[ffffg]

has anyone used the orvis floating shooting heads? do you like them? are they heavy enought to get moderate distance in the wind with float over a sinking fly?? would an orvis number six 28 foot floating shooting head with monofiliment backing, give me a little more distance in the wind on a three weight rod? the number three floating line doesnt load enough to work in the wind.. any thoughts? dave..

[BigCliff]

A 6wt shooting head on a 3wt rod will bend that thing down to the cork on a 40' cast, and could easily break the rod if you pick it up off the water wrong. A 3wt line generally just does not do well in the wind, especially with a large fly. Going up 3 line sizes will do nothing to give that rod the power to beat that wind. A 6wt rod with matching line will do much better.

The best way to get a rod to cast better in the wind is to learn how to double haul. Double hauling creates more line speed, and should help you shrink your loops as well. Tight loops beat the wind, not heavier lines. Its kinda like a golf ball versus a tennis ball. Even though a golf ball weighs half what a tennis ball does, if you tee up both and whack them with a driver, the golf ball is gonna go much farther because it is much more aerodynamic because of its size.

Doug can be of the most help on the casting front, and hopefully he will weigh in on this topic.

[dougm]

Cliff’s right … I strongly recommend you forget about using 6-weight head on a 3-weight rod. Neither the 3-weight nor the 4 are wind fighters; in fact, the 5-weight fares little better if Mr. Wind is up and about. With only rare exception, wind fighters begin at 6-weight and range upward to several relatively light 10-weights. Rods above this level a place in the blue water category.

One of the typical errors made by many fly fishers is not equipping themselves for the major adversary likely to be faced – on big waters and/or the salt, that adversary is most likely to be Mr. Wind and not Jaws, the Great White. I teach my students to select lines and rod weight designed to get the fly to the fish. Along the Texas coast, I recommend an 8-weight. That doesn’t mean that a lighter weight cannot be used, it can – provided the wind is on holiday. Several years ago I did a 3-part series entitled, “Revisiting the Shooter.” You might want to take a look.
http://www.activeangler.com/articles/product_reviews/articles/fly/doug_macnair/shooters1.asp

For more distance and wind fighting, a shooter is the way to go. I haven’t thrown the latest Orvis heads but let me quickly add that the differences in lines between manufacturers is vastly diminished over what it was just a few years ago, What’s more important that who made the line is whether the line is formulated for the warm waters of the tropics or the cool waters of the north. Using the right head in the right water is important.

As Cliff said, efficient and effective use of a shooter requires the double-haul and the ability to toss tight loops. To that let me add the sidearm cast. The fact is the lower to the ground you can cast, the less the effect of the wind. The morale of the story is use the wind to your advantage: (1) if Mr. Wind is blowing from your rear, make a low backcast and a high forward cast; If he’s blowing head-on, make a high backcast and a very low forward cast under the wind.

If I can be of further help, just ask.

Doug