Caddis - Ahrex Hooks

Czech Nymph Fishing: A Timeless Fly Fishing Technique

Czech nymph fishing has become a staple in fly fishing. The technique originated in Eastern Europe, particularly in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Balkan countries. This method involves using long rods, extended leaders, multiple dropper flies, and heavy nymphs. The flies are fished by casting upstream, using only the leader, and allowing the flies to drift naturally with the current. This approach lets the flies sink quickly to the bottom without being dragged upward by the current pulling the line and leader. Anglers keep the rod tip downstream, carefully tracking the leader, and strike at any unusual movement — a tug, tension, or lift — often resulting in a hooked fish.

This technique offers an exciting way to fish, though it has its detractors. Some argue it’s not “true” fly fishing since it involves minimal casting and little use of the fly line. Nonetheless, Czech nymphing is highly effective when fish aren’t feeding on the surface or when fishing fast-flowing waters with deep holes and eddies.

By Håkan Karsnäser

The Foampuppa Grandis

Unlike mayflies and stoneflies, the caddisflies undergoes a “complete development”. The former develop from nymph to finished insect immediately, while the caddis leaves the larval stage as a pupa, which seeks to the surface or crawls on something to hatch into a finished caddis. All stages of the development are important for the fly tyer to imitate, but the pupa is in many cases the most desirable and easily accessible to the fish.

By Håkan Karsnäser

Ammarnäs

Where the road begins and home for the Ammarnäs trout and trophy Grayling

The village Ammarnäs is located in the western part of Swedish Lapland in Northern Sweden and around 100-200 people lives here, depending on season The slogan for Ammarnäs is,” Where the road begins” and if you look at the map, you can see why, or choose to see that only one road leads from or to Ammarnäs. If you travel up here by car or by bus, you can make a pitstop in the little bigger society Sorsele and pay a visit at Hook and Cup Sorsele Visitor Center. They have staff that knows a lot about flyfishing a little shop with fishing gear, a cafe and a museum. From Sorsele it´s only 90 kilometers on the road left up to Ammarnäs and the brown trout paradise.

By Mikael Lindström

Photos by Mikael Lindström, Henrik Kure & Morten Valeur

(this artickle has been published in the online magazine “FFE Magazine”)

A floating treat

XL size caddisflies whet the appetite and curiosity of many trout. Even when insects are sparse on the surface, a stripped Grandis can be a winner on the river or trout lake. Here, renowned Swedish fly tyer Håkan Karsnäser explains how to tie his popular dry fly treat.

By Peter Lyngby

(this artickle has been published in the danish magazine “Sportsfiskeren” and the online magazine “In The Loop Magazine

Essentials

Photo: Matt Guymon / Freestone Rivers Photography.

If you’re fly fishing for trout and grayling, you won’t get far without a good imitation of both mayflies and caddis. In the books and online there are literally hundreds of specific patterns and styles to choose from. Some of them we’ve featured here on the blog and some on our YouTube-channel, but I don’t think we’ve ever touched on the X-Caddis and the Sparkle Dun.

The Riverbank

Today we’re pleased to let you know about a movie that our friend, Markus Hoffman, made about his summer fishing in Northern Sweden. It’s a beautiful movie capturing the essence of what it’s like being in the wild of Northern Sweden. Not only fishing there – also just being there.

I’ll let Markus tell you a bit about the movie and recommend you watch it. I really enjoyed it.

The scent of a lady

The question is not how to fish, but why you do it. The author and his fishing buddies do it out of necessity. It’s more important than life and death to them to escape the human world, step in to water and wave a stick. Left on the shore is their misery and worries. Standing in the water they find freedom, healing and occasionally a fish.

Battles are lost and won with tongue in cheek and always celebrated with mountains of cake and an endless stream of fresh espresso coffee. To the band of brothers it’s more important who you fish with than how big the fish is; except for the ones lost.

You may not learn a lot about catching more and bigger fish, but reading these stories is like holding a mirror up in front of yourself getting a little wiser. The small why is a big one.

This artickel is written by Danish photojournalist Søren Skarby

The small stuff

Small is always a matter of context. A small pike fly is infinitely larger than a small trout fly, but no matter the context, small flies are often important to have, often even the deciding factor between and take and a refusal.

Ismo Pupa

Caddis are important prey for trout and grayling. Some species leave their pupal case and swim towards the surface. Here they swim towards shore to hatch on land or in vegetation. They’re fairly big and you can easily see them almost rowing along the surface. This behaviour obviously makes them highly exposed to trout and grayling, but also very fun to fish, because you can skate and twitch the fly, which often triggers quite aggressive strikes. Skating and twitching is often something we strive to avoid when dry fly fishing, but in this case, it’s exactly the way to fish.

Mr. Wicked Trout

You remember mr. Wicked Trout? Our good friend, Stefan Larsson. Dry fly fisher par excellence, rock ’n’ roll bass player and singer, whisky connoisseur and in the trenches in the fight against dams on his home rivers in Älvdalen in Sweden.