Top 6 river nymph patterns by our ambassador Vojta Ungr.
Orange Tag
Orangetag is my favourite fly. I've been fishing it practically all year round for many years. Mostly on the second dropper. But the best time to use it is definitely from April to September, when there are a lot of terrestrial insects around the water, which often fall into the river from branches or from the grass by the bank. It is these insects, among others, that Orangetag can imitate. My favourite place to fish with it is around the banks for trout and even more so for chubs. Trout and chubs react very well to it immediately after hitting the water. Definitely try fishing down the water with a cast all the way to the bank. Then let the flies float slowly and freely from the bank towards the river, almost like a wet fly. Almost no fish can resist this. In larger sizes, this is a great fly for murky water.
Závodnicka
The Závodnicka is a fly I invented primarily for the Vltava River. It is suitable wherever there are brown trout or white fish. Again, it is a combination of colors that can imitate mainly terrestrial insects that are drowned by drifting water. So I fish it in a similar way to the Orangtag, with the only difference being that I tie it to the upper dropper.
Kabilkovka
The Kabilkovka (could be translated as "cable fly") is my improved version of a fly that was often used about ten years ago. Especially at competitions. The fly didn't make it out of the competition scene for many years. This was also due to the hard to find body material which comes in several shades from blue, purple to peacock green. I now have this material made specifically for my flies. I like to fish the Kablikovka at the beginning and end of the season on the top dropper. The fly is perfect for the cold spring and fall waters. It teases to bite not only brown trouts, but especially grayling, which go after it as senseless especially in autumn. I fish with Kabilkova because of its distinctive colours, especially in faster currents, where the fish cannot miss it because of its colours.
Pheasant Nymph
Everyone has a pheasant nymph in their fly box. And everyone ties it a little differently. I tied over 20 different combinations before I came up with this one with a pink tippet on the end, copper wire and UV dubbing in the thorax. The Pheasant nymph is a year-round fly for trout and grayling fishing. I fish it on both bottom and top droppers. It works very well for hatching any species of duns. When nymphing, I let it float to the surface as slowly as possible in the last phase. The movement of the fly from the bottom to the surface will spook even an otherwise almost inert fish. This variant of the Pheasant is for me indispensable when fishing with a fly-float with a line upstream. And especially in slow flowing parts of trout rivers, such as deep pools or waters above small dams.
Vírovka Special
The Vírovka special is based on my classic Vírovka fly. It is suitable for catching any fish in our rivers. It is a universal fly for trout, grayling and even white fish. And because it is more colourful than the classic Vírovka, it is also suitable for slightly murky water, in which it works very well because of its aggressive colour combination. I usually fish the swirl special on the bottom dropper.
Vírovka
The Vírovka (Bubo bubo fly) has its own comic story. I started tying flies at the beginning of my competition career when I wanted to be a little different from other fly fishermen and I liked to forge my own path. And I started to get very good with Vírovka. At the competition, a friend would always ask me if I was catching on my Bubo bubo fly again. Although I told him several times that it was made from a turkey. And one time I couldn't stand it anymore and jokingly said to him, "Sure, on the Bubo bubo fly, on the Vírovka! Lately, I've been fishing on the Vírovka mainly where the fish are caught and don't respond to the usual more colorful flies. I also like to fish with it on a Czech river where the biggest trout live. It must also not be missing in my box, which I have specially tied for fishing in Slovenia. I have caught most of my trophy fish on it. So I hope that you too will be able to catch your dream fish on Vírovka.
