Interview with Luboš Roza about his river collection of competition flies from UK fly producer Fulling Mill.
From the Czech fly fishing perspective, the year 2020 brings one important event. If our memory works well, it was for the first time that a world fly fishing company prepared a commercial collection of flies designed or selected by Czech fly fisherman. And both names aren't just that - UK based producer Fulling Mill is now introducing a wide range of flies designed by Lubos Roza, one of the most successful Czech (and world's) fly fishing competitors recently.
On this occasion, we asked Lubos several questions about how the collection actually originated and what the flies from the collection are primarily intended for.
1. Who came up with the idea to make Roza's collection for Fulling Mill?
This idea came from the Fulling Mill guys. Apparently, they were addressed by my Facebook profile and the historical achievements I have gained so far. Of course, joining such an international company and fine-tuning all the details, quality and designs brought with it several months of solution and a personal meeting. I think after a personal meeting we got a good feeling from this cooperation, when we were fishing together and discussing personally prepared fly patterns, and I myself was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of workmanship! Thus, nothing prevented the entire collection from going to production and sales.
2. What were the main criteria for selecting flies?
When I was approached, the main topic was the competition flies. Of course, in the age of the Internet, all fishermen sometimes see some news from the competitive field and, of course, like to test their functionality. Therefore, the demand for "competition flies" has increased and Fulling Mill wants to respond to this and give its customers a piece of this fly fishing. We therefore agreed on a collection of nymphs and dry flies for freshwater fly fishing on rivers. I think that in this discipline the Czech Republic is one of the leading countries in the competitive fly fishing field, which has been proving repeatedly for many years at world and European championships.
3. You have now introduced different tungsten bead size for one fly size with Fulling Mill. Why?
This is just one of those competition issues and I think that with many good flies, their functionality is limited just by incorrectly balancing the tungsten bead and hook. More and more fishermen are engaged in fly fishing and thus the fish become more caught. The quality of the equipment is still better, and fly-fishing can do a lot because of the availability of information nowadays, and therefore the fish are no longer so trusting. The trend is to refine equipment and reduce the size of flies. Generally today, flies are tied to smaller hooks with a larger bead to get even small flies to the bottom. From experience I know that the fish bead is not such an obstacle as the size of the fly. Therefore, when the size of the fly is good, you only need to change the depth with the size (and weight) of the bead and you still fish with the successful fly, but deeper.
4. What is the main use of individual groups of flies in the Roza's collection?
Everything can be caught today with a fly rod. However, the main target is trout and grayling. Surely many fishermen would disagree with me, but for me it is. These fish are also for the most part, or if possible, the main goal in the competitions, and therefore we have kept in the collection of patterns that are most effective for me just for these kinds of fish. Therefore, mainly trout and grayling on nymph or dry fly.
5. What are your top three favorite flies from the Roza's collection and why?
In my Fulling Mill collection there are virtually all my favorite designs and so this is a very difficult question. At the same time, I would like to draw attention to the fact that today nobody can say that any pattern is his. There are so many of these fly patterns that we just catch on something similar. That is why I would not like it to sound like they are mine. These are the patterns I catch on, which I respect for myself in competition and fish and which I have discovered over time from various sources and places in the world and in our country. So I will choose three patterns that I have had the greatest success historically.
The first piece is "Rock Chick", which is a completely simple fly from the CDC with a little flash, but it is probably the most versatile fly that can be used when actively catching trout, when the fly differently drag and irritate fish can also be used to collect for passive fishing or as a dropper fly for nymphing. Really very versatile fly and very effective!
The second fly would be "Threaded jig". I tried this fly all over the world and it always worked perfectly. Caught trout and grayling and gave me also my most valuable title of world champion in individuals, among others.
The third fly "French nymph" gave me the title of European Champion in individuals and a lot of other achievements. In short, it has everything that trout and grayling love and when it is tied nicely, it becomes a ruthless aggregate.
Practically every fly has a relationship and so I do not want it to sound like an empty phrase, but I recommend really all. Each of these flies has its own charm and at the moment are absolutely great. I believe that this collection will bring a lot of beautiful moments spent near the water and a lot of unforgettable catches!
6. Do you plan to expand the Roza's collection in the future?
Yes. We are already working on another extension for 2021. I think I have other patterns in my repertoire, but I think that fishermen, if they want, should first try 2020 patterns that just work. I am not an advocate of hundreds of patterns in the box, but several patterns in different sizes. The fly is simply a factor that will affect the outcome of the fishing, but it is far from being the only one, so I think that if a flyfisher knows he is equipped with good patterns, he can focus more on his own fishing and not have to worry about .
You can see the whole fly collection of Luboš Roza in our eShop!
For more interesting information and tips for fly fishing, see the book Flyfishing World in English by Luboš Roza!
