[Kyle Smith]

I just had a thought about DIY shooting heads. Just attach shooting line directly to 20 feet of T line. My Streamer Express line is basically that but the running line is intermediate.

If my theory works, you could just attach an Airflo 20' t17 "custom cut tip" to some Amnesia and call it good.

Anybody try this? Sounds like a good way to fish far and deep. And cheap.

 

[Bud]

I just had a thought about DIY shooting heads. Just attach shooting line directly to 20 feet of T line. My Streamer Express line is basically that but the running line is intermediate.

If my theory works, you could just attach an Airflo 20' t17 "custom cut tip" to some Amnesia and call it good.

Anybody try this? Sounds like a good way to fish far and deep. And cheap.

Been doing it for years. Works fine. Years ago we made shooting heads out of leadcore line.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Stonefish]

Would work on some beaches, would dredge the bottom clean on many others especially with T-17. Talking Puget Sound here.
It has merit, but I think you'd want heads made of heads with different sink rates such as T-8, T-11 etc. that would let you switch heads based water depth.

It also depends on what weight rod you are using as far as the head length. Personally I think 20' is too short.
For a 6 wt, I'd be looking at something in the 26' long range at least.

Fished a lot in Mexico (out of a boat) with a intermediate running line looped to 30' of T-14 or LC-13. That was with a 10 wt and it worked fine.
SF

 

[Kyle Smith]

Would work on some beaches, would dredge the bottom clean on many others especially with T-17. Talking Puget Sound here.
It has merit, but I think you'd want heads made of heads with different sink rates such as T-8, T-11 etc. that would let you switch heads based water depth.

It also depends on what weight rod you are using as far as the head length. Personally I think 20' is too short.
For a 6 wt, I'd be looking at something in the 26' long range at least.

Fished a lot in Mexico (out of a boat) with a intermediate running line looped to 30' of T-14 or LC-13. That was with a 10 wt and it worked fine.
SF

I am thinking of doing this with an 8wt, so maybe I will try my T17 and maybe a 30 foot section of T10. I might end up fishing Lake Mead this winter, and this seems like a good way to get down 30 feet. Would probably kick ass on the Yellowstone too.

 

[Stonefish]

Kyle,
The best way to dial things in is to start with a 30' head.
Cut off one foot at a time until you have it dialed in for your rod.
Definately not a set rule as not all rods and casters are the same, but this formula has worked well for me in the past regarding head length for shooting head systems.
6 wt - 26'
7 wt - 27'
8 wt - 28'
9 wt - 29'
10 wt - 30'
Like most things in life, there are no absolutes.
Sounds like a fun trip.
SF

 

[clarkman]

it works...very well. Like Brian mentioned though, depends on the beach. That's what I started using when I first started fishing for surf perch and it worked great! For me, 200gr for 6wt, 250gr for 7wt, 300gr for 8wt (Now I fish 30' integrated heads--Teeny & Orvis Depth Charge) always worked very well for me and got down quick for fishing the surf here in OR.

 

[Kyle Smith]

Kyle,
The best way to dial things in is to start with a 30' head.
Cut off one foot at a time until you have it dialed in for your rod.
Definately not a set rule as not all rods and casters are the same, but this formula has worked well for me in the past regarding head length for shooting head systems.
6 wt - 26'
7 wt - 27'
8 wt - 28'
9 wt - 29'
10 wt - 30'
Like most things in life, there are no absolutes.
Sounds like a fun trip.
SF

I will keep this all in mind. Thanks so much.

 

[mtskibum16]

I have this for my deep setup for salmon and bottom fish from a boat. Like SF said, I think you'd want around 26-30' or so to be easily castable. The "T" number is grains/ft of head weight (T-17 is 17 gr/ft). So based on what you know your rod likes, pick the T-line that will get you the right weight with 26-30' of head. I usually look to match the head weight of OBS line for the rod I'm using. If you don't need to cast far and more lob it along side the boat, you can go up in weight.

 

[Richard E]

I just had a thought about DIY shooting heads. Just attach shooting line directly to 20 feet of T line. My Streamer Express line is basically that but the running line is intermediate.

If my theory works, you could just attach an Airflo 20' t17 "custom cut tip" to some Amnesia and call it good.

Anybody try this? Sounds like a good way to fish far and deep. And cheap.

Old school. That's how it was done "back in the day". The difference is the integrated head lines usually have a 'holding line' area as part of its rear taper. And, you don't have to worry about the head/running line attachment or loop to loop getting caught up in the rod tip.

The old school systems are super versatile, but the integrated head lines are definitely much easier to cast.

 

[Richard E]

Kyle,
The best way to dial things in is to start with a 30' head.
Cut off one foot at a time until you have it dialed in for your rod.
Definately not a set rule as not all rods and casters are the same, but this formula has worked well for me in the past regarding head length for shooting head systems.
6 wt - 26'
7 wt - 27'
8 wt - 28'
9 wt - 29'
10 wt - 30'
Like most things in life, there are no absolutes.
Sounds like a fun trip.
SF

These numbers Stonefish has listed are just a guide line; the actual head length will depend on the weight of the head. Example, there would be a big difference in weight between, say, 26' of T-8 and T-14. Most 6 weights won't be able to handle 26' of T-14...

 

[Richard E]

I am thinking of doing this with an 8wt, so maybe I will try my T17 and maybe a 30 foot section of T10. I might end up fishing Lake Mead this winter, and this seems like a good way to get down 30 feet. Would probably kick ass on the Yellowstone too.

I bought a giant spool of old school LC-13 that has allowed me to experiment with many different head lengths and configurations for different rods. My 10 weight TFO TiCr will launch 30' of this stuff into the next zip code, and it has helped me to catch some dandy fishies in Mexico, Neah Bay, etc. The LC-13 sinks about 10 inches per second. I use that head setup almost exclusively in Mexico, whether fishing deep or casting and quickly stripping in my streamer.

It will definitely get you down at Lake Mead. Good luck striper fishing!