Source: Trout Fisherman 06/2004 (pp. 21-27)

Famed for their devastatingly effective nymph methods, Czech river anglers are among the best in the world: Current national team coach Jiri Klima, also known as 'the river god', talks to Russell Hill about the latest Czech tactics and reveals the v new flies that will dramatically improve your river sport.

RH: You've been hailed as a 'river god' in the angling press. How do you feel about that?

JK: For me, it's a big privilege that someone like Charles Jardine called me a river god. I only hope that there aren't too many more river gods out there. I'm sometimes called similar names back home in the Czech Republic.

RH: What's your most memorable achievement in fly fishing?

JK: As far as competitions are concerned, it has to be winning several national titles in the Czech Republic, but I've obviously enjoyed competing at world level against the very best anglers. As a coach, helping the national team to three gold medals has also been satisfying.

RH: When did you start experimenting with river patterns?

JK: I learned about fly fishing from my schoolteacher in 1972 and immediately started to experiment with fly tying and fly fishing. At that time most fishermen used either dry or wet fly tactics fished downstream. But I began fishing with lead attached to the leader between two March Brown imitations cast upstream. The technique proved successful and I started to fish the method during competitions.

Based on my riverbed investigations, I started tying weighted Hydropsyche imitations and fished them downstream - these were tied on straight hooks. Later on, weight outside of the fly was banned, which triggered the use of weight added under the dressing. Then curved hooks appeared and today's classic Czech Nymph patterns were born.

RH: What about the latest developments on the Czech Nymph?

JK: Czech Nymphing was developing mainly through competitive fly fishing. Hundreds of patterns were created with new colours for the body (from natural colours to pearl and fluorescent shades) mixing synthetic and natural materials. One of my contributions in this area was the introduction of Back Side Foils with printed natural patterns that proved very useful and have been widely adopted. They are tied in as a shellback, and look very natural.

I have created a range of patterns that are now called Micro-Nymphs. There was a general feeling that the Czech Nymph could not be further developed. This got me thinking. Czech Nymphs always imitated Hydropsyche, caddis larvae and shrimps. It seemed to me that Czech Nymph patterns totally ignored nymph imitations. And that was where I concentrated my efforts. Given that many of our rivers are over-fished, I also felt that a change in river pattern was long overdue, as fish were becoming wise. The key question was: which pattern could imitate nymphs and would be as powerful as a classic Czech Nymph? In early 1990, I started to test different types and shapes of weighted hooks. The result of this testing was the development of the Drop Hook shape - with the teardrop-shaped weight added just behind the eye and acting as a thorax or head.

RH: What are the advantages of Drop Hooks?

JK: They have very good sinking qualities, even on the smallest hook size, and they imitate the shape of larvae as they ascend from the riverbed. They also imitate parts of the insect - such as the thorax and head - and can be used for nymphs, fry, Buzzers, pupae and zooplankton. I've found that fish prefer Micro Nymphs when feeding on small food items. Czech competitors used Micro Nymphs in the recent World Championships in France. Since then they've grown in popularity. Also, the coloured weighted section does away with the need for jungle cock cheeks, thus saving time at the vice. There's also no need for a goldbead.

RH: What about the strange-looking Jig Fly, how was that born?

JK: It has been around for quite a while. One of my friends brought some Jig hooks from Austria and together with a colleague, Slavoj Svoboda, I started to experiment with Jig patterns. They proved extremely successful and helped Slavoj and I to win many competitions. Those patterns were the key weapon, together with Czech Nymph and dry Black Sedge, of the Czech Team in the World Championships in Norway, where we dominated the grayling fishing on the rivers. After this championship, Jig hook patterns were banned in international competitions. However, they are still very popular in the Czech Republic.

RH: How do you fish these Jig patterns?

JK: You fish them as you would the Czech Nymph but without trundling them across the bottom. Just give them a gentle lift every now and then and because they fish upside down - with the hook point uppermost - you hardly ever get snagged on the riverbed. Hold them just off the bottom and move them down through the swim with the current. This upright position of the hook also helps to hook fish in the upper lip. Imagine a fish feeding on grubs on or near the riverbed - it will feed nose-down with its tail uppermost. Jutting out at a right angle, the hook eye helps the fly to fish vertically and not on an angled plane.

RH: Finally, what's your opinion of English competition anglers?

JK: They're very similar to Czech anglers in that they are determined and always want to do their best for their country. We've always seen the English as excellent stillwater anglers and we've learned so much from them. Perhaps their river skills need to improve slightly to match their stillwater prowess, but every country has its strengths.

Jiri Klima Factfile