Casting and retrieving question-Airflo 40

[grousechaser]

I recently bought an Airflo 40 with a clear intermediate shooting head. It casts great but I found something a little uncomfortable. If the idea is to have the shooting head off the tip of the rod before you start the next cast, what do most people do on the retrieve: do you retrieve until the shooting head is just off the tip or do you retrieve the 40 foot head in to the basket and then false cast the head off the rod and then shoot it out? I was just thinking of how many fish will hit in the last 40 feet of your retrieve? I would be tempted to retrieve leaving the head off the tip then just shoot it out but I would like to know what the experts do.

[redfisher96]

I usually retreive my fly until the leader is about 10 or 12 feet fron the rod tip. By shooting line on both the forward and back casts I can usually get the entire head out by the second back cast. However I usually use a head thats less than 40 foot. You're right about a lot of strikes coming in closer than 40 feet. That's why I retreive most of the head. The idea is to catch fish, not to make casting easier!

 

Dan

[HL]

When fishing for stripers I retrieve my Integrated shooting heads (RIO Outbound Short) almost to the leader - maybe 3'. Fish frequently hit very close. The spey guys retrieve little line before the next cast. But they are "change of direction" casts. They dead drift the fly down stream - which is their "retrieve". Then they retrieve just enough line to enable them to pick up the line that is left. If you feel comfortable that there are no fish in close, pick-up your line as soon as you are able into a backcast and then immediately into a forward cast .

 

As redfisher said - cast to facilitate fishing.

[grousechaser]

Thank you fellas for your input.

[pantherm]

Keep this thread going! I need more help with intergrated shooting head lines! I have a 300 grain on an 8 wt. which I had figured out for large river trout streamer fishing in fall...took the thing out to the jetty and while I caught fish...my casts were UGLY! My rod felt way to wimpy to lift the head out of the water I was lifting 20 feet then trying to shoot 20 into my backcast...lets just say I embarassed myself since no one was around.

 

Help with ISL's please! Also how you guys use stripping baskets with shooting lines and distances you cast. Herb the SA 9wt. is back for another season! One of my goal for 2010 is to be as pretty with the shooting head as I am with the int.

 

Could be that my slow action 8 weight not powerful enough should I put the 300 g streamer express on the 9 Sage VT2?