After watching Hywel Morgan try this on Horse and Country TV channel I was curious to know whether other people have tried using braid as a substitute for the fly line when czech nymphing. Having only recently started Czech Nymphing I find it difficult to register takes (I gather this is half the skill) so naturally I was curious to know whether or not braid really helps here?

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Fundamentally fishing is a philosophy. A philosophy of earth, and growth, and quiet places. In it there is a rule of life, a recognition of permanences. It makes you notice the little things of nature, wherever you may be. ~Bernard Venables

Tried braid on my salmon spinning gear. You do feel every bump, but there is no give in the fight. Too stiff a rod and the hooks simple rip out!!!!!!
Would work a treat for nymphing but perhaps a softer actioned rod to cusion the fight a little.

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It is in truth not glory,nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting,but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with his life.(Declaration of Arbroath, 1320)

Yes, I have found the braid is the best for detecting takes. I use 20 pound braid with dropper loops and about 8 to 10 inches of 6 pound mono droppers. Anything with as little streach as possible will help magnify the takes.

I use braid for my pike spinning gear and I would echo comments about there being no give, so a soft rod is preferable. Careful of your fingers though, I ended up with a king size paper cut whilst hand lining a fish in a few weeks ago.
Interesting to see how it might work for Czech nymphing, I would imagine that it would offer advantages over a standard fly line due to the considerably smaller diameter.
It would certainly further the blurring of the boundaries between 'fly' and 'coarse' fishing.

Andy

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GAIC Single Handed Casting Instructor

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Yes, it does blur the boundaries somewhat, and there is a "purist lobby" that doesn't regard it as fly fishing. Here is South Africa, the argument continues, but it cannot be disputed that it is a highly effective method to catch fish when they are feeding off the bottom.

Hi,

This article gives a lot of info on low stretch leaders.

When the tapping stops


The main problem that I experienced was as a result of my casting action. I tend to use a circular motion which twists the leader and when the tension relaxes, say when changing flies, the leader furls.
I tried including a small barrel swivel between the braid and the mono but it did not feel right.
I also furled a 20 foot leader from corastrong but it still twisted on casting. Next experiment will be with corastrong and some flourocarbon furled together to see if I can eliminate the twist.

Thanks for the replies guys. The article 'When the tapping stops' makes for interesting reading. Particularly interesting to see that they seem to be effectively Czech Nymphing down and across! I will give braid a go at some point as it seems to be a good way to register takes and hopefully improve your catch rate. My one reserve is the fact that you are limited to just Czech Nymphing and can't change your tactics for different sections of the river (i.e. change from nymph to dry etc) without changing the spool. Still, will be something to have a go at this Winter. N

__________________
Fundamentally fishing is a philosophy. A philosophy of earth, and growth, and quiet places. In it there is a rule of life, a recognition of permanences. It makes you notice the little things of nature, wherever you may be. ~Bernard Venables