The Fly Fishing Bible of Nymphing: A Complete Playbook for Fly Fishing with Nymphs

330 Pages·2020·21.092 MB·English

by  Dr Paul Gaskell

1
© Paul Gaskell 2021
The photographic images, diagrams and/or text portions of this
book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored
in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any
means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or
otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher,
except as provided by United States of America and/or
international copyright law. For permission requests, write to the
publisher, at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address
below:
Paul Gaskell
[email protected]
Website: fishingdiscoveries.com
2
Other Fishing Books by Dr Paul Gaskell
How to Fool Fish with Simple Flies:
The Secret Science Behind Japanese “Kebari” and
Euro-nymph Patterns
Fly Fishing Master H. C. Cutcliffe Rediscovered in
“The Art of Trout Fishing in Rapid Streams”:
Including Cutcliffe’s original 1863 Text & Roger
Woolley’s Cutcliffe Fly Collection (Photographed in
Colour)
Fly Fishing on Small Streams:
A Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing Bliss
Tenkara “Sasoi”:
Fly Manipulation Techniques for Tenkara &
Western Fly Fishing
3
https://fishingdiscoveries.com/nymph-bible-videos/
4
Contents
Acknowledgements 15
Foreword by John Shaner 16
Introduction: Why Learn Nymphing? 20
My route into nymph fishing 20
Competition Methods for Pleasure Angling 23
This is a Practical Book: The Difficulty with Labels 23
A Deliberate Sequence 24
Let’s dive in to our first contact with each of the main styles… 26
PART I: Meet the Family 27
Classic upstream nymphing Czech Style 28
Rise of the Short Line: The Polish Angle 37
Not all Polish Nymphs are Woven 38
Polish Nymphing Flies: Two Flies with a Story to Tell 41
Rigging up for Polish Nymphing: Proportions and "no tangle"
Droppers 43
Vladi's Presentation Tactics 46
Short-line Nymphing in Czechia 48
5
Czech Nymphing: The Emergence of a World-Beating
Method 55
Some Trade Secrets 59
Fastest Route to Improvement 62
Czech Legend In Action 62
Slovakian Bombs & Wisps 66
Fine and Far Off 69
Duo: The Gateway Drug 69
Juan Del Carman: 2003 World Championships 70
The Rig 72
Basics 73
French Nymphing 74
Rise of the French 74
French Nymphing Legend: Pascal Cognard 75
Can you do without French Nymphing? 77
What are the Key Elements to Look for in French Nymphing? 81
Philippe Beranger: Tiny Specks of French Nymphs 82
The French Leader 85
Basic French nymphing rig outline 86
Detecting When a Fish Grabs your Nymph 87
French nymphing without an indicator? 88
6
Leader ON Water: Keep for SECONDARY Option 88
Early Ancestors 89
Spanish or French Nymphing? 91
Pêche a la Sempé 91
An Easy, Tried and Tested Spanish Leader Formula 95
Drape Otsuri 96
Surface-cutting 97
Combined effects of better surface-cutting & reduced otsuri in
Spanish nymphing leaders 98
Flies for Spanish Nymphing 99
PART II: Trying & Testing 103
Classic Upstream Nymphing & Czech Long-Line “Klíma” Style
104
Long Line Basics 1: Upstream 107
Upstream Long Line Special Tweaks 110
Long Line Basics 2: Downstream 111
My Notepad Content from the 2006 Czech Nymphing Masterclass in
Bohemia 113
Matching your rod to your fishing situation 113
Jiří’s Leader Setup for Long-line nymphing 115
Fly Design: Insights to Czech Style from Jiří Klíma 116
Fish behaviour 119
7
When Jiří Uses a Long Rod 121
Spotlight on Hooks 122
Short-line Czech Nymphing: How to Double Your Tippet
Strength 125
Rods and Rig 126
Tippet Setup 127
Knotty Business 127
Shortlining: Hit the River Get Fishing 132
What to Do On Stream 132
Tracking is Crucial 133
Common Mistakes 135
The Long-Running "Heaviest Fly Position" Debate 135
More Tracking Problems 137
The Dreaded "Windscreen Wiper" 137
Spotlight on Casting 140
Short-line 140
Casting Modifications for Duo 144
Long line Czech Nymphing with fly line 145
French leader with weighted nymphs or streamers 146
French Leader with Dry Fly 147
8
Secrets of Where to Use Czech Nymphing 149
It's All About Boundaries 151
How to “do” the Duo 153
Using Competition Duo Secrets for your Own Fishing 155
A question of Stealth 157
How to Find Trout with the Duo 159
What is pocket water? 159
Pictorial Guide 160
Details 161
More pictures 162
Faster still 162
Obvious and Not So Obvious 163
French Nymphing Coaching: Constructing a French Leader
164
How to use the leader formulae 166
Kit list and Ingredients 167
Method and Formulae 168
Using your Leaders 173
Putting French Nymphing Tactics into Action 174
No Floats Please! (at least not yet) 176
9
Spotlight on Indicators and Sighters 180
Braid Indicator (not braid leader!) 181
Droplet 181
Curly-Q/Slinky 182
Hi Viz Dry Fly 183
Keiryu Floss 184
Sighter Tippet (in thicker diameters) 184
Booby Cord/Slow Water 185
Sempé Nylon 187
Subsurface indication 188
Indicator Round up 189
PART III: Evolving & Adapting 190
Translating Czech into English 191
Spotlight on Stealth 200
Practical examples 202
Using Sequences for Stealth 204
(Re) Developing the Ladder Leader for Shortline nymphing
206
Shortline Nymphing Ladder Leader: Main Stem 209
Ladder Leader Droppers: Basic 210
Ladder Leader Droppers: Deluxe 211
Deluxe Fly & Dropper Storage Solution 212
10