Started playing with a DIY shooting head. Using a WF 9 for a 7 weight. The rod loads very quikly, however, the head is probably about 18ft and collapses on the back cast once the line clears the top ring. Is the head too long, or am I **** at casting (only fishing 18 months).

Go to sexyloops.com and then articles - then scroll down to tackle section, about 6 or 7 down - articles on s/h by Lars Benton
This is excellent and worth reading / following
N

A shooting head should be around 25-30 foot long. Go to sexyloops.com like Nigelh says and have a read. If that don't help invest in a lesson or two.

Cheers, Dave.

25'-30' is about right for a single hander. Any false casting/hauling you make must be done with the head only 2'-3' outside the tip ring. If you feed any more line into the cast before the shoot it will collapse. Generally speaking you cannot carry much running line with shooting heads in the way you can with conventional WF profiles.

Have you weighed the head?

It may need further trimming...

I'd go for a head weight of around 12 grammes, although much depends on the actual rod and it's action.

You might find this useful reading too.

http://www.ukswff.co.uk/Casting6.shtml

__________________
Don't worry, be happy.
Sandy
Carried it in full, then carry it out empty.

At 18ft I don't think trimming is the issue - the ability to lengthen it would be a good trick though!

__________________
[I]"I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel."[/I] Roderick L Haig-Brown

[url]www.wildfly.net[/url]

[url]http://www.gameanglinginstructors.co.uk/[/url]

I am with Lighthouse there ,bck in the Shooting head resser fishing era 30ft heads were the standard of the shelf jobs,I soon found myself using lighter line weights with heads up to 45 ft long ,much better for delicate oh lets rephrase that less cumbersome presentation!
A overhead casting sh should have a weight that works the rod ,length is variable !

__________________
Andy Wren
Winter grayling taking a year off !
Claret not just a great dubbing colour!

Hi' Eighteen feet, not a shooting-head. If the line is heavy enough, it may well load the rod correctly, but I wouldn't like to try putting it down gently on the water. Even a sink tip line puts the cast down most gently when it is well extended. Ask any salmon fisherman. Cheers, Terry C

A more basic question from me - why bother with shooting heads these days with the variety of distance line profiles on offer? I did dabble with shooting heads, but to be honest I didn't really take to casting them, I didn't like the increase in tangles or the feel of the running line and I didn't like the different sink rate and line curve effect due to the difference between the head and the running line. Also, I didn't actually get much more distance, if any, compared to a decent modern full line (although that may be more to do with distinctly average casting ability). So are they really worth the bother nowadays?

__________________