Shooting heads or full lines for Spey/two-hand casting/fishing?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

This is not a recommendation of what to use but only a feedback of what is happening in sales in Oregon and Nor Cal right now in the two-handed fly line market place.

Our sales of line for two-handed fishing are over 90% looped shooting heads with looped floating running lines and removable looped Poly/Versi leaders or sink-tips.

These are Scandi and Skagit heads from Rio, Airflo and Beulah.

We still sell a few full lines, mostly in floaters for some nice 'greased line' fishing on open rivers in the summer and fall with dry and wet classic patterns. This would be the Airflo Delta, Rio Windcutter II, CND GPS and the Nextcast lines.

I think that what is driving this is the versatility of having a two-handed rod, reel with backing and floating looped running line, then being able to add any type and size of head with removable tips.

This is what is going on...........not what you have to do.

[norcal tom]

So where does the nextcast WINTER AUTHORITY 40 fit into this it says you can throw T-14 How much

[norcal tom]

Anybody ????

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

At 40 plus feet the 'WinterAuthority40' is not going to replace a Skagit (20' plus) line for throwing your biggest 'junk'.....

I think this is very new Nextcast line because we have not carried it yet but it is on the Nextcast web site.

We will be getting some soon.....

[norcal tom]

Thanks Bill . Will you let me know when you get the WA 40 7/8 in stock? Thanks Tom

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Yes, I will get some in soon.

[Grampa Spey]

1. Economy of a Shooting head line versus a long line. You can buy one running line and fit it with a couple of different heads like a Skagit, Skandi, AFS ? for less than a single long line. A reel with a single spool and these heads and various tips again represents great economy for the caster versus spools or extra reels for the long lines. This makes life simpler re one rod, a reel with a running line and the shooting head of choice and matching tips for the water of the minute. See #2 below.

2. Ease of use with the newer MOWs and other tip selections from Rio and other manufacturers.

3. Efficacy/efficiency/ease of casting, often in areas where you can't have a large or even a normal D loop due to brush, trees, weeds, or rocks along the banks of a river.

[Woodman]

Does the running line/tip recommendation hold true for beginning two handers or would a full line be better to get the feel of two handed casting?

[slage]

Woodman,

Coming from a SLOW converter to the heads....use them first!!
The full line is much more difficult to master.

The first couple of times I threw a Skagit I couldn't stop laughing...in a good way

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

About 5 plus years ago everyone was recommending the mid-length lines with over 50 foot heads.

I think we had a very large failure rate where people just gave up after a while and put that big two-hander in the closet.

Now with shorter rods and shorter ~30 foot heads people can get some distance with little effort.

After you get going with a shorter rod and a shorter line you can move to longer rods and longer lines but to start there would make things much more difficult.

Smaller line size, shorter two-handed rods with shorter lines is really speeding up the popularity of Spey casting.

[Lance Gray]

Bill,

You are dead on. I had two students this year that gave spey fishing another try. The first learned or try to learn with long rods and long lines. They hated it. Both have not been spey fishing for 3-4 years. They gave it another try. Came up to do my steelhead school with an open mind and walk away pretty good casters. I handed them a swicth rod with a Rio Skagit Short and BOOM!!! they had the cast down. The really enjoyed it and they are hooked. I whole heartly beleive that starting folks on shorter rods and lines and moving up is the right way to teach.

Lance
530-517-2204
http://www.lancegrayandcompany.com