MARBLES, MOUNTAINS AND MONO
Emilie Björkman travels to the Italian Dolomites to catch one of the world’s most elusive trout and returns home with another string to her bow
THERE IS a two- to three-week window in the spring before the snow melts and the rivers rage in the Italian Alps. During this, you have a realistic chance of catching a big marble trout; one of the world’s most elusive salmonid species.
For the travelling fly-fisher, this is a high-risk, high-reward strategy — something cameraman Ted Logardt and I see as a challenge to confront. And so, in early March of this year, he and I took a flight from Stockholm to the Dolomites and met up with two of Italy’s finest nymph-fishers, Mauro Mazzo and Stefano Fedrizzi.
Fly-fishing always introduces us to incredible places and inspiring people, and setting foot on Italian soil to meet the nymph master Mauro (aka “Lucky Mauro”) on his home waters was no exception.
After learning of the fish’s beautiful and unique patterns, and of the sizes they grow to, I was immediately sold
Reunited: Emilie with Mauro Mazzo.
I was so eager to make an early start to my fly-fishing season in the Northern Hemisphere that I arrived the day before Mauro. I was welcomed in the Dolomites by fresh snow, waterfalls and a first cast in the coldest water I had ever fished. Still, I managed to connect with my first Italian marble trout — a tiny one, admittedly, but a marble nonetheless.
This would be the second time I had fished with Mauro; the first was on the Hunt River in Labrador, Canada, where we targeted Atlantic salmon with his friend Yvon Chouinard. Both are hardcore fly-fishers, and they told me about Italy’s elusive and utterly addictive marble trout. After learning of the fish’s beautiful and unique patterns, and of the sizes they grow to, I was immediately sold.
“Marbles should be considered a bycatch, but if you connect with one you are lucky,” says Mauro. “Go in March, and you’ll stand a better chance.”
Marble trout distribution in Italy.
IDEABAR
The elusive marble trout, with its unique camouflage.
IDEABAR
We met again for lunch in a café in Trentino. It was March and Mauro was already in waders, poised to hit the water. I’d had butterflies in my stomach since breakfast at Villa Marinotti Fly Fishing Lodge, where owner Angelo Piller had predicted it was going to be a special day.
Intently, I watched Mauro fish through the first couple of pools. He constantly switched flies. He studied at least three different fly-boxes to find the right two nymphs. “How important can that be?” I thought.
I had to quiz him.
Emilie on more familiar ground — with her truck and trailer.
Mauro’s set-up consists of a Euro-nymphing monofilament cast, with no fly-line. Instead, he relies on the long, fine leader and the weight of nymphs to load the rod and deliver the nymphs upstream.
“You want to feel the tension in the leader and be in touch with the nymphs all the time,” he says. “Only use small movements because the movement is amplified through the rod from your hand. That’s why you need a rod with a sensitive tip.”
Mauro is precise. His casting is flawless, and his flies land where he wants them to.
“In spring, it is crucial to present the fly as close to the fish as possible. When the water is this cold and trout’s diet consists of tiny nymphs, the fish don’t want to move far for them. That’s why having nymphs in different weights, sizes and colors is key to success.”
His casting is flawless, and his flies land where he wants them to
Mauro's set-up Rod
Seasoned nymph anglers like using a 10ft-10ft 6in rod because they allow for better line control and a longer drift of the flies. Try Loop’s Z1 10ft 3in 2-weight or the new Loop Track 10ft 6in 2/3-weight (Twin Tip). The 7X 10ft 3-weight is also a worthy contender. Competition anglers even go up to 12ft, but these can be tiring for the ordinary angler to fish with.
Remember, the longer the rod, the more difficult it is to make an accurate cast. Mauro often goes down to a 9ft 6in rod because he believes that accuracy when fishing nymphs is very important. The most used rod is a three-weight, but Mauro suggests going down to a two-weight for light nymphing and up to a four-weight when fishing heavy nymphs or targeting big trout. Reel and line
Mauro’s reel is loaded with supple, low-memory monofilament tapering from 0.18mm to 0.25mm, as standard.
For beginners, he suggests starting from 0.35mm, which, being thicker, is less prone to tangling.
His tippet is most often between 0.12mm and 0.16mm, and he makes the droppers using a triple surgeon’s knot — tying the fly to the end pointing downwards towards the point fly.
His two or three flies will be 40cm-60cm apart.
Mauro's set-up Rod
Seasoned nymph anglers like using a 10ft-10ft 6in rod because they allow for better line control and a longer drift of the flies. Try Loop’s Z1 10ft 3in 2-weight or the new Loop Track 10ft 6in 2/3-weight (Twin Tip). The 7X 10ft 3-weight is also a worthy contender. Competition anglers even go up to 12ft, but these can be tiring for the ordinary angler to fish with.
Remember, the longer the rod, the more difficult it is to make an accurate cast. Mauro often goes down to a 9ft 6in rod because he believes that accuracy when fishing nymphs is very important. The most used rod is a three-weight, but Mauro suggests going down to a two-weight for light nymphing and up to a four-weight when fishing heavy nymphs or targeting big trout. Reel and line
Mauro’s reel is loaded with supple, low-memory monofilament tapering from 0.18mm to 0.25mm, as standard.
For beginners, he suggests starting from 0.35mm, which, being thicker, is less prone to tangling.
His tippet is most often between 0.12mm and 0.16mm, and he makes the droppers using a triple surgeon’s knot — tying the fly to the end pointing downwards towards the point fly.
His two or three flies will be 40cm-60cm apart.
If the nymph drags, the fish will most likely refuse your fly
Another thing to consider is the speed of the water and the depth at which the fish are feeding. This is highly important. “When you are fishing with mono, the most important thing is your left hand keeping tension and contact at all costs, while stopping the nymphs from dragging and snagging the bottom,” Mauro explained.
“You’re looking for a drag-free drift — as natural as possible — and for that you need to work and feel the leader while reading the water. If the nymph drags, the fish will most likely refuse your fly. You need 100 per cent focus all the time.”
Mauro thinks of nymphing as fishing in 3D, while his dry-fly fishing is more in 2D.
After a little time, I started to get the hang of my first attempt at Euro-nymphing: the casting, how to move and track the rod, feeling the behaviour of the nymphs and fine-tuning presentation.
Mauro was over my shoulder, explaining the do’s and don’ts in detail, when suddenly I spotted a huge trout feeding on what looked like nymphs. The fish appeared to be a rainbow trout and was sitting in a deep hole with a big log on one side and three different currents to contend with. It’s a tricky spot — a position that craves a precise cast and perfect drift. I questioned whether my nerves could handle the necessary delivery and presentation.
Mauro picked up his fly-box. “I think we need something a little heavier,” he says.
He changed both flies — 30cm-40cm apart — tying a size 18 pink bead-head on the dropper (Mauro had told me earlier that rainbow trout love pink), then a heavier size 16 Pheasant Tail Nymph on the point.
Proof of the pudding: Emilie’s huge rainbow trout caught on her new method.
On the second drift, I felt an unmistakable weight on the end of my line.
Mauro told me it was a good fish. The fight was epic — all over the place — and, when he finally netted it, while not the marble I had come for, it was the biggest rainbow trout of my life. We didn’t weigh it, but for my fishing stories back home, I’d say it was at least 3kg.
That one fish on my first attempt at Euro-nymphing sealed a fishing memory for life. As for the effectiveness of a mono leader and the things I have learnt from Mauro, there is so much to try in my fishing back home in Sweden.
They can appear elusive and impossible to catch
When Mauro released the rainbow, he said, “I have a feeling there’s still time to fish a few other places — who knows, maybe there will be a marble trout waiting for us.”
That sums up his approach to the species. They can appear elusive and impossible to catch, then suddenly you’ll have the opportunity to catch one when you least expect it. They’ll take a mayfly, a size 20 nymph or a big streamer — at which point all the hours you’ve struggled to catch one make no sense at all. There is no golden recipe; it all depends on how active the marble trout are, much like Atlantic salmon.
Mauro’s stunning hybrid — half marble and half brown trout.
I was casting in a run with Mauro’s rod, trying to master the method, when I suddenly heard him shout, “Fish on!” I turned and saw him connected to a huge trout. He was in a spot I’d already fished through with a nymph, but he had chosen to run through it again with a small white streamer, just in case. And bingo!
Eventually, he got the fish to the bank, focused and quiet the whole time. I asked if he wanted me to net it, but he had everything under control. A beautiful hybrid, with the pattern of a marble on the sides and the big head spots of a brownie, lay before us. We measured it at over 70cm. The smile on Mauro’s face said it all.
PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY: TED LOGARDT
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emilie Björkman
Emilie Björkman is a lifelong fly-fisher with a deep passion for wild fish and untamed waters. Based in Sweden, she is a Loop Tackle ambassador and a recognized voice in the global fishing community.
