I have often heard the terms "Czech" nymphing, "French" nymphing, "Micro" nymphing, etc. and wondered what was the big secret of each nymphing technique and what have I missed in my many years of fly fishing. Upon investigation I learned at various times when I fished nymphs, I was applying most of those techniques.
When fishing a long leader with a light tippet because the water was extremely clear and shallow and often one could see the fish and an indicator wasn't necessary, it was actually "French" nymphing! New news to me...even kind of sounds erotic!
If I was in a position where I could easily have been seen by a fish when fishing close to a shallow run or small holding area, it may have been necessary to stalk upstream quietly, try to blend into the surroundings i.e.; behind a bush, rock or other natural blind, and fish the nymph with a short drift without mending. And it was not necessary to use an indicator and it probably would also spook the fish. This method I thought was simply "smart" nymphing, if the intent was to catch the fish...dah! Now I know it was "Czech" nymphing.
Using a very small nymph and light tippet like a #20 on a 7x fluorocarbon tippet because the flies hatching or about to hatch are very small like a Trico or something similar and using an extremely small weight to present the nymph at the correct depth and presentation is now called "Micro" nymphing! When a fly fishing person learns the technique of invading a trout's natural instincts, why is a name tagged to their discovery as an announcement of accomplishment? Maybe it is simply a "merit badge"!
If I was in a position where I could easily have been seen by a fish when fishing close to a shallow run or small holding area, it may have been necessary to stalk upstream quietly, try to blend into the surroundings i.e.; behind a bush, rock or other natural blind, and fish the nymph with a short drift without mending. And it was not necessary to use an indicator and it probably would also spook the fish. This method I thought was simply "smart" nymphing, if the intent was to catch the fish...dah! Now I know it was "Czech" nymphing.
Using a very small nymph and light tippet like a #20 on a 7x fluorocarbon tippet because the flies hatching or about to hatch are very small like a Trico or something similar and using an extremely small weight to present the nymph at the correct depth and presentation is now called "Micro" nymphing! When a fly fishing person learns the technique of invading a trout's natural instincts, why is a name tagged to their discovery as an announcement of accomplishment? Maybe it is simply a "merit badge"!
What is this business of finding all sorts of "revelation" terminology for just plain common sense techniques that "old school" fly fishing persons have used for years. If we used a dry fly for an indicator when using a nymph it is known as fishing a "dropper" rig. And if the dry fly was a Madame X or grasshopper we called it a "hopper dropper"! If we fished without an indicator and it was necessary to keep a tight line to feel the hit we called it "high sticking"! And, what smart fly fishing person would use a #12 or #14 nymph when a #22 fly was beginning to hatch? Who would think of tying a #20 nymph on a 4x leader resulting in the knot larger than the nymph? Instead of Mico-nymphing how 'bout tagging it a less fancy name and call it "Logical-nymphing"?
I guess I'm a little too "old school" to understand why the various techniques we have all used for years are now given some fancy name indicating an impression that it is a newly discovered secret or methodology. How 'bout we just call it "Old School Nymphing"?
