French Nymphing: An Insider’s Guide to Finesse Nymph Fishing

Typical French Nymphing

It is important to recognise that there always were (and still are) basically as many variations of these tactics WITHIN the French national fishing team as there are BETWEEN different nations. For example, I don’t think that the physical tactics of “Spanish nymphing” have any fundamental differences to what the French (and Belgian) anglers were doing when this phrase was coined...

Instead, the "Spanish" label is perhaps most useful as a shorthand for much thinner (often level) long nymphing leaders...However, that only really makes sense when you're already familiar with the mechanics of what has - for better or worse - been labelled "French Nymphing".

Here’s a Video Demonstration of the typical mechanics in action:

You can see, above, the basic idea of delivering the nymph or nymphs upstream or up and across stream before tracking them downstream at the pace of the current until the point just before slack line develops. Then you pick of and re-cast. Although simple, there are a lot of little details involved that make big differences to your success.

Did you see the big fish "flash" at my fly? This was something I did not have a good angle to see from my position. I had lost sight of my hotspot nymph because of glare on the water surface. Look out later in the article for a full explanation of this topic...

Although the "gold standard" in this presentation is always to hold as much leader off the water as possible (including the indicator line-section), there are sometimes occasions where you need to anchor at least some of it on the water. My strong advice, though, is you should always have a really good reason to allow the indicator to touch the water. In the video below, the water I'm reaching across is so shallow and spooky that I shouldn't stand any closer to the drop-off I'm targeting. If I raised my rod tip any higher during the drift, the nymph would be dragged round in an arc and pulled away from the "hot zone":

You might also like to keep an eye out for the extra tips and tactics revealed in my free Nymphing email tutorials.

But first, a problem...

The problem with labels

Attempting to classify any fishing technique is almost impossible because humans always want to tell a nice neat story. The problem is, fishing evolves in a messy, complicated way with many overlapping strands. The best we can do is pull some of the different strands together to make a decent “near as damnit” description:

That leader provides the casting mass and the turnover. The key feature is the ability to hold this leader off the water by holding the rod at a high angle – while being able to cast flies just using the rod and the leader. You can even cast a dry fly using a French leader – and that is a tactic we’ll also cover.

How About Rods for French Nymphing?

These are best covered in my guide to the best overall European Nymphing Style rods on this link:

What are the Key Elements to Look for in French Nymphing?

When fishing with a French leader setup, your rod and line form an inverted “V” shape – with the water between the angler and the fish being undisturbed by the splash-down of a fly line landing on the surface. This is critical and it looks like this:

Something that you will hear myself and John talking about a lot is “The Triangle of Awesome” – which is a short version of our joke phrase “Triangle of Awesome Fly Fishing Advantage”. Both are tongue-in-cheek ways to describe something that actually provides SERIOUS advantages.

It is the delivery of your fly (or up to three flies) to the fish WITHOUT any line-splash – combined with excellent drift control at a distance away from the angler – that makes this technique so deadly. Remember that it is impossible to catch a fish on a fly when it has just been spooked (nobody in history has managed it yet - unless they foul-hooked a fish as it bolted!).

Nowadays you will see lots of anglers using really heavy nymphs on a French leader (because of the “contact” and drift control at range – as well as sensitivity to when a fish grabs the fly). Using heavy flies in deeper/powerful flows is a big diversion from the reasons the original techniques were invented (or RE-invented when compared to historic fixed-line fly fishing).

The original challenge that inspired French Nymphing as a solution was a combination of ultra spooky fish in shallow, clear water. Here’s one account from an angler involved in solving that problem – starting with a very special fly design…

Philippe Beranger and his “Grain of Rice” French Nymphs

I remember talking to Stuart Crofts (international river competition angler) at an evening meeting of our fishing club. Stuart is incredibly passionate about fishing, fish and rivers – and that night he was bubbling with enthusiasm to show me something he knew I’d be fascinated by. He was dead right too…

After opening his fly box, a small handful of beautiful little nymphs was revealed. Very simple in design, they were unlike anything I’d really seen before. This is what Stuart had to say when I asked him about their backstory recently:

Talking with Stuart that night he said that Philippe had some really helpful guidelines for getting those flies just right. The basic tying recipe is really simple. Tails are simply the hackle-barbs clipped from a suitably-coloured feather. The underbody is made from ultra-fine copper wire (many anglers now like to use stripped peacock quill). The head is a few turns of orange floss and then the entire body and head are varnished.

It would not be unusual to just fish these nymphs as a single fly – and with this in your mind’s eye it is easy to see what a refined and perfect solution to those ultra-spooky fish this system would be. Stealth and finesse were the core qualities needed and that is exactly what the French nymphing and French Leader system delivered.

Again, huge thanks go to Stuart Crofts for sharing his collection of souvenir flies from multiple World Championships. The Cochito came direct from Edoardo's fly box in the same 1998 competition that Philippe Beranger also attended.

The French Leader

To expand on that system – let’s look in more detail at the vital leader characteristics at the heart of French nymphing…

An ultralight casting “line” (in this case the leader) would be made by knotting together particular lengths and diameters of nylon to create a certain kind of turnover. Those turnover qualities range between “super slow with an ultra-soft landing” to something quicker and more “aggressive” – to fish at longer ranges with light flies or perhaps combat windy conditions.

Each individual angler would design and test their own preferred leader “recipes” for different conditions and tactics. Their attention to detail was phenomenal.

Also, before attaching to the end of a fly line, the whole leader would be chemically-treated to make it softer and more supple. That process would tend to shorten and slightly thicken the filaments as well as the change in texture. To me, this long and painstaking experimental development is a wonderful cocktail of science and art – perhaps a bit like the fine cooking tradition that France is famous for.

I’m fortunate that John Pearson is the other half of Fishing Discoveries. Why? Well, John is recognised (among those in the know) as making some of the very best hand-knotted French leaders anywhere in the world. In our upcoming premium content, we’ll actually share John’s secrets for making your own French leaders up to his standards.

Now let’s break down the Rig…

Basic French nymphing rig outline

Here’s a diagram of the long, light-actioned fly rod, leader, indicator and tippet. Following this basic outline will set you up for success as you start using these tactics:

The "braid" indicator in the diagram above could just as easily be brightly coloured monofilament "indicator tippet"...

Again, the knots we prefer (because of their ability to retain the breaking strain of fine tippets) and other small details of this rig are covered in my free email lessons. The important thing to remember is that each part of the rig is designed to create some separation between the angler and the fish – while allowing the casting line (leader) to be held off the water. Those are the most important advantages of French nymphing tactics.

With experience, it is possible to modify this basic rig to suit a range of specific conditions and tactics – so the equipment and setup are always supporting the angler’s technique. That is always the gold standard in any angling approach.

Detecting When a Fish Grabs your Nymph

Keeping a light tension in the leader between your rod tip and your “point” fly (the one on the end of your tippet) with your high rod- tip held high and tracking the drift at the pace of the current is a vital skill. It is that pace of tracking and keeping light tension that creates a natural drift. It also maintains the “contact” between rod tip and fly necessary for a sensitive indication of when a fish eats your nymph.

The rig diagram shows a short section of bright "indicator" line, attached at the junction between the tip of the French leader and the butt of your level tippet section. For the best results, treat this section of line as if it is a section of leader - and not a separate "indicator". It is just a way of making your line more visible. 

Using this setup, the moment when a fish grabs hold is shown by a pause or twitch (or some other change to the natural downstream movement) of the bright indicator braid. 

That is your cue to set the hook.

French nymphing without an indicator?

In its original format, a lot of French nymphing strike indication often involved some aspect of “sight fishing”. In fact, the bright indicator line may not be included at all. The video at the start of this article shows me fishing a version of this style. This, then, was one of the reasons for some of the developments in nymph characteristics.

Including the dual purpose “hot spot”…

French Nymph Patterns Evolution: A Biased Account

I freely admit that this is a biased account. Actually, it is deliberately biased so that I can pull out features that will help you most in your fishing. With that said, it does also include insights that I believe have not been published online anywhere before (at least in English).

Early Ancestors

Philippe Beranger revealing the secrets of his tiny nymph design is a great example of a unique insight – and please DON’T underestimate that pattern. Like most brilliant fish-catching flies, they might not look extra special in the box; but their simple design and perfect profile work wonders.

Of course, Philippe was just one of a large and talented group of French anglers who was using similar patterns. It is just one style of dressing that were a good fit for the ultra-spooky fish in highly pressured European rivers. 

As a delicate “non-spooky” nymph pattern they are still an excellent addition to your box.
They are particularly good for pitching at spooky fish in relatively shallow water (as the only fly on your tippet).

Hi Viz for Who?

The use of “hot spots” in flies is not new – the bright tags on centuries-old wet flies tell us that much. They often seem to make artificial flies stand out and be extra-attractive to fish.

It can be a mistake to only stop at the obvious conclusion though. Yes, super-conspicuous spots on flies are visible to fish – but they can also be more visible to anglers as well.

Earlier in this article (and in the video demonstration), the “sight-fishing” roots of French nymphing are mentioned. To help the angler when detecting strikes by watching the fly, bright orange or white heads have been used so that the fly is easier to visually track underwater.

Originally, these were often created by wraps of bright floss at the head of the fly (with a similar overall profile to the naturalistic patterns like Edoardo's Italian "Cochito").

Again, this is still an effective way to create the double benefit of some extra fish-attraction and visibility to the angler. Understanding the reasons behind those developments also puts you ahead of the curve when it comes to more recent developments…

French Nymphing Patterns Everybody Knows

The “Frenchie” style of nymph that is widely recognised today has a neat tungsten bead head, a slim (ribbed) body of thread or feather-fibre/quill and tails projecting from the tip of the abdomen. There may be a contrasting/conspicuous collar of dubbing or floss and the tungsten bead might also be almost any colour – from subtle to hi-viz.

There’s a nearly endless menu of variations on this theme. However, by looking back at the two previous developmental steps, you can make much more informed and intelligent choices about your own French nymph pattern design and selection.

French Nymphing Legend: Pascal Cognard

Probably no account of French nymphing is complete without mentioning triple world champion Pascal Cognard. The stories I’ve heard from several sources about Pascal reveal someone with a truly exceptional understanding of fish behaviour.

He also possesses an uncanny knack to do exactly what is needed to unlock the most difficult (and feared) section or venue draws in competition.

Because of his all-round understanding of fish, he is equally impressive when it comes to stillwater fly fishing. In one competition that my brother was fishing in (and the going was incredibly tough), Pascal did the complete opposite to what every other angler was doing – and pulled out a winning score.

Most of the fish that competitors were able to catch came at extreme range. I’ll analyse in another article why, and how, Pascal had the confidence to fish right in the edge to take his fish.

Together with fellow French legend Jérôme Brosutti, Pascal has designed my personal favourite, high-end French nymphing rod (Marryat Tactical Pro 10' 6" #3 Nymph Special). Originally made by combining different sections of rods from a range of different disciplines together (and going through a version where the ring-spacing could be altered at will); by partnering with Marryat these rods are now widely available. 

French Nymphing Roundup: First and Following Steps

From this roundup, it's easy to see how this works: 

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Paul