Nymphing - the New Way: French leader fishing for trout

by Jonathan White

Overview

French nymphing, or European nymphing as it is often known in the US, is the most important new development in flyfishing for a generation. The use of ultra-long tapered French leaders provides huge advantages both in terms of reducing drag and dramatically improving fly presentation.

These methods, which have already revolutionised the world of competition flyfishing, are now also proving themselves to be a game-changer for the recreational fisherman.
This is the first book to explain all branches of French leader technique:
• sight nymphing
• short and long-range indicator nymphing
• dry fly
• fishing for grayling, carp and steelhead
• masterclasses from leading experts
   Cody Burgdorff (USA)
   Julien Daguillanes (France)
   Stanislav Mankov (Bulgaria)
• tips for fishing in all types of river and clear stillwaters in the UK, Continental Europe, the
   USA and the Southern Hemisphere.

Use of the French leader has led to the French national team becoming the most successful team at the World Championships in recent years, winning 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 7 Bronze medals.
As opportunities to catch trout on a dry fly have become less frequent and of shorter duration, the use of modern nymphing techniques can often make the difference between a successful fishing trip and not catching fish at all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781910723845
Publisher:	Merlin Unwin Books
Publication date:	03/29/2018
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Jonathan White has flyfished widely for trout, sea trout and salmon in the western USA, the Kola, Iceland, Chile and Argentina, as well as saltwater flyfishing in the Seychelles and Bahamas.
He started flyfishing on the river Teme in Shropshire as a ten-year-old and has now fished the Welsh border streams regularly for 45 years.
Since retiring from a career in international banking, he fishes several times a year on the southern chalkstreams, particularly the Test, and also often visits Scotland to fish on the Tweed and the Spey.
Probably his most unusual feat of flyfishing was to catch trout in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. This is unlikely to be repeatable in the near future as this area is currently in the hands of the Taliban!
He is Chair of the Trustees of the Severn Rivers Trust.

Read an Excerpt

Cody Burgdorff on the Versatility of the French Leader
The great strength of the French leader is that it is so versatile. It can be used on large or small streams, tailwaters or freestones, and can also be used effectively for many different species. The fact that fish, in particular trout, eat nearly 90% of their meals underneath the surface of the water tells me that nymphing is usually the best option for catching fish.
The main advantages of the French leader compared to other techniques are stealth and contact. Long leaders mean that stealth is easily achieved, as the fisherman is able to fish for trout and other species at a distance, something that is not achievable with Czech nymphing. The ability to fish at distance makes the French leader very effective when sight fishing, either for trout or for very spooky carp, where stealth is absolutely the key to success.
The other advantage of the French leader is contact with the flies. By using a long leader and maintaining a tight line, there is contact throughout the drift of the nymphs. This makes detecting takes, and striking quickly, much easier.
While the technique can be used and adapted for most situations, I believe that it works best for rivers that are wider than 10m and have a depth of 0.75m to 2m. French leaders are particularly efficient for covering shallow riffles and runs, as well as pools and runs up to 2m deep.
This is not to say that French leaders mean focussing on small fish. Nothing could be further from the truth! Last summer I was on the Blue River in Colorado with my good friend Zach Lass. A rainstorm had dirtied up a section of the water that holds large fish. With the higher flows and dirty water, fishing artificial worms and mysid shrimp on this tailwater seemed like an obvious choice. After a few 3-4lb fish, I hooked into a fish that I knew was massive as soon as it rolled at the top. After a huge battle we landed the fish, a rainbow that measured 28" and was easily over 10lbs. Landing such a fish on a 10ft 2wt and 6x tippet was an unforgettable experience!
French leaders can be used for any stream-dwelling fish. Trout, grayling, whitefish, carp, and smallmouth bass are some of the many species I have caught with this technique. I have had great success with it on heavily-fished streams, as well as freestones that have very little pressure.

Table of Contents

Introduction v

The Development of Nymphing 1

The French Leader 13

Tackle 26

Flies for Nymphing 31

French Leader Technique 51

1 Sight Nymphing 51

2 Short-Range Indicator Nymphing 65

Tight-Line Indicator Nymphing 65

Duo and Trio Fishing 70

3 Long-Range Indicator Nymphing 74

4 Dry Fly Fishing on a French Leader 78

Different Waters and the French Leader 81

1 Chalkstreams and Spring Creeks 81

2 Freestone Rivers 90

3 Grayling 98

4 Carp 104

5 Stillwaters 106

Nymphing Masterclasses 111

1 Julien Daguillanes (France) 113

2 CodyBurgdorff (USA) 123

3 Stanislav Mankov (Central Europe) 135

Reflections on Nymphing 145

Index 149

Editorial Reviews

"The more I think about this, the ideal reader for Nymphing is an angler like me, with some fishing experience, who may even have dabbled with these techniques and wants more information to get more from a fascinating and extremely influential modern style of fly fishing. Nymphing — the New Way is a timely, well-written and well-produced book which deserves to be widely read." — Flyfishing and Flytying magazine, Magnus Angus

"Nymphing — the new way is the perfect introduction for the fly angler looking to add a new technique to their arsenal, but it also has plenty for the nymph angler with a few seasons under their belt to gain something from." — Eat Sleep Fish

"It is a good shot in the arm for anyone who fishes larger rivers, especially where sport is tough. I often swear by a long leader on stillwaters, but am considerably less brave on running waters. The French Leader technique is something I intend to try more often after reading this book. The information is incredibly thorough but there are also some inspiring fishing stories and useful bits, from leader construction diagrams to tips on fly fishing for grayling, large trout and even carp. Refreshingly varied and well worth a look for any fly angler I'd say." — Dominic Garnett Blog, Fishing Roads and Fishing Reads

"This is really practical and useful stuff. If you want to understand what it is all about, and incidentally pick up a very efficient way of catching non-rising fish in numbers which would not have been thought possible a few years ago, Nymphing — the New Way is thoroughly recommended." — The Wye and Usk Foundation newsletter

"I tied all leaders in the book and spent several weeks testing them on challenging spring creeks, freestone, and tailwaters throughout the Northeast. I was impressed with the performance of each for the conditions and tactics they were originally designed for. The section on leaders is worth the price of admission, but there's much more within these pages. Nymphing The New Way will help any open-minded fly fisher use the specialised tools needed to tackle the most demanding trout, and take their fly-fishing skills to the next level." — George Daniel, Fly Fisherman Magazine

From the Publisher