Hi all, need some advice on shooting head type lines. I fish a reservoir for hybred stripers and the wind is some times difficult to deal with. Would a shooting head help casting in wind? I am fishing from a canoe so I am casting in a sitting position. I was also looking at the integrated type shooting lines such Rio. Any one have any experice with these types of fly lines?
Thanks!!
I use a Rio Outbound shooting head on my fast action XP & Z-Axis rods when fishing for Searun Cutthroats in the saltwater. You can always count on lots of wind. The shooting head rips right through the wind. Go for it. Sorry, I have not tried the integrated lines.
Larry 
—sagefisher—
The Rio Outbound lines are integrated lines (see Rio’s description in their product catalog). An integrated line is a line that has a shooting head and shooting line combined into a single line by the factory. The shooting line portion may be either floating or intermediate sinking. Other examples include Rio’s DC lines, Teeny T and TS series lines, Scientific Anglers Streamer Express or Wet Tip Express, Orvis Depth Charge, etc.
Shooting heads are 24 to 45 feet flylines, sinking or floating, that are spliced to shooting line. There are many types of shooting lines, each with their own benefits and drawbacks, depending on the usage. The shooting heads are usually looped to the shooting line. Shooting head systems offer an advantage over integrated lines in that the heads can be swapped out so you can quickly change the sink rate of your line system without changing spools or reels. If you want five different sink rates available for usage on a single rod, you only need one shooting line loaded and you can carry spare shooting heads as needed. If you want the same flexibility with integrated lines, you will need multiple spools. Some anglers with splice a shooting head to a shooting line and essentially end up with a homemade integrated line.
Any time you are casting in the wind, going to a thinner line will help with distance in the wind due to reduces cross section of the line. Most shooting head systems and integrated lines are thinner than full length fly lines and may help with your casting in the wind.
Conventional wisdom for shooting heads is to upline the head 2 line weights for shooting heads in the 28 - 35 foot range ( which will roughly match how a rod will perform with 40-45 feet of standard WF line extended). This uplined head will really shoot well, easily pulling the thin shooting line behind it. This concentrated mass will also help with distance casting in the wind. Makers of integrated lines factor this uplining in into their recommendations for matching lines to rods. For instance, 300 to 350 grain integrated lines are typically recommended for 8wt rods.
I use both types of lines extensively for fresh and saltwater fishing here in Southern California - and it seems that the wind always blows where I fish.
Thanks, tailingloop, and Larry-sagefisher. What type of shooting line do you use? I notice that some are like mono, and others seem to be like a thin level fly line.
i used a 300 gr SA Streamer express on my 8 wt and dint have any problem fishing 20 ft of water for schoolie stripers.
I use several shooting lines, depending on my application.
For most applications, I use either a Scientific Anglers Saltwater/Freshwater Intermediate shooting line or a Rio Intermediate Powerflex Core (coldwater version) shooting line. Both of these work well for my Southern California home waters as well as colder waters. I have used the S.A. line in the tropics too where it performed well. Airflo makes similar shooting lines.
I also use the Scientific Anglers Saltwater Shooting line. I find this line easier to grip than the intermediate lines, which comes into play sometimes when making strip strikes on large and or powerful fish like tuna and our local yellowtail. I have used this line in cold, temperate, and tropical waters. It does not shoot quite as well as the intermediate lines, but I still have no problem making very long casts. When used in colder water, it does require some stretching before fishing. With this line, it does take longer for the shooting head to sink to the desired depth.
These intermediate and floating shooting lines are essentially long, thin, level fly lines and I find them the best solution for most applications.
I also have used monofilament shooting lines for special applications. Currently, I use Amnesia when I need the fastest sinking line system possible. This thin mono offers minimum resistance to a sinking line so I tend to use it when I need to get down 20 feet or more, especially in current. The thin mono line also shoots extremely well also but some tricks must be used to get the best out it. I learned from others that if Amnesia is soaked in water the night before fishing it becomes much more user friendly and tangles less. It also benefits from the use of a stripping bucket fitted with cones or spikes to keep the coils loosely separated. Keeping the line wet also helps. When I use Amnesia I use a stripping basket or bucket with a solid bottom that will hold a little water. One disadvantage of Amnesia, and other monofilaments, is that it stretches quite a bit. This can make it more difficult to get good hooksets at long distances.
Rio SlickShooter is purpose designed custom mono shooting line that shoots very well and falls somewhere between Amnesia and the fly line like shooting lines in user friendliness.
When it is windy, I find that the mono shooting lines blow around too much so tend not to use them in such conditions.
I have used braided monofilament shooting lines but gave them up for for several reasons. One was that they stretch quite a bit, which I found adversely affects hooksetting at long distances. Also they are hard on the fingers and can pick up grit. They are also very light a blow around in the wind. Still, some anglers swear by them.
So my preference for all around shooting head usage is the intermediate shooting lines.
I match these with either Scientific Anglers or Rio shooting heads. I also make custom fast sinking shooting heads from Cortland LC-13 leadcore level fly line or Rio T-8, T-11, or T-14 tungsten level flyline.
Oh, and like Shorthaul, I like the S.A Streamer Express lines and use a 300grain line on an 8wt rod for a lot of fresh and saltwater bass fishing.
I find it more difficult to effective cast a line with a 30 foot head, whether it be a shooting head or and integrated line, from a seated position or a float tube. For me, a line with a 24 foot head works better in these situations. I use Teeny T Series lines for these applications.
Tailingloop, Thanks much for all your info!!!