LOOP ADAPTED S/HEADS

[garrydog]

Hi all
I want some advice on setting up loop adapted shooting heads.
I have bought ,airflow s/head running line,3 adapted s/heads ,floater,intermediate,and fast sink all are 10/11. I want to know the best way to tune these lines to my rod,and do i tune these lines with a polyleader or similar attached to the end,as i believe that it is better to cast with a polyleader attached. My rod is a loop Grey line 15ft 10wt.
thanks

[splash]

garrydog said:

Hi all
I want some advice on setting up loop adapted shooting heads.
I have bought ,airflow s/head running line,3 adapted s/heads ,floater,intermediate,and fast sink all are 10/11. I want to know the best way to tune these lines to my rod,and do i tune these lines with a polyleader or similar attached to the end,as i believe that it is better to cast with a polyleader attached. My rod is a loop Grey line 15ft 10wt.
thanks

Garrydog, I use exactly the same set up. The Loop adapted heads are on the short side (12.5m) so you should not need to cut them back on a 15ft rod and indeed a 10ft polyleader will help you enormously to anchor the D. I am assuming that you intend to Speycast the heads as opposed to overhead cast. The 15ft greyline is a good rod for this set up being fast in terms of tip recovery but forgiving enough in timing. The airflo running line seems exactly the same as the Loop stuff and is very supple and tangle free if a little on the soft side.
My mate collie dog actually uses the 15ft tips from his Rio Midspey instead of the polyleaders and gets good performance, effectively turning the rig into an adaptable short-headed Spey line. You can fish these rigs with confidence.

[hairyscotsman]

These lines are not meant to be cut . The lines should be perfect for your rod as they are. Good advice re polytips as they will help enormously when you want to anchor your loop.

[Fruin]

I have three of them - floater, intermediate and fast sink.
IMO, the floater is only fit for wrapping parcels, the intermediate is a good line, the fast sink is excellent. They are all a bit short adn thick in comparison to some other shooting heads, so poly leaders are an essential addition.
I would agree that they should not be cut, as the intermediate and fast sinker are perfectly suited to a 15ft 10/11 as they are. The floater is a bit light (IMO) and an 11/12 or a 12/13 floater may be better for a 10/11 rod.

[castlikeaghille]

fruin said:

I have three of them - floater, intermediate and fast sink.
IMO, the floater is only fit for wrapping parcels, the intermediate is a good line, the fast sink is excellent. They are all a bit short adn thick in comparison to some other shooting heads, so poly leaders are an essential addition.
I would agree that they should not be cut, as the intermediate and fast sinker are perfectly suited to a 15ft 10/11 as they are. The floater is a bit light (IMO) and an 11/12 or a 12/13 floater may be better for a 10/11 rod.

Agree with everything above. As previously noted, to spey cast the Loop heads we now add the 15' tips from the Rio or Monteith for Spey Casting purposes (they graduate better than poly leaders for turnover purposes). However, as I have also said before, I think the Worcster Heads from Shakey are much better and cheaper than any other system tried so far (Bill Dury, Loop, Guideline, Vision, Hardy for me).

S/Heads are much more specific than full lines. You just have to persevere and adjust until you find what is right for you and the rod you use - but the journey is worth the reward in the end

Good luck

CLaG

[tynetraveller]

I use the loop adapted heads on a 15ft greyline and I thoroughly agree with the above points. I actually use the 12ft tips from an 8/9 multi-tip line with them and the set-up is a perfect match for the greyline. Just remember that the casting stroke needs to be short and fast, and away they go.

[garrydog]

Hi
Thanks for all your help ,brilliant.just another point i have a loop quatro tips line 10/11 ,will these tips re ok on this set up .

[castlikeaghille]

garrydog said:

Hi
Thanks for all your help ,brilliant.just another point i have a loop quatro tips line 10/11 ,will these tips re ok on this set up .

No reason why not - and easy enough to find out if they do or don't! However, if you have created loops on the front of the shooting head by striping the line coating and forming a 1/2" loop with the actual fly line by whipping and acquasuring the exposed core back on itself, you will have a much stiffer Loop 2 Loop connection which will perform better. Multi-tip tips don't perform as well on this set up when attahced to a standard braided loop which creates a more pronounced hinge.

I'd also go back to what TT said about S/Hs requiring a shorter snappier casting stroke than a full line when spey casting as you aren't forming such a big D.

Good luck

CLaG

[garrydog]

Hi Speycaster
Thanks for the info ,yes i have stripped the coating of the end of the shooting head ,it is a nonofil core. Should i form a loop from this mono core ,or do i use braided mono in some way.

[castlikeaghille]

1) When you fold the line and exposed core back on itself to form the loop, start the whipping on the back to back fly line just above where the core has been stripped from.

2) Then whip down over the back to back fly line and core to just past where the exposed core ends (I use about 1/2" of exposed core to whip down over, but some people like to use up to 1").

3) I usually whip up and down the join about three times using No 8 tying thread. I don't make individual turns by hand, but spin the bobbin while the line is held taught between two hands so you get a very compact and solid finish.

4) Finish with a whip finish and acquasure. As other posters have said, apply acquasure sparingly and then blow dry it if you can so that it sets in a smooth even finish.

If I ever escape the office I'll post a photo tonight of what the finished article should look like, or should I say looks like by the time I've finished hacking arround with it

Regards

CLaG

[castlikeaghille]

castlikeaghille said:

1) When you fold the line and exposed core back on itself to form the loop, start the whipping on the back to back fly line just above where the core has been stripped from.

2) Then whip down over the back to back fly line and core to just past where the exposed core ends (I use about 1/2" of exposed core to whip down over, but some people like to use up to 1").

3) I usually whip up and down the join about three times using No 8 tying thread. I don't make individual turns by hand, but spin the bobbin while the line is held taught between two hands so you get a very compact and solid finish.

4) Finish with a whip finish and acquasure. As other posters have said, apply acquasure sparingly and then blow dry it if you can so that it sets in a smooth even finish.

If I ever escape the office I'll post a photo tonight of what the finished article should look like, or should I say looks like by the time I've finished hacking arround with it

Regards

CLaG

Apologies for the crappy photo, bit of a rush job I'm afraid - hope you get the idea - right kit together and off to the Lochy Bochy at early o'clock......no doubt the Lord of the Isles is raking my pools as we speak ;D

[colliedog]

A rather unnecessary and gratuitous display of an Abel Super 12 in that photo CLAG - can barely make out the loop!

CD

[garrydog]

Thanks for the how to ,and the picture.Looks like a very good job, but what do i do with the thick end of the shooting head that connects to the shooting line.

[colliedog]

Garrydog - most common method is to make an oversized loop out of 50lb braided mono and whip/aquasure this to the back of the shooting head. The head is then attached to the running line by a loop to loop connection.

The advantage of making the loop oversized is that you can pass a coiled shooting head through it, making it easer to change from head to head. If you opt for a standard sized loop then you simply have to uncoil the head before passing it through the loop on the backing.

CD

[garrydog]

Thanks colliedog ,i have some braided mono dont know if it is 50lbs.Brill idea with the oversized loop will do that,
David.

[scotview]

I have been using the Loop Adapted Shooting Heads since the end of last season, they are great.

Unlike most of you I have needed to trim the length slightly which has helped with lifting the fast sink and when deep wading.

Fruin mentioned a 12/13 floating Shooting Head, is there such a thing on the market?

Also, I have been using the tips from a 10/11 windcutter when using the SH on my 16' rod, the clear intermediate tip is a bit clanky. Has anyone tried a 10/11 Shooting head with a set of tips from say a 8/9 weight RIO Windcutter??

[colliedog]

Hi Scotview

I use the 9/10 Rio Tips which are slightly lighter but still a bit clanky (good description by the way). That said, when I am using this set up delicacy is not usually the highest priority - depth and/or distance is the objective. My favorite combo is the intermediate s/h and type 3 or 6 tip for spring and autumn fishing.

I did use the floating s/h and intermediate tip to cover big water in an awkward wind on the Tay a couple weeks ago and was very happy with its performance.

CD

[albyn73]

The shooting heads of guideline are quite heavy on the butt end which is attached to the running line, and i found them to be not very safe when attaching the 50lb braided loop. I then soaked about 2" of the butt overnight in nail varnish remover and stripped the plastic off the next day, which revealed a Dacron Core and made a loop out of that which i think is far superior to the one CLaG did and its flush with the line and glued with aquasure, and to make the Dacron a bit stiffer i put on some PolyVinyl Sealant. Incidently i did one for my mate and someone else took it off and did a Perfection Loop on it, but needless to say my mate took it off and did the one that i had done in the first place, because he said it looked better. I suppose CLaG's one would be ok if it was a Mono Core, which through time will wear and expose the Mono.!