[Michael Buchan]

Just managed to blag this afternoon off so a repeat of Satuarday would be great    Will report back how i got on

Michael

[Matt Henderson]

Just managed to blag this afternoon off so a repeat of Satuarday would be great    Will report back how i got on

Michael

tight lines.  Can I volunteer to put Iain's hat on the line again?

[Ben Dixon]

Setup was an old DT 10 Shakespeare Floating line cut back to about 20feet. attached to Vivarus floating running line. The business end i had a 10 foot fast sinking polly leader and 3feet 23.5lb Seaguar fluro leader and cone headed blak and orange shrimp tube.  Took a few trips out to get the length of the head right but happy with it now.

Michael

Any idea what the weight of the head is in grams?  My floating heads are 26' long & I use a 7' polyleader, weight of head is 15g for a #6 rod.  Bit heavy overhead but great for Spey casting with.
You'd probably have taken longer to actually land the fish on a DH rod, unless you have the luxury of a nice place to beach a fish (rare on the Don) it is a real pain to try to get fish to hand with a long rod on your own.

Cheers
Ben

[Matt Henderson]

Setup was an old DT 10 Shakespeare Floating line cut back to about 20feet.

Sorry for the stupid question but I take it you trim from the rear taper rather than the front taper?

[Michael Buchan]

MDH its up to yourself you can leave the front taper on and the head will present the fly better or you can chop it off and it will turnover more ubruptly.

Sorry Ben no idea of the weight will maybe invest in a scales as i have an old sinking line i fancy making a head out of it. 

Started fishing today around 1230 conditions looked good it was nice and dull when i started, saw a couple fish while i was tackling up.   Got to the head of the pool where i got the fish Sat and hooked one on my 4th cast maybe 4-5lb but it came off  Unfortunatly within an hour the sun came out and never saw or felt another fish the rest of the day. 

Great day to be out and beat working for sure 

Michael

[Ben Dixon]

Sorry for the stupid question but I take it you trim from the rear taper rather than the front taper?

Matt,

I worked out that I wanted about 15g at 26' to use with 7' polyleaders.  I chopped off about 40' of DT 10 and cut bits of front & rear until i got the length / weight right.  I chopped back the front until it felt slightly thicker than the thickest polyleader I would be throwing, the intermediate.  My head turns quite hard, I would not remove all of the front taper although if using 10' tips as Michale is then it may be o.k.  removed a few inches at a time and cast it until it feels right.


Unlucky Michael, I'm out tomorrow, will see what turns up


Cheers

Ben

[Matt Henderson]

is making your own more or less hassle than getting an iLine?  Given that I could make my own from an 8quid john norris floating DT and some shooting line etc?  compared to the £65 for an iLine?

[Mike Barrio]

is making your own more or less hassle than getting an iLine?  Given that I could make my own from an 8quid john norris floating DT and some shooting line etc?  compared to the £65 for an iLine?

It's certainly more fun!

Cheers
Mike

[Ben Dixon]

is making your own more or less hassle than getting an iLine?  Given that I could make my own from an 8quid john norris floating DT and some shooting line etc?  compared to the £65 for an iLine?

Matt,

Given that you can make your own for a few quid it is worth a try.  You really need to be able to haul to get the best out of a shooting heads, you will probably find the iline easier to cast and it will work straight out of the box.  With a home made head you can get it set up for your exact requirements but it will take a bit of playing with.


CHeers

Ben

[Matt Henderson]

Sorry Ben more questions!

Do you need to be able to haul if you plan to use the shooting head for singlehanded spey casting? Lots to consider! Although I'll need to build the rod to go without it first!

Cheers
Matt

[Ben Dixon]

HI Matt,

You really do need to be able to haul to get a shooting head working properly on a single hander whether Spey or overhead casting particularly if trying to move tips or bigger flies about.


Cheers

Ben

[Matt Henderson]

Thanks Ben. I warn you though I'll need to pick your brains again I'm sure!