[shoz09]

Hi I would like some thoughts on my set up for Salmon fishing this time of the year.  I have AFS shooting head with floating line and variety of versi leaders, but I am not convinced that the flies are getting low, fast enough even using the sinking tips, so my quandary is whether to buy a 1/2 or 2/3 sinking tip for the spring (autumn) fishing.  Can anyone who uses shooting head set up please advise what they do this time of the year.  Mainly on Don association water's but also hoping to try out Dee fishing soon. Many thanks in advance.   ???

[Hamish Young]

To be clear, you have an AFS floating shooting head with selection of versileaders (tips) and your quandary is whether to buy a sinking head of some kind

Personally, I'd not go for much more than a quick-ish intermediate (a Mackenzie intermediate would do the job nicely) plus the tips you already have, if they are suitable. You could also look at a skagit of some kind with some 'T' tips (that'll get you deep enough ) but depends on what you want to spend.
Neither are that expensive, have both 

H

[shoz09]

Thanks Hamish, yes you were correct in your understanding of my quandary it's the 'head' I am thinking of changing.  I like the idea of the intermediate, I think it appeals a s I have always had midge tip for my trout as well as floating and I felt I needed/wanted similar for the Salmon. I have read that skagiits are quite hard to master - is that true? I do find that I am useless at casting the snaeldas we have which I was blaming on the line and 10 ft leader but it could just be lack of my own skills as still working on the Salmon casting; thanks again,  S

[Hamish Young]

I have read that skagiits are quite hard to master - is that true?

In my experience, no.  I think they're the easiest things in the world to shift around but I have a few years under my belt.

H

[Ben Dixon]

Skagits are the easiest way of throwing big and heavy flies and heavy tips.  They are easy to cast providing you are able to make a Double Spey for downstream wind and Circle Cast or Perry Poke for upstream winds.  In truth, I prefer a Skagit set up for Spring & Autumn fishing as I can control speed and always know exactly where the fly is, something you can never be sure of when fishing a full sinking (or even intermediate) head.  Note that a Skagit is a tool for a job, not a general purpose all round fishing line.  To use one in the summer with a floating tip on it and a small fly would be like trying to tap in panel pins with a 10lb fence post hammer.

To explain a little about shooting head set ups......  The idea is that the whole head (the AFS) is almost all held in a D loop when you deliver your cast and only the tip of the head and the leader is on the water as an anchor to maintain tension in the system for making the cast. Almost all shooting heads are designed for use with long leaders, they cast better than way.  If you want the fly to go down, part of that leader is made up with a Versi / poly leader (Rio / Airflo terminology), usually 10' for me and to that is added a short length of tippet.  For a full floating set up use a decent tapered nylon leader such as the Rio 15' ones and add a couple of feet of tippet to the end of that. 
Not all Shooting heads will cast the same, AFS is back biased in terms of weight which means it is easy to cast as all the weight in under the rod tip but it is not the greatest at turning over big heavy tubes on the end of a fast sinking poly leader and it tends to hold a poor shape in the air and fly / land arse down.  The MacKenzie shooting heads are still the best all round heads IMO, they are little longer than most and not quite so back weighted, they fly better than an AFS and are happier to turn big stuff over.  Again, they are designed to be used with poly leaders or long tapered mono leaders.  Due to the difference in weight distribution, a 44g MacKenzie head feels about the same to cast as a 10/11 (42g) AFS

Then you have Multi Tip shooting heads like the AFS Tracker (now Scandi Versitip) or MacKenzie Multi tip shooting head or Guideline DDC (probably other brands too) that are basically a short rear body that is looped to a tip which forms the front taper of the line.  These are proper fly line style tips, usually 15' long and made on proper fly line core and are generally significantly heavier in terms of physical weight than poly leaders used with full length shooting heads. These lines bridge a gap between Skagit lines and Scandinavian style shooting heads, I tend to use such lines without a polyleader on the front of the tip, just a short length of tippet to my tube.  I use the tracker a lot in the early spring when the water is not big enough / cold enough to need a Skagit, again these things are fairly industrial and probably not the best thing for use with small flies where delicate presentations are required. 

There is such a choice out there now that really, unless you are dealing with or in salmon lines on a daily basis, the best advice would be to try and get a shot of a few different lines on your rod.  Things are becoming increasingly complicated with Salmon lines, the developments should make fishing easier but the choice is absolutely bewildering for many anglers and mistakes are not cheap at £50 for a head plus any ancillary items!

What are the Snaeldas tied on? copper or aluminium do they have cones on them and what is the overall size of the biggest ones?


Cheers

Ben