Is Czech Nymphing With Mono Fly Fishing?

Its Effectiveness Can’t Be Denied!

The question of whether or not Czech nymphing is really fly fishing is an incredibly hot topic right now. The August/September 2024 issue of Fly Fisherman magazine features an article on monofilament rigs, and their divisiveness within the fly fishing community. I just read today that April Vokey is going to host a podcast on the topic of Czech nymphing this weekend with some very celebrated expert guests, including Kelly Galloup. I’m looking forward to listening to this one and expect it to be a lot of fun! Her podcasts are always interesting and informative, focusing on current and relevant topics. I highly recommend all of April Vokey’s podcasts. Wherever anglers today turn for information today, whether to magazines or podcasts, the topic of Czech nymphing is sure to come up eventually.

The goal of Czech nymphing, also called Euro nymphing, is to get the fly down to the stream bottom as quickly as possible because that is where most of the fish are. What is different about Czech nymphing is that fly line is often not used, rather a long section of monofilament takes its place. If fly line is on the reel, it rarely extends past the tip of the rod. The fly is cast towards the upper end of a run and is led through the hole by the angler, always keeping the line tight, but without pulling the fly unnaturally through the run. There is no debate about the effectiveness of Czech nymphing. In fact, It is the clear method of choice for catching fish in international fishing competitions today.

The first and most obvious question that needs to be asked is, “what is fly fishing”. Once that is defined it becomes quite easy to either include or exclude various methods of fishing into the fly fishing category. The trouble is that there is no universally accepted, clear and absolute, definition of what constitutes fly fishing. Therefore, there’s not a clear answer on what fishing methods should or shouldn’t be included. In other words, there is no correct or final answer to the debate, only opinions.

With that in mind, I thought that I might as well throw my hat in the ring and have some fun with this topic. What follows now is my own personal definition of what fly fishing is. Once defined, you’ll see whether or not I consider Czech nymphing to be fly fishing.

Using Flies

A method of fishing should not be considered fly fishing simply because a fly is used. Let’s consider this example. When I was a little kid my dad often set me up with a spinning rod rigged with a fly and bubble. To this day I enjoy fishing like this, thought I don’t do it often. I like filling the bubble up with water and seeing how far I can launch the fly and bubble rig out into a lake. After casting, I’ll either let the fly set there until I get a strike or I’ll slowly retrieve the fly giving it movement. It’s a fun way to fish. If the bubble is filled completely it will sink, which brings fishing wooly buggers and other sub-surface patterns into play. Fishing with a fly and bubble can become complex as anglers learn to control the depth of the bubble by adding water or draining water out of it.

Is spin fishing with a fly and bubble considered fly fishing simply because a fly is at the end of the line? I don’t think so. Let me give you an analogy. Say I’m in a game of dodge ball, and there are all kinds of balls being tossed around. Nerf balls, wiffle balls, those red kickballs we used to play with, etc. If one of the balls out there happens to be a baseball, and I pick it up and throw it at the competition, am I all of a sudden playing baseball not dodgeball? Of course not. I’d simply be playing dodgeball, with a baseball. In the same way, if someone is spin fishing with a spinning rod and they decided to put a fly on instead of a lure, they aren’t all of a sudden fly fishing. They’re simply spin fishing with a fly.

Here’s another more extreme example. An angler is out on a deep lake. He or she sets the rod in a rod holder. Next, a down-rigger is used to drop the line to the bottom of the lake, and then the rig is trolled slowly out in the middle of the lake waiting for a fish to bite. Towards the end of the line cowbells are attached to attract fish. At the end of the line is a baitfish fly pattern. Would you consider that type of fishing to be fly fishing on the basis of a fly being used? I don’t think so.

I use both of these examples to illustrate that fly fishing can’t simply be defined as any method of fishing that employs a fly to attract and catch fish. There has to be more to it than that.

Fly Rod

Now let’s take a look at fishing equipment to see if that will help add clarity to the discussion. Does the use of certain equipment define what fly fishing is? Conventional and traditional thought would be that an angler is fly fishing if he or she is using a fly rod and reel, with fly line, to cast a fly. Let’s look at each piece of equipment individually.

Does the use of a fly rod constitute fly fishing? To answer that question let’s consider a few more scenarios. If I put a spinning reel onto a fly rod, string the mono through the eyelets, and attach a heavy lure to the line such as a spoon or spinner, and cast it out – is that fly fishing? Or, if instead of a lure I attach a fly and bubble – is that fly fishing? I don’t think so because the reel and cast is that of a spinning rig, even though a fly rod is being used instead of a spinning rod. The casting motion is still that of spin fishing and so is the lure. What propels the cast is the weight of the lure itself.

Once again, here’s a more extreme scenario to help us look at this from a different perspective, perhaps beginning to shed light on what fly fishing actually is. Say I find an eight foot branch or stick that can hardly flex at all. To the end of it I attach a section of fly line, tippet, and a fly. Next I start waiving the stick back and forth, using the weight of the fly line to propel the fly out into a body of water in search of fish. Is that fly fishing? I would say that even though a fly rod is not being used, it’s starting to look and feel a lot more like fly fishing.

All this to say, I don’t think the type of rod necessarily defines something as either fly fishing or not fly fishing

Fly Reel

If it’s not the rod that defines a particular fishing method as fly fishing, is it the use of a fly reel? I think we’re getting closer, but we’re not there yet. A fly reel is about the most simple type of reel there is. Some fly reels have nice disc drags. Others, such as click and pawl reels, have almost no drag at all. Click and pawl reels have a mechanism to keep the reel from back-spooling, but that’s about it. When it comes right down to it, a fly reel is really not much more than a spool attached to the rod with the purpose of holding the line. I don’t mean to put down fly reels. In fact, the fly reel is my absolute favorite piece of fly fishing equipment because of their wonderful beauty and craftmanship!

So, is the use of a fly reel what constitutes fly fishing? To answer that question, let me give you yet another illustration. What if I didn’t have a reel at all! What if I took fly line & tippet and strung it through the eyelets of a fly rod, and took the other end of the fly line and tied it to the butt section of the rod. A reel is not even present. All the excess fly line is coiled up by my feet. Then, if I cast the fly out with the rod, letting line out by hand and stripping the line in by hand, would that be considered fly fishing? I would answer that question “yes”. I’d just be doing it without the help of a reel.

That’s about the most simple way I can think of to illustrate that the fly reel is not what defines a method of fishing as fly fishing. Now, as I mentioned a few paragraphs earlier, I think we’re getting closer……

Fly Line

Fly line is weighted, as we all know. It is the weight of the line, not the fly, that allows a fly cast to work and propel the fly out into a lake or stream. This is different than casting a lure, or bubble, or bait with monofilament line. When monofilament is used it is the weight of the lure combined with the flex of the rod that propels it out into a lake or stream.

The weight of the line is what makes the physics of a fly cast work. It’s also at the heart of what makes fly casting artistic and beautiful. Loops are created during the cast that unfold as the line extends out towards the target. It is the fly line, and the fly cast that is unique to fly fishing when compared to other methods of fishing. This is the key!

The Cast

After considering all of the various types of fly fishing equipment, and the flies themselves, I believe that it is the fly cast that really defines what fly fishing is. It is what sets it apart and differentiates it from other methods of fishing. Of course the fly cast works best using a fly rod and reel, but it certainly cannot work without weighted fly line. It is the weigh of the line, combined with the flex of the rod, that makes the physics of fly casting work. There are multiple ways of casting a fly. In addition to the traditional one-handed cast, there’s spay casting, roll casting, backhand casting, just to name a few. What they all have in common is the use of weighted line.

Now it’s time to come full circle and answer the question, what is fly fishing? How is it defined? I would define fly fishing as the casting of a fly using the weight of the line, not the weight of the fly, to propel the fly towards its target. It’s all about the cast – that’s what makes fly fishing what it is. Without weighted fly line you simply can’t have a fly cast.

The Verdict

Back to the original question: Is Czech nymphing with mono really fly fishing? My answer to that question is “no”, based on how I have defined fly fishing. Even though a type of fly rod is utilized, even though a type of fly is put before the fish, the use of monofilament in Czech nymphing disqualifies it as fly fishing. By my definition, weighted line must be used.

Let me conclude by giving you another analogy. Now remember, no analogy is perfect. They are only given to help illustrate a point. I grew up playing a lot of baseball. In fact, my career has been spent working for a Major League baseball team, the Colorado Rockies. After I was done playing baseball I played a lot of softball. Like baseball, softball is played with bats and balls. In both sports the pitcher tries to throw the ball past the batter, who is trying to get a hit. The object of both sports is to score as many runs as possible by running around the bases and making it all the way to home plate. The two sports are obviously very closely related, yet to those who have played both it is clear they are not the same. Softball is not baseball. There are more runs scored in softball because a softball is easier to hit. It is pitched underhand and the ball is twice as big. Similarly, in Czech nymphing more fish are caught as the weighted fly is led across the river bottom where most of the fish are.

Now, as someone who has played a lot of baseball, I can tell you that hitting a softball is not the same as hitting a baseball – it just feels different. In the same way, to those of us who have been fly fishing all our lives, pulling a Czech nymph through a hole with mono is not the same as fly fishing – it just feels different.

That’s my take on the debate surrounding Czech fishing with monofilament. This is all fun conversation, but really the question should be what type of fishing do you enjoy most. Then go do that! As long as it’s done in a way that is not harmful to the environment, one method of fishing isn’t any better or worse than another.