When to not use a shooting head line

speedbird

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
This winter I added a Coastal Quickshooter intermediate to my arsenal and I like it a lot. My good casts are much further, and my bad casts straighten out better than they do on a standard WF. I'm considering swapping my other two fly lines for a shooting head as well. Yes gear type will never beat for improving casts, but I must admit that doing less casting for more distance just makes getting out there more enjoyable. I imagine a shooting head line would be just as nice to have for stillwater, but what about rivers? Does the heavier fly line affect drifts and make them less natural by any chance? A shooting head float line for my 6 and 8wt would give me a Sea Run Cutthroat/Coho topwater setup, and combined with a polyleader a well casting streamer or wet fly setup.
 

jaredoconnor

Peabrain Chub
Forum Supporter
Swinging and stripping flies for salmon bull trout and steelhead in rivers using a single hand rod. Wanting a shooting head isn’t about casting super far in this case, it’s about making it a little more pleasant to cast some of those really heavy weighted flies

I'd probably try a Wulff Ambush. Systems like OPST and Spey Lite aren't great for streamers, because the connections hang up in your guides when you try to retrieve close. They're only good for swinging, IMO.
 

Matt B

RAMONES
Forum Supporter
I'd probably try a Wulff Ambush. Systems like OPST and Spey Lite aren't great for streamers, because the connections hang up in your guides when you try to retrieve close. They're only good for swinging, IMO.
I almost made the same suggestion but didn’t, since I didn’t see anyone ask for an actual specific system. But I second this suggestion of a Wulff Ambush for what you want to do.
 

BRAVEHEART

Freshly Spawned
90% of my lines are shooting heads, even for trout and never an issue with presentation. Never have any problem with mending, mainly I use longer rods, so I can lift just about all the running line out of water and redirect the head without messing with the depth or presentation of the fly.
 
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