Shooting Line

[Weedy1]

How does one know the optimum amount of line to have out prior to shooting line? I know this depends on the line type and manufacturer but is there a general rule of thumb?

[lonefisher]

I think this depends heavily on your rig...... Not sure if there is a rule of thumb but I find all lines have a sweet spot that changes depending on the rod its casted on..... the same line on my noodley 6wt dragonfly seems to have a noticibly different sweet spot then on my 10ft g loomis which is a stiff high line speed rod...... That said I think it also depends on the goal of the cast..... and the amount of weight you are casting..... Sorry wish I had a better answer for you.......

 

PS I'm a hack so don't listen to me

[toolman]

In order to shoot any line, you need to load the road. Every rod has an optimum casting window requiring a specific amount of line/weight out of the rod tip to load properly. For example, a 6wt. line weights around 180 grains at the 30' mark. If your rod has a grain window of 150-200 grains, then you will need around 30' of the lines head out of the rod tip to be able to shoot extra line. If the rod had a casting window of only 120-150gr., and your line weights 180 gr. at 30', you would need to strip in a bit of line and cast with maybe only 25' of line out of the rod tip. If tips are added that take you over the rods gr. window, you will need to strip in a bit of line to compensate for the extra weight. Using a brief or sustained water anchor created by allowing the line to contact the waters surface during the cast, can add additional load to the rod if required, when casting a lighter line.

Another example is one of my 5/6 wt. spey rods which has a grain window of 350-550 gr.

I line it with a 450gr. shooting head that is 32' long and can use it with sink tips which adds an extra 60-100gr. to the load and 12'-15' of length and it shoots like a cannon. Find out the head length of the line as well as the WF weight ( the gr. weight of the first 30') or the total head weight for shooting heads. Then, find out what the casting window for your rod is. If you plan on shooting sink tips, then you need to know how much they weight so that you can keep the line system in balance and in the zone for your rod when using it with or without tips. It is important to know the head length so that you can keep the end of the head inside the rod tip, because casting with the running line out of the tip will wreck the line and won't cast very well.

[Pipestoneflyguy]

My spey line is a dual colour - comes in pretty handy. I've heard its not that uncommon for folks to mark their line as well (with a marker) - Using a heavy fly may require a minor adjustment in line out.

 

TM did you see Dino has a 450 gr skagit head for sale - think I'll pick it up for my Hanson if no one takes it by the weekend. Do you know ballpark what a running line would cost (I've already got a wallet full of tips)

[toolman]

The Airflow Ridgeline 30lb. running lines list at $ 38.95.