Beginner flyfishers corner

At the request of some beginner fisherman friends, I decided to make a short and informative article on how to make an Euro Nymphing Indicator.

Forget those big, American things that float like fishing bobbers. Forget the fluffy things made of all kinds of materials. They have nothing to do with European-style nymph fishing. They are good for other styles, but not for typical European styles (Polish, Spanish, Czech or French styles).

Euro Nymphing Indicator are used, in our case, to help the fisherman locate the nymphing line in difficult visibility situations.

They must be sufficiently visible but not bulky. They must not be heavy or influenced by the wind. Any extra weight added to the fishing line affects the sensitivity and the fisherman no longer detects the attack of the fish.

The simplest, quick and easy way is to add a few drops of colored resin to the fishing line:

I fix a Hanak super visible colored line into my vice:

Then, with a needle I add small drops of UV resin on the line:

I use a laser lamp for a short blast. Because my eyesight has weakened, I prefer not to spend too much time with my eyes in the UV light. So I use a desk UV lamp to make sure the drops harden:

What’s great about this type of leader is that these drops of resin can be repositioned as desired. This way you can see the fishing line better depending on the situation.

One important tip: Make small drops of resins because they cure faster. You can varnish them with transparent resin if you want them bigger.

As everybody knows perdigon nymphs works the best in super strong currents and in fast flowing rivers. The generators of these flies are the Spanish fishermen who started to add lead beads on their nymphs. Then they simplified the flies: big lead bead colored with a dark marked to simulate the insect back, body slim made of thread and tail.

Shortly these flies became popular for their efficiencies. Fishermen from all over the world started to add their “personal touch” and lots of versions appeared. Blink and full of color thread was used and you will find some nice flies made. Some are complicated but the simple ones are still efficient.

If you step in perdigon universe then I advice you to start using the natural colored ones. I consider

Olive version, it is tied as discrete as possible: copper bead, wire ribbing and no “blinky” materials. I use this fly in rivers with ginger clear waters where fish are very careful with what they eat. This type of olive works excellent in waters with light colored gravels and stones ( Dolomiti rivers, Alps Rivers and Slovenian Alps waters)

The more sparkle olive version is bellow. Here I used perdigon tinsel for ribbing and gold bead. The fly works for me when I fish in rivers with active and aggressive but educated fish.

The hot spot version is my searching olive perdigon and works in all rivers where I fished: from East Europe till France, Spain and Scandinavia. If the river is very clear and low I will use it in strong currents. Depending how fish respond I “tune” my nymphing setting and size of the flies.

I use it in 3 versions, one ribbed with pink perdigon tinsel or yellow perdigon tinsel because it has a nice finish when is coated with UV resin. The hot spotted version is made with strong orange to create contrast. Ribbing is simple, only copper wire

Sometimes I need to use tungsten wire to overload the body with extra weight. Big fish are often very careful and they take small flies only. I had situations when I tried to catch big fish in deep pools. They reacted only at very small nymph tied on size #18 and #20.

Trout parachute flies are my way to go if the weather let me to use dry flies. I’m an avid fisherman and I love to fish not only with nymphs and streamers but also with dry flies. My favourite style is dry fly fishing with small flies but they are more and more difficult to spot. Lately, after I started to be closer to my 50 years my eye sight dropped from year to year. So I had to switch on parachute flies.

Why parachute and not classic:

• they float better and higher than a classic one
• they are easy to spot on the water no matter how small are
• if you have eye problems you can change the color of wing post so that you can see them better
• they are more easy to cast and do not twist the leader
• parachute flies have a great water print
• parachute flies rarely fall on a side

If you like to fish with dry flies and you are curious which are my most used trout models here are bellow.

With these models I cover all spectrum of mayflies which are hatching from March till end of May. Of course sometime you need a good stimulator and that will be the Royal Coachman, a fly that works for trout and grayling too.

I started to use squirmy nymphs around 2013-2014. First time I used these flies on lakes on rainbow trout and black bass. I was impressed by how effective are.

I’m a classic fisherman who love feathers and fur and I love traditional flies. So I looked at squirmy with curiosity and skepticism in the same time. But the high number of fished who reacted at this fly changed my mind.

Squirmy nymphs work for small and big fish in the same time. I used them in Spring, Summer and Autumn. Even on small and large rivers, on ginger clear waters but also on muddy ones they worked excellent. No wonder that are fishermen with a real addiction at these flies.

A few tying tips about how to make them and how to store.

• use thick thread like poli-floss or body thread to fix the squirmy material
• do not pull the thread too much, it will cut the material
• carefully wrap the squirmy material, not to tight because will not resist too much
• do not keep the flies in sunlight, UV radiation will destroy the material ( UV “bake” the squirmy or silicone material and will fall apart from the hook)
• after you fish with a squirmy nymph put the fly in a box, do not keep the fly on your fishing vest because the sunlight will destroy it
• use boxes made of opaque material to avoid UV light exposure

Squirmy material will age very fast and will loose his properties. I recommend to make only a few ( the number you need in your fishing trip )

From perch to carp, trout, grayling and carassius to even pike, these squirmy flies really catch fish. You can love them or hate them but there is no doubt: for fish they are deadly!

Personally I consider these flies to be keep in Pandora’s fisherman box because provide addiction 🙂

A trout fishermen know that the buggy nymphs are the best all around flies for trout fishing. They are great searching pattern because represent caddis flies, stone flies and even mayflies. Tied small a buggy nymph imitate baetis nymphs and emergers too. For these reasons is good to have a few nice buggy nymphs in your boxes.

As you can see I make them on curved hooks. Frankly I like more the curved hooks because I noticed a better hook rate compared with other models. I tie buggy nymphs on jig hooks when the snagging risk is higher ( rivers with lots of sharp stones like granite or sandstone).

The hot spotted versions are used when water is warm and fish are very active:

Usually hot orange,and hot pink are most efficient colors as triggers. But sometimes green seems to work better in rivers with rhyacophila ( swimming caddis larvae ).

When I choose what model of buggy nymph to use I take in consideration the following factors depending of season

Spring buggy nymphs :

• bigger hook
• bigger beads
• heavy dressed
• tied minimalist
• hot spotted

Summer buggy nymphs:

• medium sized hooks
• slimmer bodies compared with Spring versions
• hackle made of Partridge – for extra movement
• with or without hot spots

Autumn buggy nymphs

• small or medium sized hooks
• tied light dressed
• dark colored dubbing seems to work better
• red, purple and green for hot spots
• hackle made of CDC, seems to be more efficient

I use natural grey dubbing ( from hare mask and from squirrel ) olive or yellow mixed with olive if the olive is too dark and black mixed with grey. These colors are my most effective colors. I dropped to use others. Sometimes I mix a little bit of blue, UV white and purple because I noticed that in Autumn these colors works better.

A small tip: use an air compressor to mix your dubbing. The coffee grinder blades cuts the guard hair , is not the best option. If you don’t have the possibility then mix the dubbing using your fingers, is simple but will take more time 🙂

If you want to see other buggy flies and what I use when the season start here is another article:

These days you will find polarized eye glasses all over: from big supermarket shops to super expensive dedicated stores. There are plenty of models in different colors and shapes, from known and expensive brands to no-name ones.

How to choose the proper polarized eye glasses is very important otherwise you can damaged your eye sight for a short period of time, long time or even forever!

Eye sight is the most important human sense and like for everybody, a fisherman should know how to protect his eyes. A good pair of eyeglasses will make you feel better in strong sun and see better in almost all light conditions.

The most easy way to find if your eyeglasses are ok is to feel comfortable wearing them. If you have headache then you should stop using those eyeglasses!

Headache is induced by tight frames or by lenses with geometrical aberration. A geometrical aberration means a lens that has not a homogeneous composition and has distortions. That means an extra effort for eye to stay focused. If you wear these kind of eye glasses for a long time is highly possible to finish with a visit at optician. A prescription of a permanent of reading glasses will follow without any doubt.

I’m engineer in physics and I studied optics as specialty for a year. I had the pleasure to work in a lab and to build lenses 🙂 So here is a simple example way about how to check your polarized eye glasses and to avoid these kind of problems:

• wear a pair of polarized eye glasses
• put in front of you the eyeglasses that you want to test
• turn them at 90 degrees

If they look like those bellow, means that are bad:

These eyeglasses have the lenses deformed by too tight frames. These frames put a static tension in lenses and physical deformation occur.

If they look like the following way , means that are good because the frames and the lenses fit well.

The first good ones are yellow, the second ones are colored in amber.

There are 2 simple ways to test the polarization of glasses: rotate the eyeglasses in front of other polarized eyeglasses at 90 degrees and if they go black or very dark means that are very good. If they go only a little bit darker means that are not so fantastic.

Another way is to wear the eyeglasses and to rotate your phone in front of you at 90 degrees.

If the screen of your phone goes darker, then the eyeglasses are doing their job:)

Attention, the polarization factor has nothing to do with the quality of lenses. The polarization property is coming from a special coating applied on the lenses.

You can find good eyeglasses with good lenses but with bad polarization properties and vice versa .

Colored lenses are very important not because they are cool or can relax your eyes. The colors work as a filters and will select the wave-light that will pas thru to your eyes. A proper color according with background color ( wich often is green from trees and grass ) will give you a good contrast needed to spot easily the fly and the fish.

UV factor and how your polarized lenses is filtering this type of light is very important: bad UV lenses will cause injury to your eyes. It is very difficult to measure how your eyeglasses are filtering the UV light. But I will talk in a next article about colors and UV protection, properties that are a must for a good pair of eyeglasses and of course, for your eyes.

If you go fishing around in Europe you will notice a simple and ingenious thing that changes the fly fishing way: the Perdigon Nymph.

Thanks to this super easy to tie nymph, any  fisherman can enjoy catching trout and grayling no matter if he/she is skilled or beginner in fly fishing.

How can this fly be so effective? What is the secret?

Perdigon nymph has such a simple design: a slim body, a simple tail, ribbing and an over-sized bead. No extra materials!  Due to these reasons this nymph sinks like a rock. Perdigon nymph will sink faster and will stay much longer in feeding areas under strong currents compared to any other fly. The fly is a general pattern, it imitates different aquatic insects in the same time. Another important aspect is the size: perdigon nymphs are small and a small nymph will fool much easily a fish compared to a bigger fly.But there is a catch: How to choose the sizes and colors is very important!  After using these nymphs  for more than 10 years  I realized that choosing the right color and the correct size is very important.

Perdigon nymphs and their colors:

*Black or dark colored nymphs are a must! These colors provide good contrast in any kind of water from ginger clear to dark or muddy. Dark colored nymphs are perfect for dark colored waters with granitic and sandstone type of river bottom. 

*Light colored nymphs in green, light green/olive, cream, yellow and tan are perfect for crystalline schist and calcareous stones. A combination between main colors and hot spot colors is important and it is always better to have the the same fly tied with a hot spot and with beads in different colors.

Where high fishing pressure educates the fish I recommend natural colors. On rivers where C&R is not so common and the number of fishermen is low, then a hot spot tied nymph will work better than one in natural colors.

Choosing the Perdigon right size:

*Big perdigon nymphs don’t work. A big nymph will scary the fish and will snag the bottom very often.

* Small is better!-biggest sized perdigon is #14-smallest sized  is tied on #22-my efficient sizes according with my style are #16-18

Depending on the season I tie my nymphs  in the following weight/ bead and size.

Spring Perdigon nymphs setting:

• #14hook is tied with 3.5mm tungsten
• #16hook is tied with 3mm tungsten

Summer Perdigon nymphs setting:

• #14hook is tied with 3mm tungsten
• #16hook is tied with 2.5mm or 2.8mm tungsten
• #18hook is tied with 2.5mm tungsten bead

Autumn Perdigon nymphs setting: :

• #14hook is tied with 3mm tungsten
• #16hook is tied with 2.5mm tungsten
• #20hook is tied with 2.5mm tungsten
• #22hook is tied with 2mm tungsten bead

Usually, I use 2 flies,  the heavier on a dropper and the lighter and smaller on top. 

Here is my logic behind choosing  these sizes and how I combine these nymphs:

In Spring, the water is usually cold and trout is looking for more consistent food. So in this case big is better. Then river is bigger and trout will stay in strategic places, right under strong currents and behind big rocks. In these places water current brings the food like a waiter in a restaurant. Only heavy nymphs will arrive in those places. Big insects represent a consistent source of food, trout will try to pick those first. I often set a size #14 with 3.5/4mm combined with a #14 with 3mm tungsten if the water level is really  big. Otherwise, I choose a size #14 combined with a size #16About colors: I prefer to start using the black version with a red hot spot ( in tail or behind bead). This color combination gives a great and effective contrast in all kinds of rivers.  If the color is not working I go with a very light color like yellow pale ribbed with olive and I adjust if necessary.

In Summer, fish are more active and they stay in constant currents where oxygen is abundant.  In these cases I need a longer leader, more delicate and precise casts to present my flies as better as possible without scaring the fish. A combination between size #14 with a size #18 is what I choose medium-bigger rivers. On rivers with high fishing pressure  I set a #16 nymph combined with another size #16 nymph with smaller bead or  with a nymph in size #18.If I have to fish in small rivers I use a size #16  with small bead on a dropper. The smallest nymph, a size #20 is set on the  tip. Long casts are a must if the water is super clear.The colors used in summer are: light yellow, light olive, green and black. Sometimes I use cream or ginger with or without hot spot.

When Autumn is coming trout and grayling are changing the hunting places,  they prefer the deeper currents or pools. In these conditions , with low level and crystal clear waters, fish prefer to stay down and they feed carefully. A bigger nymph, in size #14 is what I set on my dropper and a size #18 or a size #20 is in top. The active fly is usually the small one, the biggest one has the role to bring the little one in the feeding area.My main colors for  autumn perdigon nymphs are brown,  light brown, green, dark olive and black. I noticed that one of the best hot spots in autumn is blue, dark deep red and purple. 

This article is made to help beginners who want to try these flies and they will learn faster and much easy how to choose and set perdigon nymphs. I spent lots of years together with my friends and Troutline team members to do this classification and to concentrate essential info about hot to fish and how to choose the proper perdigon nymphs depending of fishing conditions.

I hope you find this article interesting and helpful 🙂

Here is another article about perdigon nymphs for those interested in reading and learning more about them.

Cheers,

Lucian

Red tag nymph is known as a great attractor/stimulator nymph.

This type of nymph is tied based on the classic old red tag dry fly  originated around 1850 by Mr Martyn Flyn. He made the Red Tag for grayling fishing and was originated as a dry fly. Lots of fishermen tied this fly in different versions even for seatrout and salmon fishing.

Long time ago I  discovered it in Poland, Slovenia, Serbia and Czech Republic and Slovakia but all tied differently according with the particularities from local rivers.

The Red Tag Nymph is tied very simple: body is made of peacock herl, red fibers ( wool or antron ) as tag and one turn of brown hen hackle. Some tiers add the hackle behind bead using a brown feather from rooster others used brown CDC and others use just a pinch of dubbing in black or dark green.

 My best 4 variations of Red Tag Nymph are made for different rivers where I fish mostly and of course depending of period of time. I adjusted and I tuned the “original” model according with those tied by Polish, Czech and Slovak fishermen which are known for their creativity and talent in fly fishing. I used them in East Europe mainly  but also in Austria, Slovenia and in Scandinavia.

Here are my versions :

Why I use red tag nymphs:

• great stimulator flies,
• great searching flies,
• works for both grayling and trout in the same time,
• gives in water a great contrast no matter if  the water is ginger clear or muddy
• work from Spring till late in Autumn
• super easy to tie

This simple to tie nymph works  fantastic for trout and grayling in the same time and covers very well all kind of rivers almost in all kind of weather conditions. 
When I fish  for the first time a certain river, the Red Tag is always on my nymphing line.  I found this fly captivating and interesting. I’m always curious to see versions of this great pattern and to hear stories about fish and this fly 🙂 So if you have your version and you are willing to share just add a comment bellow.