On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:00:32 -0600, "Fiddleaway"
wrote:

Anyone here tried it? A guide on the Kern river introduced it to me and it
seemed to work pretty well...while he watched. When I tried it on my own
at the Owens all I did was get hung up and lose gear. It's kind of the
antithesis of the dead drift - you literally drag a heavily weighted, 3-fly
rig along the bottom.

Anyone out there done this and have any tips they'd like to share?
--

Czech nymphing was originally done with more than one nymph, usually a
max of three, with the heaviest one in the middle. If you can get
past the snarls (I can't), then that is the way to go. I usually use
one nymph, preferably unweighted. You must get the nymph down in the
water column, so weight is added about a foot to eighteen inches above
the fly. I usually tie the weight in at the tippet knot to hold it in
place.

How much weight? That depends on the depth of the water and it's
speed. A good rule of thumb: if your line (leader, strike indicator,
leader/line knot) is moving faster than the bubbles on the surface,
add more weight. If you continuously snag bottom, remove weight.
There is a speed difference between the surface current (faster) and
the current a few inches off the bottom (slower). In order to get a
good drag free drift, you need to match (or come close to) the slower
current speed. BTW, you do not drag the fly across the bottom.

This type of nymphing requires only the leader and a couple of feet of
line. You aren't making 20 - 40 ft casts. Too much line on the water
causes drag, so you remove as much line as possible. I usually use a
9 ft leader and 15 inches of tippet. Cast upstream 15 or so feet and
immediately raise your rod to get the line off the surface. Your rod
tip should be pointed at your strike indicator or leader/line knot, or
the point at which your leader enters the water. If you use a strike
indicator, place it approximately 1 1/2 times the depth of the water
above your fly. If you see the leader or indicator hesitate or stop,
set the hook by raising your rod.

Those are the basics. You need to practice to get the proper
technique. Unlike dry fly fishing, nymphing is a three dimensional
technique. Anyone can float a dry and wait for the fish to rise and
take it (not that there's anything wrong with that!), but nymphing
reqires the 3rd dimension of depth. It is a very efficient way to
catch trout, especially when there is no hatch. Fish are constantly
eating; they are an eating machine, and if they aren't taking emergers
or flies on the surface, they are feeding on nymphs (probably as much
as 90% of the time), or other fish.

Oh, yeah, one more little helpful bit of info: because you are using
split shot as weight, the rig can be difficult to cast. So, don't
cast it! When the fly gets downstream of you, simply lift the rig up
out of the water column and throw it upstream for the next drift. No
false casting. If you are using multiple flies, this is the point
where you will get your snarls.

Do a google czech nymphing. There should be plenty of instructions
out there better than mine.

Dave