A Shooting Head Primer

by Nick Curcione.

An age-old truism advises that to get ahead, you should use your head. Whoever first offered this sage piece of advice probably couldn’t even image a pastime like saltwater fly- fishing, but if you have spent any time on the water in pursuit of this sport you are no doubt well aware of the statement’s relevance.

Why Use Shooting Heads?

In our sport a certain degree of luck is always part of the equation, but in the long run it is the knowledgeable angler who ends up being the most successful. Similar to a pitcher trying to size up a batter, or a golfer deciding on what club to use for a given shot, successful outcomes in the fishing world are the result of learning how to make the right choices for the particular set of conditions that present themselves.

Somewhat akin to a currently popular TV commercial, in a perfect angling world, conditions would remain constant and you could plan your presentation strategies well in advance with complete confidence. In reality of course, that is seldom the case – particularly in a saltwater environment where conditions in one locale can change within the hour just due to the effects of tide and current. With constant change as a given, it’s a well-established fact that the key to consistently taking fish is the ability to adapt to the conditions at hand.

For the fly-fisher, two of the most important adjustments in presentation strategies are fly selection and the fly line you use to cast them. The issue of what fly to use for a given locale and species will probably never have any definite answers, but when it comes to choosing a fly line, I believe we can proceed with a lot more assurance.

Without question, the most versatile fly line set up is the shooting head system. This is my go-to line anytime I venture offshore. I was first schooled in the use of this system by the late, great, Myron Gregory sometime back in the early 1970’s. Myron was a champion tournament caster who hailed from Northern California, and is credited as one of the leading pioneers in the development of this type of line.

What is a Shooting Head?

Basically, a shooting head system consists of two separate lines: the shooting head and the shooting line that trails behind it (shooting line is sometimes referred to as “running line”). The line was developed to achieve greater casting distance, a requirement recognized by early west coast salmon and steelhead devotees who had to present their flies across wide river expanses with minimal effort.

The head portion is traditionally 30 feet long. In terms of casting ease, for single-handed fly rods you generally would not want a longer head. In fact, you will find heads that are 27 and 26 foot long the most practical to use. This is simply due to the fact that the final forward cast should not be made until the entire length of the head and a portion of the running line (as general rule of thumb, 3 to 6-feet of running line) is completely outside the rod tip. For single-handed rods at least, there is simply no need to have a head in excess of 30-feet. You may see casters put on impressive demonstrations with longer heads but in real, on-the-water applications these longer heads can be unwieldy, particularly if you have limited room for a back cast.

Many years ago the late Bill Barnes (a world class fly-fisher who owned and operated Casa Mar Lodge in Costa Rica) used 15-foot lead -core shooting heads as his standard line for billfish. I used the same basic setup for sailfish and marlin for over 20-years. Today, instead of lead core I use one of the commercially available sinking lines.

Why make the billfish heads so short? First off, we’re casting very large flies often a foot or more in length. The shortened length of these heads compensates for the large flies and enables you to make casts as long as 60 or 70-feet. Secondly the room for back casts is usually restricted. You don’t want to snag an outrigger or a mate. Third, the abbreviated head enables you to spool a great deal of backing on the reel. However, with the exception of these limited billfish applications, my standard heads are 26 to 27-feet.

Old versus New Style Shooting Heads

In addition to the casting distance advantage, and the fact that you can spool on more backing, the traditional shooting head configuration (where the head is inter-looped to the running line) enables you to change heads in a matter of minutes. All you do is coil the head in your hand, slip it through the 6 to 8-inch loop in the running line, and replace it with another head (maybe a floater or an intermediate, or one with a different sink rate) by interlocking it with the running line.

Many fly fishers would argue that the ability to quickly interchange heads is not really an issue, at least on the offshore grounds, because one should always have multiple outfits on hand ready to go at a moment’s notice. Instead, many of these anglers prefer to fish the relatively new integrated heads that are one continuous full- length line. In addition, some do not like the sound or the feel of the loops going through the rod guides. They prefer the smoothness afforded by an integrated head, full-length line. This latter point is a subjective issue, so let me address some of the other advantages of a loop-to-loop shooting head setup:

First off, even offshore, where multiple outfits may be readily on hand, there are situations where using interchangeable heads is more practical. I recall a trip to Midway Island years ago. The fishing was fantastic, but the landing almost impossible. The hundred pound plus amberjack and giant trevally constantly ran across the coral heads, and out of a party of five anglers, I think only two of these fish were boated in four full days fishing. In one afternoon I went through six shooting heads. They looked like they came through a shredder. It was a relatively easy matter to put on a new shooting head. Even with multiple outfits I would still have had to re–spool, and with full length lines that would have been a chore.

A second big plus with the loop-to-loop system is that it can facilitate one’s casting. Because you can see, hear and feel the loops going through the guides, you always know where the head is. Therefore you always know precisely at what point to execute the final forward cast. Especially at night with a full-length line, it can sometimes be difficult to determine how much line is outside the rod tip. Particularly with novice casters, this can create problems

This is not meant to imply that full length integrated heads are inferior choices. I’m just trying to highlight the advantages of each type.

If you do opt for a traditional loop-to-loop system, you not only have to choose the shooting head, you also have to choose the running line. In terms of casting and line management issues, most of the problems involve the running line. Like any fly line, none of them are perfect and all of them will tangle at one time or another.

Recommended Accessories

Regardless of the type of running line, I highly recommend some type of stripping basket. The more line you shoot, the greater the probability of tangles and baskets will help minimize this considerably

A running line that is one of my favorites (this is not intended as a commercial) is Rio’s mono SlickShooter in 50-pound test. A very promising line I cast at the Fly Tackle Dealer Show in Denver last September is Scientific Anglers Shark Skin fly line. When this becomes available in a shooting line configuration it is something I will definitely want to try.

If you haven’t done so already, try using a shooting head setup, and you’ll find that you can fish any waterfront with confidence.

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Other resources you’ll find useful:

• The Mix & Match Tip Shooting Head System by Dan Blanton
• The Shooting Head – Casting by Dan Blanton