Autumn is coming...

As the fans of the fantasy writer George R. R. Martin are no doubt aware, Autumn is coming! Given the sorry state of Czech rivers this is welcome news, even if the current (still rather) hot weather makes it hard to believe. After the hottest and driest summer in recent memory we are looking forward to some cooling off.

The trout stocks took a hard beating, with the hot weather delivering a double whammy of low water and low oxygen. The grayling are said to have taken it better, but I have not fished for them since the early July and so I can not confirm it from the first hand.

As I waited for the weather to calm down I did some experimenting with presentation and imitation. The question on hand was the difference in how the fly dresser (i.e. me :) sees his emerger fly and how a fish looks at the same subject.

Not surprisingly, there are some differences. The hook is much more pronounced - I was sort of expecing it, and yet it took me by a surprise - and the wing is almost invisible. The submerged body looks about the same...

The tie:
#18 Hanák H130 BL hook
16/0 Veevus tying thread, colored Gray
body of natural peacock quill, dyed Olive
thorax of natural Muskrat fur - on second thought a water absorbent material, such as hare, might be more appropriate
wing of 3 feathers of CDC

Midsummer Kamenice

I have acted as a host to my French friend Philippe & his charming wife on their visit to the Czech Republic. Besides guiding them to the usual tourist traps such as the Prague castle and the Jewish quarter we had some serious fun fishing. The deep canyon of Kamenice provided a welcome respite from the high summer heat.

Philippe - also called by those in the know the Heron of Palladuc - is one of the few fly fishermen who are able to turn their passion into a full time profession, and as result gets significantly more stream time than a humble accountant like me. I was glad to be able to learn a few of his tricks.

We set up for the day with me fishing the dry fly on a short classical rod and Phil fishing the nymph with a 10' 3 weight nymphing special. The character of the river - with alternating deep pools, more suited for nymph, and shallow riffles with an occasional rising fish - made the split easy and we were able to keep in touch, not getting under each other's feet.

Phil had the more success of the two of us, and while we did not see it necessary to keep an accurate tally of fish caught, must have ended the day somewhere around the 50 fish mark. He clearly demonstrated why the Yo-yo technique (an indicator dry fly approach, close to the New Zealand combo) is outlawed in competition fly fishing circles. It is so effective it borders on the criminal.

We caught a number of fish, both brown trout and grayling. And while only few of the fish passed the 30 centimeter mark - the character of the river being such that the theoretical maximum size of fish it can support is 40 centimeters, and those will be rare and few between - all the fish were native and in good condition. We did not encounter recently stocked fish, with not a single brook trout or a rainbow between the two of us.

On the dry fly front I had the most success with size #16 Redheaded Emerger, although I suspect that any caddis fly imitation in the general size and shape would perform as well. A large number of caddis were hatching during the day, and the fish did not seem to be too preocupied by the fly pattern - the stealthy approach (river was low and gin clear) and accurate presentation seemed to matter much more than the fly choice.

Violetta

A violet hotspot on a bead headed fly is one of the worse kept secrets of the Czech trout waters. It might have been a secret a five or so years back, but it is common knowledge by now.

Its novelty has sort of passed, and it has become just one of the many fly patterns. Still, a brightly violet collar has its place in a fly dresser's arsenal, and while it is not a silver bullet to cure all your fishing ills it has the potential to turn a poor day out into a satisfying one. And what fly fisherman could ask for more?

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B160 short shank hook, debarbed
3.5 mm tungsten bead, gold
tan elastic tying thread
pheasant tail tail & body
counterribed by thin gold wire
Hends microflash #18 collar

Střela in May

After the false start on Úpa I decided to try my luck on Střela, a river which has brought me my fair share of fishing fun and despair. This river does not flow from a major mountain range, plus it has a dam at its headwaters, and so it has reliable flow even in the early season.

The access to the river is difficult, and arriving on a work day as I did I had the whole river for myself. I appreciate a good company, and a fishy story or two, but approaching a river in solitude has its merits.

The spring was in full bloom, the river was ringed with buterburr flowers and Bibio flies were buzzing happily around sloe bushes. The river was somewhat high, so at first I tried my luck nymphing. I had some success, but not a spectacular one, and so when I found a rising fish I switched over to dry fly.

The fish responded nicely to my readheaded CDC emerger and I proceeded to catch a number of trout and even some chub.

Red Fox & CDC

A simple variation on well known F Fly theme. I like the structure of fox hair body: spiky, grubby and unruly. Suggestive...

The tie:
#16 Hanák H130 BL hook
Grey 16/0 Veevus tying thread
red rooster hackle fibres for tail
body of red fox dubbing, wound tightly
throax of the same material, wound loosely
tips of 3 CDC feathers

Starting the 2015 season

For my starting my 2015 season I decided to visit the river Úpa. This river has given me great fishing memories - both at the very end, and the very beginning of the season. This year I was not so lucky.

The river was high, and better suited for whitewater canoeing - in fact I did meet a few canoers, and they had more fun than I - than trout fishing. I struggled, with the fish present but put off by the high water and recent weather changes.

To crown my awkward start of the season I managed to lose my footing on a slippery rock and take a short swim. The fishing was over for the day.

As I had a change of clothes ready in the car I took a while to shoot some pictures of the river and nature in general, but I will have to wait a while longer to catch, and release, my first fish of the 2015 season...

Violently Violet

Tommorow is the trout season opening day. Like many Czech anglers I am trembling with anticipation and will be hardly able to sleep.

Will my new Violently Violet pheasant tail nymph make a difference? I can only hope so... Will it improve on the all important Angler's Confidence? No doubt!

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B160 short shank hook, debarbed
3.5 mm tungsten bead, copper
tan elastic tying thread
pheasant tail tail & body
counterribed by thin gold wire
Hends microflash  #18 collar