czech nymph leader - why so different

[dollar]

apologies for this thread is in the wrong directory - maybe admin can move it general - essence of fly casting
learnt most of all my fly fishing from dvd's, mag's and the old vhs. for some time now, i have come to see other ways in the build of the czech nymph leader. i have always built it from a single piece of level line, about a rods length with anything from three flies to a single fly. other gentleman from this fine art have tapered leaders, short and long. yet they fish for fish a few yards from there feet and there cast of it is simply a lob, i see it as a waste because tapered leaders should be used for other techniques like dry fly, upstream nymphing...
is there any reason for the use of a tapered leader in czech nymphing ?
(the only reason that i can see for adding a tapered leader is changing techniques to dry fly for example)

[Circus]

Dollar, one advantage of a tapered leader is that it allows you to fish slightly further away from you as well as right at your feet. If you see a flash 8m away, with a Czech leader tthis wouldn't work, but if you have a French-style tapered leader, you can quickly get a bit of extra line out and fish that spot. So basically it just gives you more variety.

[Andre]

You are a hundred percent correct, a tapered leader is not required for Czech nymphing. You can also fish a little further away with a level leader, as the weight of the flied, and the rod tip action, will straighten out the leader. when doing the kind of nymphing that you are talking about, it is best to adjust the casting action to accommodate an open loop, especially if you have multiple flies.

apologies for this thread is in the wrong directory - maybe admin can move it general - essence of fly casting
learnt most of all my fly fishing from dvd's, mag's and the old vhs. for some time now, i have come to see other ways in the build of the czech nymph leader. i have always built it from a single piece of level line, about a rods length with anything from three flies to a single fly. other gentleman from this fine art have tapered leaders, short and long. yet they fish for fish a few yards from there feet and there cast of it is simply a lob, i see it as a waste because tapered leaders should be used for other techniques like dry fly, upstream nymphing...
is there any reason for the use of a tapered leader in czech nymphing ?
(the only reason that i can see for adding a tapered leader is changing techniques to dry fly for example)

[dollar]

sounds fare Circus and I see the point or idea, the idea of Czech nymphing is to work a possible lay in short increments and does allow for further casts as Andre mentioned, if a distant fish is spotted and you unable cast to it then you should move closer to it while working the water as you go, changes of picking up fish along the way is a possibility. the idea of Czech nymphing is to have a piece fly line out of the tip of rod, this helps detects bites, like a strike indicator and gives me that bow in the line because of the density of fly line for detection and control as the rig drifts downstream where a long leader with a tapered leader incorporated does work just that i feel you are carrying too much gear on the rod.
this came to mind, a 12 gauge shot gun with a 9mm barrel added hehehe (although it has been done just doesn’t feel right)

[Korrie]

With enough practice, you learn to cast a long level leader.
the advantage of a long thin level leader is when you cast a bit further away, you have a lot less "THICK LINE" out in terms of wind resistance and in terms of weight pulling the line back

[dollar]

Korrie normally my thin level leader is anything from a 5ft to 9ft leader and needless to say it is very easy to cast, how long is yours

[Korrie]

18' to 20" about double my 10" rod.

[Andre]

I disagree...Czech nymphing should allow you to cast at least three rod lengths away from you. with weighted flies, and a correct action, you should be able to do this and still have some leader on the reel or in your non casting hand in order to feel the takes. Its always better to Czech nymph using the "leader to hand "technique. It is the weight of the flies that draws the leader and line out in the cast, and not the energy down the taper as is the conventional fly casting method. This is why Chech nymphing can only really be done effectively with an open loop cast, hence a tapered leader is not required. I guess its a personal choice, but I have found a tapered leader to be a total waste.

sounds fare Circus and I see the point or idea, the idea of Czech nymphing is to work a possible lay in short increments and does allow for further casts as Andre mentioned, if a distant fish is spotted and you unable cast to it then you should move closer to it while working the water as you go, changes of picking up fish along the way is a possibility. the idea of Czech nymphing is to have a piece fly line out of the tip of rod, this helps detects bites, like a strike indicator and gives me that bow in the line because of the density of fly line for detection and control as the rig drifts downstream where a long leader with a tapered leader incorporated does work just that i feel you are carrying too much gear on the rod.
this came to mind, a 12 gauge shot gun with a 9mm barrel added hehehe (although it has been done just doesn’t feel right)

[dollar]

Ok wow, is the cast assisted the fly line out of the rod?
I ask this because at one stage I did use a 30ft leader and found it easier to double haul the entire leader upstream once the drift downstream had finished but gave it up because it felt clumsy and never gave me the full length out

[Andre]

Nope, you don't really need a fly line either. You can adequately cast a few rod lengths away with a leader with three flies attached to a good length of mono. You should try it, you will get a much better feel of takes and bumps. This technique was developed by the Czechs, because they couldn't get flylines at one stage, so they went to the Worlds champs with mono only...and won apparently. That's why its called Czech nymphing....no fly line... mono only.
Korrie might be able to expand on the history better than I can.

Ok wow, is the cast assisted the fly line out of the rod?
I ask this because at one stage I did use a 30ft leader and found it easier to double haul the entire leader upstream once the drift downstream had finished but gave it up because it felt clumsy and never gave me the full length out