expected due to technology used to make the beads and the fact that the beads are gold (i.e. brass) plated.

My conclusion therefore was that the Taimen beads are perfectly OK to use; to get better ballast I would have to resort to pure gold (density 19.30 gr/cm³) or platinum (density 21.41 gr/cm³), both of which are highly impractical for fishing use.

It also led me to think that some of the disparaging of cheap "Chinese" beads by fly shop proprietors might be due to other reasons than quality of the product.

Muskrat & CDC Dun

2010-12-18T18:05:00.000+01:00

With all the snow and frost rendering fishing unpractical (I must be getting old!) and the shopping madness that has little to do with the birth of Christ raging in the town I decided to seek solace at the tying table. This little Iron Blue imitation reminds me of happier days...

The tie:
#16 Hanák 130BL hook
14/0 Sheer thread Grey
Coq de León tails
natural Muskrat fur
1 CDC feather natural and 1 CDC feather dyed pink, spun in loop and cut to shape

Pale Olive Dun

2010-12-09T23:13:00.000+01:00

A test of homemade silk dubbing that I dyed myself to Golden Olive color and mixed in a coffee grinder. I have to work a bit on the color range, but for a first result it is not so bad. Looks well and makes a fine dubbing rope, suitable for the very smallest flies.

The tie:
#18 Hanák 130 Hook
14/0 Sheer thread Grey
Coq de León tails
homemade Pale Olive dubbing
CDC wing

BFFI 2011

2010-12-07T22:57:00.005+01:00

In true Godfather fashion I received an offer from Steve Cooper that I was unable to refuse. So on June 18 and 19th next year I will be tying on the British Fly Fair International. It may be still early December 2010, but I am already looking forward to the event :)

Late Season Jig

2010-11-24T21:11:00.000+01:00

Late in the season Grayling can't be troubled to rise anymore - and if you want to catch them you have to present your fly at the depth of their choosing, not yours. This fly is designed to get down and stay down, and it will even sink a smaller nymph on a dropper. Since it is tied on a jig hook it will bounce on the bottom hook up, so it will snag a bit less than a conventional beadhead (but a fly this heavy will snag sooner or later).

The tie:
#10 Skalka Jig Hook
4.6 mm Tungsten bead
layer of lead on hook shank
6/0 UNI thread Tan
Australian Opossum fur for tail, natural grey
Hare & Seal dubbing, natural grey
lightweight pink wire
flashy scud back
light touch of hot pink SLF

Herl Bodied Grayling Fly

2010-11-19T00:04:00.000+01:00

A new SBS has been added - Herl Bodied Grayling Fly. It is an easy fly to tie, but never the less quite deadly to the Ladies. Unfortunately the fly is so easy that no matter how I tried I was not able to stretch the tying sequence to 10 steps and had to settle to 7 :)

Memories of the BFFI

2010-11-16T23:52:00.003+01:00

The British Fly Fair in late October was the biggest gathering of fly fishing enthusiasts I have witnessed to date, so it comes as no surprise it made a lasting impression on me.

I learned many things, among them that fruit flavored alcohol is popular with European fly fishermen, but Sloe Vodka from the north west part is not the same thing as Sliwovitz from the center of the continent (no use trying to strip paint with Mr. Tango's creation)

I learned that in Scandinavia it takes a bear of a man to tie the most delicate and graceful dry flies.

I experienced the warm welcome of my Slavic cousins from Serbia on Zoran's flies stand and I was invited to the famed Chinese dinner by the gang from the UK Fly Dressing forum (too bad I didn't take any pictures there)

I gazed in awe at the work of masters of the salmon fly, which is a style quite foreign to my land locked country.

I learned that the fly tying art in Scotland has style to match its formidable traditions...

...and that its appeal is not lost on the youngest generation.

But most of all I had a great time! My thanks to all who made my visit such a memorable experience :)

CDC Caddis

2010-11-10T22:24:00.000+01:00

The tie:
#10 dry fly hook
8/0 UNI thread Tan
fluo green floss (glo brite used here, but any would do)
scruffy hare dubbing
gold rib
3 CDC feathers for wing
2 CDC feathers spun in loop for hackle

Good fly for midsummer evenings. It floats like cork, so perfect for faster riffles. Excellent sport can be had with it by jerking it underwater on a slowly sinking leader. It will skitter and pop back up, drawing furious strikes

Return to Šumava

2010-10-27T23:50:00.007+02:00

Today I returned to Šumava, where I had remarkably fine fishing two weeks ago. The river was a tad higher than last time, but still at level comfortably allowing for dry fly fishing.

The day was clear and sunny with no wind, but up here in the mountains (altitude of some 750 meters) the season had already progressed and parts of the river were already frozen over when I arrived.

In 1930's, when war with Nazi Germany was considered imminent, Czechoslovakia built a defense line on the Vltava. To this day the river is lined with concrete bunkers, now overgrown by forest.

The going was tougher than when I visited here two weeks ago. Instead of the solid hatch of Baetis mayflies I encoundered in mid October there was much thinner hatch of smallish stoneflies. The stoneflies were not numerous enough to keep the grayling rising consistently and the bright sunshine made them easily spooked. Accurate presentation was therefore required, as I could not afford many misses.

Still I was able to connect to a few fish of decent size. They were remarkable for their variance in color, from very light ones to some almost completely dark.

Fine Grayling Dries

2010-10-24T22:51:00.000+02:00

Many consider fishing for Grayling on dry flies to be the pinnacle of the Art of Angling. It requires careful prospecting and river knowledge, as Grayling rises are so gentle they are easy to miss if you don't know where to look at and what to look for. It requires first class presentation, as the Grayling will not tolerate any drag at all.

But most of all it requires finery - finery both of approach but also in tackle. Fine lines, fine rods (my favorite is a #4 weight Gary Marshall bamboo), gossamer tippets and delicate flies. Here are a couple size 20 Eagle Owl flies that have proved most satisfactory this Grayling season.

October Grayling

2010-10-19T01:18:00.000+02:00

Late last week a cold front arrived to the Czech Republic. Relatively speaking warm and sunny days with clear skies were replaced by cold, mist and light drizzle - in other words prime grayling weather. With a group of like minded individuals I headed south to the German borders, where some of the best grayling fishing in the Czech lands can be had on the Vltava river.

From the look of the countryside it was obvious that the summer was a distant memory by now and winter will be soon making itself felt. The river was about 6°C cold and gin clear, with the water levels having only recently receded from rains.

The river seemed still on the surface, although some sport could be had by short nymphing - this was however not the reason why we came to the place. Shortly after noon a trickle of smallish olive duns started to float down the river, with Mr. Grayling soon taking notice of them - the dry fly time had finally arrived!

The grayling proved to be very finicky eaters, and could be tempted only on the very smallest imitations - #18 and #20 mayflies with body of heron or Eagle Owl feather and CDC wing. In addition our quarry were extremely sensitive to drag. We understood that perfectly, but watching for drag of a size 20 fly put some strain on our eyes - luckily for us the grayling were not spooky and allowed us to cast from quite short distance.

On early Sunday afternoon I discovered this place - a dry fly fisherman wet dream. The half sunk log served as a barrier of sorts, funneling all flotsam from half a river width to single stream, no more than 20 centimeters wide. In this bubble lane, clearly visible on my photograph, a couple of sizable grayling were rising nonchalantly.

The fish were not spooky and allowed me to get close and observe. They were not stupid either though, and firmly refused any fly that shoved even slightly unnatural drift. Any instance of drag was met by a swift and utter refusal of my imitation. Getting the drift correct in all the conflicting currents was a tough nut that I spent almost an hour trying to crack. At the end I finally succeeded and was rewarded by a lovely colored grayling, my biggest for the whole trip.

The fly that made my success possible was size 20 Výrovka fly, made from the herl of the Eagle Owl feather.

Anodized Pink Beadhead

2010-10-14T22:40:00.000+02:00

It is well known that pink beadheads have strange appeal to grayling. I have been using beads painted pink for some time with great success. They seemed to have only one drawback: after being fished hard in shallow stream the paint peeled off.

I have acquired some beads with anodized pink, and I am looking forward to see if they perform as well as the painted ones while lasting longer.

The tie:
#12 Hanák 260BL hook (shortened shank, has the length of a #14 hook)
2.8 mm beadhead anodized Pink
tan UNI 8/0 thread
red rooster hackle fibres for tail
scruffy dubbing from hare's back
UNI #16 gold tinsel

Tiny Shuttlecock

2010-09-23T21:18:00.000+02:00

A fly for the times when the Grayling play it difficult and get selective on emerging olives. Depending on how you grease it with CDC oil it could imitate an emerger (only the tuft greased) or a stillborn (whole fly greased).

The tie:
#18 Hanák 130 BL
17/0 UNI Trico Thread white
Mink dubbing Light Olive
very thin copper wire ribbing
Australian Opossum mixed with Claret UV flash for thorax
2 CDC feathers for the tuft

Smrdutý Opossum / Stinky Opossum

2010-09-21T16:14:00.004+02:00

Not a fancy pattern, more of a "pork & beans" approach. It takes name from its chief ingredient - hair of the Australian Opossum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and a famous quote from a Czech 60s cult movie Limonádový Joe: Did you just call me an opossum? No, I called you a stinky opossum!

The tie:
#10 wet fly hook
6/0 UNI Thread Gray
eyes from kitchen sink chain
Australian Opossum tail
Gray Hare and Seal dubbing mixture

Drowning Beetle

2010-09-16T21:42:00.004+02:00

With the trout season progressing to its close (and prime Grayling fishing drawing near, muhawha....!) the terrestrials are becoming more and more important.

This fly truly made my day on a recent trip to my favorite small stillwater. A light breeze brought a steady fall of all kinds of bugs to the water, and the resident rainbows were munching on them as on some sort of rare delicacy.

The tie:
#12 Tiemco 2487BL hook
8/0 UNI Thread black
1/0 UNI Neon Burnt Orange tag
two fibres of Peacock Herl for body
very thin copper wire ribbing
Tiemco Aero Dry Wing tied cross wise (as when tying spent mayflies)
low quality black rooster feather (to add movement rather than flotation)

August on Střela

2010-08-22T23:00:00.000+02:00

Late August - it is still hot, with the temperatures around 30°C - but the summer is clearly ending. This was possible the last really hot weekend this year.

For the weekend I headed west to Střela, my favorite small stream. Due to its smaller size it regained fishable level after the recent floods faster than bigger rivers. The waters were still a bit higher and more colored than I would like, but the river was clearly fishable.

I fished with my good friend Vlado, who has a small cabin on the river. We originally struggled to find the right fly - in the end Vlado selected a big juicy Stimulator, and was rewarded by some fine trout.

I for my own part stuck to the Barbie dun pinkish mayfly. The pattern proved to be just irresistible to both trout and grayling alike.

At the end of the day a very late Mayfly dun floated by me, as I was wading the river. I don't know what it was looking for, but it surely was way past May today :)

Grey Dust

2010-08-14T08:39:00.002+02:00

A couple flies for the time when Grayling become obsessed with hatching "grey dust". All tied on #20 Hanák 130BL hooks, with body of grey Muskrat or Eagle Owl feather.

Pink Bug Variant

2010-08-09T22:56:00.001+02:00

With the current water conditions unsuited for fishing I am left at the tying table preparing for fall, the main Grayling season of the year.
The Pink Bug has performed well for me last fall. It seems to do its best fished under an indicator - either French style spiral or a bushy dry fly.

The tie:
#16 Tiemco TMC 2499BL hook (short shank hook, length is about normal size #18)
2,3mm Tungsten pink beadhead
Orange Hends Grall thread
Red rooster hackle fibres
fine copper wire
Opossum dubbing mixed with UV flash

Flood on Jizera

2010-08-07T19:50:00.003+02:00

I was planning to fish the Jizera river over the weekend - but the rain had me check the online peg first. The river is at its dry fly best at flow just above 10 m³ per second - and right now it about 370, no doubt causing serious problems to people of Železný brod. Uh oh...

Looks like a rewarding tying weekend ahead of me.

The scary picture was taken from pages of Povodí Labe (Labe Watershed Servicing Co.), a very helpful site for anyone fishing in the Czech.

Alexandra

2010-08-05T21:45:00.003+02:00

I have a soft spot for the Alexandra, despite fishing it very rarely. For it was from Alexandra of Denmark, the lady to whose honor the fly was named, that Edward VII hid with his mistresses in Marienbad in Austria-Hungary, now Mariánské Lázně in Czech :-)

Easy Daddy

2010-08-04T23:23:00.000+02:00

The time of Daddy Long Leggs (Tipula sp. for those of Latin inclination) is getting near. For the time it comes I propose the following simple and easy imitation made almost entirely of Pheasant tail.

The tie:
#10 Tiemco TMC 100BL hook
8/0 UNI Thread Tan
Pheasant tail body ribbed with leftover body thread
Pheasant tail legs (I used 4, but 6 or even 8 are a valid option)
Polypro yarn wings
Hare dubbing thorax

Black Beetle

2010-07-29T22:11:00.002+02:00

The Mayfly season is past, and Caddis hatches are dwindling too. The terrestrials are becoming more important each passing day.

This smallish black beetle has brought to my net nice trout and - I am ashamed to admit - some fat Chub as well.

The tie:
#16 Hanák 130BL Hook
UNI 8/0 Thread Black
Deer hair dyed Black
Opossum dubbing dyed Black (artificial peacock dubbing is a valid option)
a few turns of black rooster hackle (just for movement attraction, flotation is from the deer hair)

Mission Caddis accomplished

2010-07-23T22:02:00.002+02:00

Having finished a SBS for the missing piece, pupa, I finally completed a project of Step By Step tying sequences for all three major life cycle imitations of the Caddis Fly. All three are on my new SBS page.

The nymph - CZ Nymph in 10 easy steps

The pupa - Caddis pupa in 10 easy steps

The adult - CDC Caddis in 10 easy steps

Barbie Power

2010-07-20T20:17:00.002+02:00

The going was slow on the Jizera river - a very welcome cold front brought some rain and respite from recent period of tropical heat and drought, but left the fish feeling somewhat sluggish and the water high and colored. A small hatch of pale wateries was going on, but my imitations produced no takes.

Out of desperation I tried my Barbie Dun fly, which I tied this winter more as a curiosity than a seriously meant fishing fly - only to be surprised by the number and viciousness of strikes it generated.

The intended target of this fly were the grayling. The Ladies of the Stream are well known to have soft spot for the color pink and it did entice a few - but to my surprise the fly took many a brown trout as well. Why should any self respecting and manly trout care for this thing is beyond my understanding (perhaps they felt a duty to obliterate such a pink abdomination) but who am I to argue with them? :-)

The dressing is described on my February post

Step by Step Patterns

2010-07-16T00:14:00.000+02:00

Over the time I published a couple of Step by Step tying instructions on various internet forums. I decided to to put them on my blog pages; with this in mind I created a new Step by Step page.

At this time the list consists of a Czech nymph, Hawthorn fly and CDC Loop Caddis - with of course hope for more to come in future :-)

The Olive Otter

2010-07-12T22:57:00.000+02:00

The Otter underfur with guard hairs removed makes some very fine dubbing for dry flies, with natural water resistant ability. Very handy for small summer mayflies.

The tie:
#18 Hanák 130BL hook
white UNI 17/0 thread
3 strands of orange Flashabou
2 smallish CDC feathers
Olive Otter dubbing

Into the West...

2010-06-28T21:47:00.001+02:00

The westernmost part of the Czech Republic is a troubled country - since time immemorial inhabited by ethnic Germans, who were expelled in the aftermath of WWII it was for 40 years a no entry zone due to its proximity to Western Germany. History left many scars in the countryside, but an interesting side effect was that the isolation resulted in some fabulous trout fishing.

For this weekend I received invitation from my friend Rosťa, who besides having an interesting job as a moulder of lava in basalt foundry is a first class fisherman of small streams and a veritable font of knowledge of the west country rivers. I have agreed not to delve too deeply into the details of the rivers we fished, but a couple of pics should be OK.

Rosťa is a terror on the small streams, in part helped by his unusual fly rod - an ancient 7 and 1/2 foot Cortland fiberglass rod rated AFTMA 6/7. The heavy line loads his wimpy rod easily allowing for hellishly accurate casts, while the short length leaves lots of room for manoeuvrings under the overhanging foliage.

Rosťa gave me a grade C for my fishing - I got positive points for tying flies that fish liked, but negative for not having sufficiently mastered the arcane art of jungle casting. I took it as an overall compliment :-)

We successfully pursued a number of indigenous brown trout and grayling and introduced rainbows and brook trout. The rainbows and brookies don't spawn naturally in our rivers, but over here they were stocked as fingerlings and left to grow naturally to perfect condition - not like the malformed sickly stockies so common in the rest of the country.

Aphid fly

2010-06-21T23:08:00.001+02:00

This Saturday I came to an unusual situation on my favorite stillwater: the expected buzzer hatch did not materialize - I suspect sudden change in air pressure, accompanied by drop in temperature of about 15°C was to blame - but some fish never the less were rising. No insect activity was apparent and the fish ignored all my flies: both dark and pale mayflies, caddis flies, beetles and daddy long legs I kept changing in my increasing desperation.

I finally succeeded in provoking a couple rainbows to attack a red & white lure; autopsy showed that the cause of the rises was a fall of rather large aphids, which were carried by wind from surrounding aspen trees. Until then I had no aphid in my fly box, a sad fact I set today to rectify.

The tie:
#20 Hanák 130BL hook (a #22 or #24 hook would be even better, this was the smallest I had)
green Hends body thread for the body
2 layers of lacquer (the buoyant kind, not epoxy)
tip of a CDC feather
17/0 white UNI Trico thread
a light touch of black CD marker

Summer Olive Dun

2010-06-20T16:41:00.000+02:00

Soon it will be time when the Mayfly and Caddis hatches (and hopefully the awfully cold & rainy weather that confined me to the tying table for the weekend) give way to the small pale olives of summer. To this purpose my today's creation: The Summer Olive

The tie:
#18 Hanák 130BL hook
tan UNI 8/0 thread for thorax and head
yellow Hends Grall thread for abdomen
Mole fur dubbing
two smallish CDC feathers

Mayfly Spinner

2010-06-15T22:17:00.008+02:00

The time of the Mayfly is here! When the trout key on the danicas no other imitation will suffice :)

The tie:
TMC 109BL #9 Hook
8/0 White UNI Thread
4 Moose mane hairs
Cream UNI floss
black embroidery thread
Polypropylen yarn
Hare dubbing spun in loop
light touch of black marker on head

The best way to fish these is on the margins, where big, fat and lazy fish sit on the edge of current and eddy and wait for the dead and dying spinners that float by in large numbers. Then they feast on them in leisurely pace... yummy!

2010-06-06T23:18:00.026+02:00

After very enjoyable trip last weekend I headed North also this Sunday. This time not to Kamenice, but to its bigger sister Jizera. It was my only second fishing trip to the area, but I can already feel it growing on me...

The river was a bit high after recent rains, making wading in hip boots a bigger challenge than I expected. On the other hand it serves me well as a reminder I really should buy new boots for my waders - it is already some time since the old ones finally gave up on me (may they rest in peace in the Happy Wading Grounds).

The faster riffles held - as expected - Brown trout, which could be tempted to rise by my Drowning Caddis imitation.

The slower stretches held Grayling. Some caddis were hatching, but the hatch was very sparse, and Grayling refused the big imitations. A change in tactics was called for, and the finesse approach of #17 No hackle CDC quill on long leader was soon rewarded by a couple of beautifully colored Grayling.

When I exited the stream, having had my fill of Grayling fishing for the day, I encountered two love struck toads. June it is long past their normal mating season, so I can only assume they were doing it for fun rather then procreation ;-)

Return to Kamenice

2010-05-30T09:35:00.015+02:00

The wet and cold days of the early season seem to be past now, what a relief! This weekend I ventured out north to investigate a new fishery that promised an opportunity for wild fish in wild places.

The river Kamenice has a special meaning to me, as I have fond memories (as shown in attached video :-) of it from my whitewater kayaking days.

This time of the year the waters were low and clear, with the rocky bottom clearly visible, and overall looking much tamer. But it was the same river none the less.

The white butterbur flowers were in bloom on the margins, and some grayish mayflies and small Bibios were on wing. Local Brownies were picking them off the surface and could be tempted on a dry fly. The fish were on the smallish side, but obviously locally bred and beautifully colored. Plus they attacked the fly with zest and fought with an attitude.

The color of the fish matched the color of the stream bed perfectly and upon releasing seemed to disappear immediately, despite the seemingly bright yellows and reds.

Later in the day I moved to slower parts of the river, where the brownies were joined by Grayling.

At around 5 o'clock the hatch intensified, and I suddenly found myself standing knee deep in a river, surrounded on all sides by rising fish, oblivious of my presence. Quite an experience! The heavier hatch brought up also the bigger fish, some of them over the 30 cm / 12 inch lenght, making them "decent fish" for the water.

All of my catches were on my Owl and CDC mayfly. It is my first choice for imitating medium gray mayflies, and since it performed so well I found no reason to experiment.

The tie:
#16 Hanák 130BL hook (or any other lightweight dry fly hook, e.g. Tiemco 103BL)
8/0 UNI thread Tan
tail of barred Coq de León fibres
body of a herl from an Eagle Owl feather, reinforced by counter wrapping with the finest copper wire I could find
wing of CDC feathers, spun in loop and wound as hackle, trimmed to size and shape

Střela in time of Ice Men

2010-05-18T21:43:00.009+02:00

Messrs. Pankrác, Servác & Bonifác are traditionally referred to as the three Ice Men, as the period around their name days (May 12^th, 13^th and 14^th, respectively) usually coincides with a time of unusually cold days in the Central Europe. This year was no exception, only with the addition that the weather was not only cold but rather wet as well.

In this time I was having a visitor, Fran Friesen from Vancouver, BC, to whom I promised a close encounter with the European Grayling. For this purpose I selected river Střela, where the chance for an off season grayling seemed the most reliable.

My original hopes for a caddis hatch were quickly brought to reality at the sight of the river, which was high and muddy after a recent rain. No hatch was going on and the situation clearly called for a nymphing approach.

Fran introduced me to the Tenkara fishing, which seems to be the next hip thing on the other side of Atlantic. I was rather surprised how easily the rod converted to Czech nymphing tactic - perhaps not what the samurai fishermen intended initially, but very effective.

Later in the day the water cleared a bit and the temperature increased somewhat (to whopping 8°C), which brought up a hatch of smallish mayflies. This allowed us to drop the cumbersome CZ nymphs and start catching grayling as they were meant to be fished - fine and far off on delicate dry flies.

By the end of the day the two of us caught and released some twenty fish, most of them on the dry fly. Given the challenging environment I considered this result a success. The best producing fly turned out to be my Hare's Mask Emerger mayfly imitation.

The tie:
#19 TMC103 BL hook
tan UNI 8/0 thread
three strands of orange Krystal flash
body of Hare's dubbing
#16 UNI Mylar tinsel, color gold
2 smallish CDC feathers
thorax area lightly dubbed with scruffy hairs from Hare's back

Return of the Whitefish

2010-05-09T21:58:00.007+02:00

I returned to the Bohdaneč fishery & distillery three weeks after catching my first whitefish ever, curious whether my encounter with this unusual fish will be repeated. The spring has proceeded mightily since my last visit, with both apple trees and rapeseed fields in full bloom.

The waters were a slightly muddy from the latest rains (we had an unusually damp and cold springtime this year) but buzzer fishing seemed to be the correct approach. Interesting thing was that the resident rainbows were more interested in light olive buzzers on dropper fished more actively, while the whitefish liked the black buzzer on point fished static, close to bottom.

The sight of the fish had me again wondering what sort of bream had I caught, but strange as it seems the whitefish is indeed a member of the Salmonid family.

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B110 Grub Hook
8/0 UNI thread Black
UNI Stretch Light Olive
Orange Flexi Floss
Two layers of clear varnish

Opossum & CDC Caddis

2010-05-05T07:57:00.007+02:00

As the waters in rivers slowly subside to level that allows dry fly fishing the first caddis flies are starting to appear. They are eagerly met by hungry trout, which are slowly lured by the rising stream temperature from deep pools to more shallow runs and getting more active.

The tie:
#10 Hanák 130BL Hook
8/0 UNI thread Tan
UNI Stretch Light Olive for tag
fine gold ribbing
Homemade dubbing mix - natural brown Opossum + violet UV flash
3 CDC feathers for wing
1 largish CDC feather spun in loop for hackle

The fly can be tied with more contrasting tag - orange, chartreuse, pink - but in this case I decided for a more subdued look. This is however not the only option and especially orange tag should be seriously considered (it works!)

The CDC hackle is intentionally tied from feather with very long fibers - the splayed mess of CDC "legs" creates lots of movement once on water and constitutes a major trigger point.

Springtime on Střela

2010-04-18T23:10:00.008+02:00

Having spent the 2010 Opening day on a put and take stream, which turned to be a disappointment of sorts, I teamed with my friend Vlado and drove to our beloved river Střela for the weekend. It is a smallish stream in what counts in relatively densely populated Central Europe as hard to access area and it supports a healthy population of both Brown trout and Grayling.

We knew from the online peg that the trip will most likely end up in a disappointment, as the heavy rain in the week immediately prior to Opening day caused the river to rise substantially, but the weather forecast promised a warm sunny weekend and we both suffered from a serious case of cabin fever.

The river turned out to be as unfishable as we had expected, and even though we assaulted it with flies of the Heavy Metal kind (Tungsten beads of 4 mm plus some lead) it refused to yield a single fish. The waters were high, muddy and cold (about 7°C). The fish were sensibly hugging the bottom in the deepest of deep pools and refused to be tempted with any of our flies.

After trying for a couple of hours we conceded defeat and turned out attention to the streamside to fully appreciate the beauty of early Springtime in the country.

And despite the fact that we got what we expected and not what we hoped for fishing wise we had a wonderful time, confirming the old saying that what matters is not the quarry, but the chase.

In any case, here is a toast to the successful 2010 season, wherever your fishing might take you - Cheers!

Opening of the 2010 Trout Season

2010-04-16T21:11:00.009+02:00

The adverse weather and water conditions forced me to rethink my plans for the opening day of the 2010 Trout season. My initial plan to start at a wild and remote stream, casting to wild and native fish had to be scrapped due to high water. Plan B called for a civilized stream close to Prague, full of sickly stockies and spin fishermen eager to catch the full bag limit.

Since the alternative would be to sit at home on April 16^th, which seemed unthinkable, I decided to go and fish on Kocába.

The stream was as full as I expected: lots and lots of fishermen - and I did not start at 6:00 AM as the local custom dictates - and still some Rainbows from stocking earlier this week, who somehow survived the onslaught. I killed one and headed home, no sense tarrying.

The good part was that - since C&R makes little sense on this river - I was able to end the day in a festive manner, with a grilled trout and a glass of fine Veltliner.

The Recipe:
1 Rainbow Stockie of appropriate size
3 sprigs of Rosemary and a little butter inside the belly
a sprinkle of Lemon Pepper and a little salt
enough Bacon to cover the fish (about 2 to 4 slices)

Grill till fish until the bacon is done (it should take about a 1/2 an hour or so), serve with grilled vegetables (mashed potatoes are also fine) and some Grüner Veltliner :)

Whitefish in Bohdaneč

2010-04-13T23:21:00.012+02:00

With still 3 more days to go till the trout season starts on rivers I headed off to my favorite stillwater fishery in Bohdaneč.
It is my favorite because it has on its banks a distillery of fruit brandy (also called Slivovitz) - a very potent drink nourishing both body and soul, that for some strange reason happens to be unpalatable to persons of other than East European upbringing.

For a time I tried fishing at surface - with shuttlecocks and foam buzzers - but that turned out to be just a case of wishful thinking. The air was cold - about 10°C - and the water colder still. After an hour or so of fishing a light rain started to fall. At these conditions no fish could be tempted to strike on the surface.

However, when I switched to a team of small dark buzzers I learned that the proprietors of the fishery prepared a surprise for me by stocking Whitefish (Coregonus peled). This is a pretty uncommon fish in the Czech waters and it was my first time I caught one on a fly (my initial impression was that a huge Bream had inhaled my fly).

The Whitefish seemed not to mind the weather and once I figured how to approach them I had an easy time catching several. The right way seemed to be with a smallish black buzzer fished almost static on a floating line and long leader (about 12 ft). I fished a 3 fly cast, but the fish almost always took the point fly (the only exception was one fish on mid dropper). I killed a couple and examined their gut - they were feeding heavily on small buzzer pupae, probably picking them off the bottom.

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B160 Hook
UNI 6/0 Thread black (builds the thorax faster than 8/0)
UNI Stretch Black for abdomen
UNI 1/69" Mylar Pearl for rib
UNI Floss Neon Hot Red for cheeks
2 - 3 layers of clear varnish

The season has started for real

2010-03-27T20:00:00.005+01:00

With the sudden (and very welcome) arrival of warm weather the time has come to really begin with fishing. Rivers are still very high and muddy, so I selected one of the small stillwaters around Prague to try out. The unfortunate lake seemed empty of trout, reason for which became apparent by watching the resident pike population getting warmed up in the shallows.

Never the less black midges were hatching at the margins, so I had some fun fishing for roach and dace, who attacked my fly with zeal. Not what I was expecting initially, but it was dry fly fishing and a thus welcome diversion after the long winter.

The tie:
#18 Hanák H130 BL hook
Black UNI 8/0 thread
Pheasant tail dyed black
White Tiemco Aero Dry Wing
Opossum dubbing dyed black

The small black midge is an essential early season fly, about as important to a fly fisherman as the little black dress to a true lady :) I like to use the cross tied ADW for wings better than CDC or grizzly hackle - to me it seems much more visible on the water, an important feature for a size #18 dry fly.

4. Karlovarské muškařské fórum / 4th Fly Fishing Forum in Karlovy Vary

2010-03-21T21:13:00.021+01:00

The Fly Fishing Forum is organized by the Fly Fishing club in Karlovy Vary (city also known as Carlsbad in German). It is one of the premier fly fishing gatherings in the Czech Republic, a great place to meet friends both old and new - a fact nicely illustrated by friendly meeting of two red tag flies - a Czech Graying fly and a Danish Sea trout fly.

This year the Forum was dominated by two themes: Sea trout fishing in Denmark, which is increasingly popular between Czech fly fishermen, and Split cane rod building, about which nowadays very little is known, despite long and distinguished history of Czech rod builders.

The Sea trout section was presented by René Gerken, master caster with great didactic skills, and Peter Varring Jensen, accomplished fly tyer with creative spirit (one who never lets his creativity be tied down by dogma of established patterns ;-), both from Denmark.

The Split cane rod section was presented by Philipp Sicher and Jaroslav Vecko from Switzerland. This was a true highlight of the Forum, as few of us had any opportunity to cast a modern cane rod before. Our Swiss friends were more than happy to explain common misconceptions about the cane rods with great patience - and a touch of showmanship, such as a brilliant rendition of the Baginski test of rod strength (definitely not something you would do with your graphite rod). At the end of the field demonstration everybody had the chance to cast several of the cane rods and compare different tapers.

The field demonstration was followed the next day by presentations of history of bamboo rod building in general and the Czech tradition in specific by Jarda Vecko and detailed presentation on the process of rod making from a bamboo culm to the finished rod by Philipp Sicher.

The whole audience was truly captivated by the bamboo rods - and their very enthusiastic makers - and despite some initial doubts many were converted to the idea of bamboo, the fishing rod with a soul.

Flying Ant - Balkan Style

2010-03-14T01:32:00.005+01:00

The tie:
#21 TMC 103BL Hook
Benecchi thread Red
a touch of Lacquer
UNI 8/0 thread Black
One CDC puff

I have long watched the epoxy style ants that are tied by Balkan fly tiers with awe. Only recently I felt strong enough to give them a shot myself, this is what came out of it.

So it is with a deep nod that I raise a glass towards the banks of the fabled river Astraeus :)

Elk & Moose Shuttlecock

2010-03-09T01:04:00.003+01:00

The tie:
#12 Hanák 103 BL hook
8/0 UNI thread Black
1 white Elk hair
1 black Moose hair
UNI Neon thread Burned Orange
3 shortish CDC feathers
Australian Opossum dubbing Black
a light coat of varnish on the abdomen to add a little weight and durability

It seems that Mother Nature does not love me as much as would I have thought; the white stuff keeps on falling and temperature is back to freezing. Not much to do fishing vise, so back to the tying table I am.
This one is a bit premature, as all the stillwaters are thick with ice, but for some reason I can't get the look of black and white hairs out of my head. Love the contrast...

Uhorčík (a nymph)

2010-03-01T15:10:00.005+01:00

The tie:
#12 Lake hook by Skalka
3.3 mm tungsten bead, gold
Red rooster hackle fibres
UNI 8/0 thread Tan
UNI Neon thread Green
UNI gold tinsel #16
Hare dubbing from flank (creamy and fine)
Hare dubbing from back (dark and scruffy)

This fly comes from Slovakia and is called after legendary bandit leader and folk hero Tomáš Uhorčík (friend and tutor of better known Juraj Jánošík). A variant with orange tip is called Hrajnoha (another folklore hero).

Both Uhorčík and Hrajnoha are very good choice for early season Browns - when the water is high, cold and muddy and fish not exactly cooperative. At times like these you wish for a fly that will sink deep and fast and comes loaded with trigger points.

Spring is coming!

2010-02-26T23:51:00.007+01:00

The spring is coming. I went fishing today. The temperature is rising, the white stuff is melting fast, birds are starting to to feel the hormone rush, even a few midges were hatching at the shallows. Sadly the river was high and muddy and no fish cared to make appearance.
Never the less, I went fishing today! It takes a long winter to fully appreciate the fact :)

March Brown (Variant) for a swap

2010-02-25T01:16:00.007+01:00

The tie:
#12 Lake hook by Skalka
Red Benecchi tying thread
natural dubbing from Hare's back
UNI gold tinsel #16
low quality (very cheap, Chinese?) hen hackle
Teal flank for wing

I got involved in a swap again, this time the theme was "Traditional wet". I can think of no other pattern which could measure up to the tradition associated with the March Brown, at least around where I live - which is sort of funny, as the particular mayfly on which the pattern is supposed to be based, Rhitogena germanica, was all but wiped out due to pollution. Anyhow, it will be March in a couple days so March Brown it is.
The canonical March Brown is supposed to have wings from feather slips, but I have found drake (or teal in this case) wings to be equally appealing and much more durable than pheasant primaries.
This particular pattern has been a steady producer for me for last couple of seasons on both rivers and still waters.

Project Hydropsyche - Part I. (pupa)

2010-02-22T21:49:00.004+01:00

The tie:
#12 Pupa hook by Skalka, lightly weighted at the bend

greenish antron dubbing

yellow embroidery thread ribbing

pheasant tail back cover

pheasant primaries for wing buds

CDC beard hackle

Boar antennae

Australian Opossum thorax & head

I am going through period of intense fascination by Caddis pupae: both the larva (i.e. CZ Bobeš) and adult are well established in my fly boxes, but I never gave much thought to pupae till the 2009 season.

To make my amends I am making it the first pattern in my Hydropsyche caddis life cycle series.

Violet and Gold Quill

2010-02-16T23:43:00.002+01:00

The tie:
#16 Skalka Pupa hook
2.8 mm Tungsten bead
Tan 8/0 UNI thread
Brown rooster hackle fibres
Peacock quill treated with bleach
Australian Opossum dubbing
Hends UV Violet dubbing

A source that has been right in the past told me that the UV violet dubbing is the next best thing since sliced bread and I am leaving it out of my fly boxes at my own peril.
Of course, this source has been wrong as well, but do I dare to risk it being right this time?

Barbie Dun

2010-02-12T13:58:00.004+01:00

The tie:
#14 Hanák 130 BL hook
Pink 8/0 UNI thread
Barred Coq de León
UNI stretch Hot Pink
Pinkish CDC
Pink Beaver dubbing

The unusually long and intensive period of cold and snowy weather - and not being able to fish - is taking its toll on me. I find myself tying crazier and crazier pattens. This one might actually work though, the color pink is a well known Grayling attractor...

CDC no Hackle Quill

2010-02-12T00:12:00.002+01:00

The tie:
#14 Hanák 130 BL hook
Tan 8/0 UNI thread
Red game rooster hackle fibres for tail
Peacock quill for body
Black musk rat dubbing for thorax
CDC wing

Only after seeing the enlarged pic of the fly after I took the photo I noticed that the thread shows through. Since I did not see this when looking at the actual fly I hope the fish will not notice either :-)
I plan to use this one on long, leisurly glides in late spring, with the wing greased with CDC oil and the body trapped in surface film.

Duck fly

2010-02-10T20:58:00.003+01:00

The tie:
#12 TMC2487 BL hook
black UNI 8/0 thread
pheasant tail dyed black for body
Australian Opossum dyed black for thorax
pearl UNI #16 tinsel
Tiemco Aero Dry Wing
young Chinese rooster hackle dyed black (very soft)

The duck fly is not a grayling fly, as it hatches on stillwaters on late March / early April. It is however the first quality dry fly fishing in spring, something I eagerly await :-)

CDC 'n Quill Spent

2010-01-29T15:24:00.005+01:00

The tie:
#14 Hanák 103BL hook
tan UNI 8/0 thread
Coq de León tail
Peacock quill with a drop of tying lacquer for durability
One CDC feather for thorax cover / wing splitting
Two CDC feathers spun in loop and cut to shape

Fish on rivers that I frequent are seldom too selective, so I could get good results with a general suggestive pattern, like a Hare's Mask Emerger with gold rib; on the other hand I truly like the delicacy and fragility of the spinners. Tying them brings up fond memories of warm summer evenings...

Eagle Owl Mayfly

2010-01-24T23:16:00.007+01:00

The tie:
#16 Hanák 103BL hook
tan UNI 8/0 thread
Coq de León tail
Eagle Owl feather
very thin copper wire ribbing
two CDC feathers spun in dubbing loop and cut to shape

I truly enjoy tying with Owl feathers (too bad the whole order is on CITES list). The soft and fluffy fibers make an excellent body material, full of life and strangely attractive to fish. As it is very soft it is a good idea to counter rib it with a very thin metal wire.

Color enhancement - Orange

2010-01-21T01:00:00.004+01:00

The color orange works very well on one of my favorite rivers, so I decided to stock up on patterns using it. To this purpose I created an Orange Enhanced Caddis and Orange Enhanced PTN.

The tie:
#14 Hanák 103BL hook
tan UNI 8/0 thread
UNI Burnt Orange floss for tip
natural Hare dubbing (body dubbed from hand, legs in loop)
UNI #16 gold tinsel
three smallish CDC feathers for wing

The tie:
#12 Hanák 260BL hook (shortened shank, has length of a #14 hook)
tan UNI 8/0 thread
a couple Pheasant tail fibers
UNI Neon Burnt Orange thread for thorax