Shootig heads, ??

O.K. not my cup of tea, but I am told and all the research I've done indicates if I want to catch brook trout on the Nipigon, I should be using shooting heads.

The Nipigon River is very large running a couple hundred yards in width in some areas. Trout here do not readily rise to a fly, even during heavy hatches. Usually trout will take nymphs as emergers while a hatch is on but not rise to the surface, there are exceptions of coarse. Trout here also grow very large and they get that way on river sculpins and smelt so I'll be bringing along a good selection of streamer patterns.

Now as for the shooting heads, I am using a 9 ft eight weight because it is what?s recommended for this river. The trout can run from 4 to 6 pounds and the current is very heavy. I know almost nothing about this type of fishing. I imagine getting the line out isn?t too difficult, with just a bit of practice since the head loads the rod quite well and as long as you have sufficient line out the shooting comes fairly natural. Or am I wrong?

Also I understand that these can be home made. So, what do I use (type of line) for this? How many grains? How long should they be? How many should I make up? There should be different length line (heads) for getting your fly at different depths? As for a running line, can I use the current line on this rod which is an 8wt DT floating line?

Please Help?
Tight Lines, ________Grant

Hi, Firstly I would get rid of the double taper line and replace it with some slick running line.
The length of the shooting head does not really affect the depth fished, the sink rate of the head is what matters. If you need to get deep in fast water then a very fast sinking head is needed. But you can get fairly deep if you use a floating shooting head and a very fast sinking Poly leader on the end. plus you can change the leader quickly to vary the depth fished.
If you can afford a new line I would suggest you look at the Airflo Forty Plus, Floating or sinking they shoot well. Or you can get a running line and seperate shooting heads that you simply change as required by attaching them to the running line with a loop to loop system.
Hope this is of some help.
All the best.
Mike.

Want to maximize fishing coverage on big water? Get a spey rod.

Get a Teeny T-400 and cut it back a bit or get the T-300 and use as is.

Is Bill Boote still running a fly shop in Thunder Bay? He would be a great resource for what you want to do.

fishbum

I'm not sure why you need shooting heads. I find that, unless you're using a mono running line - a real hassle to fish with - you won't get that much extra distance.

If you're going with a shooting head I'd buy one already made. It will probably be 27 to 30 feet long. I'd go up one or two weights.

To me the best thing about shooting heads is that I don't have to carry extra spools. Also, I can use the same reel for different-weight rods and, in the long run, save money.

Randy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fishbum

Get a Teeny T-400 and cut it back a bit or get the T-300 and use as is.

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Whoa Fishbum, you really like to throw a heavy line. Personally I think a T200 is about all you need on an 8-weight, although anything from 200-275 grains would work.

The advantage of the Teeny or any other integrated line is that you do not have those annoying transitions between head and running line, so they are easier to cast in my mind. The disadvantage is each line comes in one sink rate so you need to have multiple spools/reels instead of just different heads.

The alternative is get a decent running line, I much prefer the "fly line" type like a Airflo's over Amnesia or Slick Shooter, and a collection of premade heads. If you really want to get down, or play different materials (e.g. LC13, T8, T14, T17, etc.) you're probabaly going to have to learn how to make braided loops.

Thanks for the suggestion, I was hoping for suggestions on how to make my own. Making loops are not a problem, just line weight (grains) and lenghts. Just something to get me started, this won't be a major investment since it is for just one weekend. I have a full sinking line for back up if I can make this work.
Thanks: Grant

Dan Blanton has some good info on shooting heads; check here:

http://www.danblanton.com/mix_match_tips.html
http://www.danblanton.com/gettinglooped.html

You could also put this question out on his bulletin board and you'll get lots of advice. Hope this helps.

Regards,
Scott