Just wondering what opinions are on a shooting head type set up rather than a WF. I'm about to buy an intermediate and sinking line and was wondering which way to go.

Opinions please.

Richard

It is certainly easier to haul with a shooting head than a wt fwd. BUT. And this is me personaly, I am sure the other forumers will have other ideas, shooting head running line is a ****** to keep from tangling around itself and every thing else. The delicacy of presentation of the business end is akin to a cow falling in. Having said that I often use them for mauling out big flies, swff or pike. I tend to use a weight one rating heavier than the rod and cut it a little short. For normal work I stick to a wt fwd.....................birdsnest

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Fear not if I steal from your side, as of yore, from paradise streams to fish Teifi once more.
BN based in Wolverhampton

Richard, depends what sort of fishing you are doing. I use home made heads for deep slow boobying in the winter and my intermediate is teh Vision Extreme Distance which is a much better made 40+ type line. Casts really well but as Birdsnest says the backing takes a bit more handling.

You'll definitely cast a bit further with some sort of shooting head.

Charlie

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Sonik Sports Team Pitsford Pirates

I rarely use or indeed need SH in the salt. Most of my fishing is shallow reef or sand. WF floater for 80% and then WF Inter. SH would spook the fish at these marks.

However if you need to get down quick when fishing fast deeper water they have their place. Although I have very limited success fishing like this.

SA do a Wet Tip Express (frshwater coating) line which is a 25ft fast sink tip on thicker handling line. Many (in the US) like this as it enables them to mend and control the line far easier. I have just order 1 so I can't pass judgement yet.

TackleBargains are doing AirFlo 35ft heads for £11, including Di7 if you do want a fast sink head.

Personally I would stick to WF lines unless you need to fish very deep.

Cheers

JRT

Well my motivation is purely cost cutting.
I was thinking for salt fishing I'll probably need two lines 1. a floater 2. an intermediate. and perhaps at a later date I may want to add some heavier lines. So that means 2 lines, 2 spools, 2 lots of backing. I thought if I made a shooting head system it could be run off one spool, with one lot of running line/backing. I could simple cary a little wallet of heads of different densities and switch them around as needed.

False economy?

THS

Far from it. It works. I use the system a lot. Use a loop system, and you can change heads quickly on the spot. You can also carry a variety of length/weight combinations for the same overall casting weight (eg instead of using 30ft of #8 use 20ft of #10, or 40ft of #6)

It's not clear to me why a shooting head should land more spookily than any other line. If you think about it, all a WF line is is a non-versatile shooting head. Try it and see.

Advantages: versatility;cost; easier/longer casting.

N

Can anyone explain why the shooting head should have a worse presentation? I have heard this criticism before. I also don't see why it should be any worse than a WF with a very thin running line. A Snowbee XS for example.
Unless of course you've been cutting bach the front taper to aid turnover, but that's a different thing all together.

My view is that the shooting head is still travelling very fast when it enters the water, thus making a splashy enterence. I have to adjust with a SH and aim a little higher above the water than a WF. That said the SH I have is a fast sinker so splash is not a problem while my intermediate and floater are WF.

What ever you do? DO NOT BUY A SHOOTING HEAD LINE. I had one and i have used it and its no good. You might get good distance casting but it takes more effort. The best thing to do is get a WF line. When i used my shooting head i ended up pulling a muscle in my shoulder and where the line joins, The shooting bit and the thin bit. It becomes loose and can snap when casting. WF lines are the best buys. Orvis and Cortland lines are very good. I have been going fishing with a casting instructer nearly every weekend and i have very good casting now. I can easily cast the line into the backing without any struggle or movement from my arm, It all comes from my wrist. I have watched loads of people use shooting head lines and they always say they are brilliant but if you watch closely at their casting you will notice that they are using to much force, power and effort. Lines should be casted in a comfortable way, Well my brother used a shooting head line for a day and he was exhausted after it, The shooting part in the line is like a brick and when you backcast its falls very quickly so you would have to overhead cast. Im just telling you what is best because if you buy a shooting head line, You will like it but here is the differences.

When you cast the shooting head line you will be using to much effort and you can easily snag your fly off bushes or tress nearby because the lines drops very quickly.

WF line, When you cast this line you will get the same distance as the
shooting head line but you will find this easier to cast and 100% less effort into your casting, Another thing is you can easily control the loops in your line with WF line but when you use SHOOTING HEAD LINE the loops will be terrible and it will be very hard to make a loop with the weight of the line. Second of all you can easily hurt yourself with it, Just like i did. I threw mine in the bin, Common sense mate they are *****.

Try it out for yourself and you will see the difference.

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Cromie

Thanks for the advice Cromie but as I said above I wasn't considering a shooting head for distance. Just a way of saving money on spools and having a multi-line set up that fits in my pocket.