making your own gear

we've talked here about making your own flies, poppers, drying wheels, and many other things. several times we've even talked about making our own shooting heads. tonight, i found a good online "how to " on doing just that,  that even i can understand. i think you'll enjoy it, too

http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/shootingheads/1st-7th.html

we've talked here about making your own flies, poppers, drying wheels, and many other things. several times we've even talked about making our own shooting heads. tonight, i found a good online "how to " on doing just that,  that even i can understand. i think you'll enjoy it, too

http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/shootingheads/1st-7th.html

WR, nice resource! Have for years had a shooting line in the back of my mind. Your thoughts regarding casting from sitting on an SOT?
holt

That's a great site and has a massive amount of info on it. Here's a write-up they did for making knotted leaders.

http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/production_leaders/

Holt,

only things I've really worried about were snagging the deck lines and rigging, and watching my over hand. it's one of the reasons I've kept my T15 fairly bare bones. ask another of the Hobie drivers if they've had issues with snagging the pedal drive,  but I've started to use a more diagonal or horizontal casting form. definitely use one of the  DIY shooting baskets or mats  we've detailed here on the site several times.

have tried standard 20lb mono as a running line years before i hung everything up and spent a decade or two  trampsing the world's armpits,, don't like it at all because it tends to coil up and then create a mess. am leaning more towards a level standard fly type line as the running line. if i do go this method, I'm also looking at going to a one size larger reel to accommodate the extra bulk and length.

better fly casters here than me. CHM, three weight, zee, polepole, a few others that i'm hoping will chime in can probably give you lots more pertinent tips...

Holt,

only things I've really worried about were snagging the deck lines and rigging, and watching my over hand. it's one of the reasons I've kept my T15 fairly bare bones. ask another of the Hobie drivers if they've had issues with snagging the pedal drive,  but I've started to use a more diagonal or horizontal casting form. definitely use one of the  DIY shooting baskets or mats  we've detailed here on the site several times.

have tried standard 20lb mono as a running line years before i hung everything up and spent a decade or two  trampsing the world's armpits,, don't like it at all because it tends to coil up and then create a mess. am leaning more towards a level standard fly type line as the running line. if i do go this method, I'm also looking at going to a one size larger reel to accommodate the extra bulk and length.

better fly casters here than me. CHM, three weight, zee, polepole, a few others that i'm hoping will chime in can probably give you lots more pertinent tips...

WR, the Revo pedals have been non issue for me regarding tangling line.  Line retrieve and cast works well.  Zee posted a neat solution quite awhile ago that I'll use if entanglement becomes issue - don't think it will.   
The wonderment of using the shooting head is along the lines of sitting on the SOT and keeping the back cast from dropping two fast due to being so close to the water and not standing up.     holt

The longer the rod, and the shorter the head, the less of an issue you'll have with hitting the water on the backcast.

The longer the rod, and the shorter the head, the less of an issue you'll have with hitting the water on the backcast.

Ahhhhh, a Spey rod app

no, holt, i don't think that's what he's meant.

the purpose of a shooting head, is to get the line and fly out farther with a one handed fly rod.. you use a heavier, denser line end or "head" to do this. using a 9 to 11 foot rod and sort of "high sticking" your drifts is what i think he's telling you.........

 Spey is another realm entirely, but it's end result should be the same,; to get your presentation all the way yonder with a just a bit more science in your effort... honestly, with the techniques and torques involved in Spey casting, i doubt if it could be done from a yak. and, i don't even want to think about trying to carry a 13 -15 ft Spey rod on my boat... 7-9 footers are a handfull already 

dangit, now i gotta go find a reasonable priced level fly line and a 2nd teir DT or WF line one to two weights above it to cut up and try this out again.....

ok, i started this to share what i found for those who like to experiment.. which is pretty much all of us in one way or another.

as i stated earlier, we use a shooting head to reach waaayy out there with a one handed rod.. which is why there have been many different fly line tapers made over the years.

have been digging thru online resources again, and this one from cabela's does a pretty good job explaining the different tapers.; http://www.cabelas.com/story-123/schoby_fly_lineguide2/164/Fly%252BLine%252BBuyer%252527s%252BGuide.shtml

just keep in mind, our shooting head is a mostly DIY solution to the failure of some of these tapers to deliver distance as promised

no, holt, i don't think that's what he's meant.

WR, you are much too serious, I was chuckling when I wrote my Spey  Rod comment. 
Take care, holt

Holt, I am just getting into concocting my own shooting head and running line systems. That will be for beach fishing, as well as launching a section of heavy tungsten fast-sinking line(T-14) for bottom fish. Go over to washingtonflyfishing.com and do a search. More info than you can swing a two-hander at.
You can purchase ready-made integrated running line/shooting head systems. I have only used two, and can't recommend Them. The one I really hated was the old Rio Outbound. It had bad coiling issues and a weak running line. They have since thickened up the running line, but to be honest, I don't like any of my Rio lines. My Rio Versi-tip has also been a disappointment, as well as my Rio Aqualux clear intermediate sinking line. On each and every one of them, the coating is cracking off.  I am completely dissatisfied with all of them, because of that. They cast just fine.

I am going to buy an Airflo running line and replace the crummy section on my Rio Versi-tip with that. I'm only doing that because all 5 of the tips that came with it are still good, and the belly section is still OK. Otherwise, I'd just toss it. I've already had to cut 25 feet out of the running line where the coating peeled off, and splice the rest back together. It started peeling after only one season. I didn't bother to send it back, since a year had passed since I bought it. I just won't ever buy a Rio line ever again!

(Rant alert!!!)
I have to conclude that the PVC material Rio uses for a coating is inferior to polyurethane (used on Airlo's line). On most fly lines, he coating is thinner on the running line section of lines than it is on the belly section. I think this coating was made too thin on the Rio running line, and thus it cracks easily. This is just my opinion, though. I might be rougher on gear than most fly fishers. But then again, maybe not. Also, maybe Rio has improved the coating formula or something since i purchased my lines.
I much prefer the lines I have that were made by Airflo, Cortland, and Scientific Anglers.
 
You must use a stripping basket or some other "line management device" when using shooting head systems. Its part of the system.

For overhead casting with a single-hander in lakes, I like my 9' 4wt rod and my 9'9" 6wt for lake fishing. I use "regular" fly lines in lakes. Shooting heads are for streamers and wets. I like 'em for beach fishing and bigger rivers. You don't use them with dry flies. I can stand and cast in my U-12 and mini-drifter, though. I save my shorter rods for the creeks.

I'd stay away from that expensive "Spey" gear unless you plan to fish big rivers for salmon and steelhead often enough to justify the expense. Got lots and lots of patience and spare time to practice and "perfect your cast?" Do you consider yourself a "steelhead junkie?"  If so, then go for it! It will eventually give you an advantage when fly fishing big rivers. Myself, I'll "make do" with my single hander. I like to hike/wade fish smaller rivers, anyway. About the with of a 2-lane country hwy.

I might go for a "centerpin rig," for the bigger water, just to irritate the spey casters, though.  You can get even with them for taking up as much river space as they do, by achieving a 200 foot drift with your float-and-jig, mending your line to control your float right along the seam. The battle of the big sticks!

CHM's experience with durability issues on Rio lines matches mine. Which is a shame, as otherwise I liked the castability and feel of the lines. It gets hot over here, in the summer, and cold in the winter, and the Rio lines kept a consistent flexibility throughout the temperature swings.

Recently, I've been using a couple of Jim Teeny lines. The Longshot (LS) line has been particularly impressive. It's a little more limp, in the heat, than I like, but the casting is unreal and it has held up to a couple of hard (guiding) seasons.

The only Airflo I've used was 7wt "Forty Plus" line. It's a beast, useful for hucking big flies and indicators. I don't like the feel, however, as it's very stiff, especially in cold weather, and there's an annoying bump from the heatshrink tubing they use in splicing the 2 sections together.

Yeah, I really liked my Rio Versitip when I first got it. I'm thinking that having a couple of fish jump up through streamside overhanging bushes, and wrapping the line around river rocks and logs and snags takes a heavy toll on line coatings. But that line cost me over $100, and I was really bummed to have the coating crack and peel so soon after the warranty period had expired.
The new, "improved" Rio Outbound integrated shooting line has received better reviews than the original version. I haven't tried it, but the old version that I have needed to be stretched constantly to keep the coils out of the thin running line, and it cracked and peeled, too.
I might have to try one of those Teeny lines for river fishing.

My favorite clear intermediate full sinker is still the Cortland Clear Camo. It has held up nicely. I also have a Rio Aqualux clear intermediate sinking line, and yep, the coating is cracking and peeling in some spots, after only a couple of seasons.  

Almost forgot....Thanks WR for the link. Some great info there.

Although I'll probably be getting the Airflo running line to splice to the belly section of my Rio Versitip, I have some red Amnesia that I am going to splice to about 27 feet of my T-14 for bombing rockfish and lings with my 8-wt.
One of these days i might have to get a 9-wt or 10-wt for Kings and Lings, but for now I'll have to get by with my 8 wt, since I don't fly fish for those species much now. The one large King I have hooked using my 8-wt made short work of me, going 0 to 60 in about 7 seconds and snapping my 12# test Maxima before I could feed my loose coils and get it on the reel....way undergunned! Left me pumped with adrenaline and quivering!