Cortland Mini-Head Kit (1st Cut?)

[EastTexas]

I bought a 12' Cortland Mini-Head Kit (6" ps sink rate)
*Now the big question is what length do I CUT?

I need to choose Wisely. I don't want to choose poorly.

I little intel on my 2 outfits: a 5 & a 6.
I fish a small dark water lake.

[dougm]

Before you cut your mini-head, consider this suggestion: Whip a small loop to one end of your mini-head and another on your primary fly line; connect the two with a loop-to-loop connection and head outside with you 6-weight. Try a few casts.

I think you will find the transfer of power between the primary line and the mini-head is awkward and not quite what you expected.

Keeping in mind that you must resurface the mini-head regardless of the length before making a standard cast, I next suggest you head for the water and practice your rollcast. The experience you gain will help you decide where your cuts should be.

In the end, you will probably end up with three lengths in 3, 4, and 5-feet. The “fiver” will nicely fit your 6-weight as well as the others. The 5-weight will like the 3-footer and perhaps the 4.

[EastTexas]

Thanks for the tip 8}I will try my first cut this weekend ;}

[EastTexas]

The 3' did not cast too well for me, but it was windy.

The sink tip part seems to slap the water & the leader has a 50/50 chance of landing just right...

[BigCliff]

Keep in mind you only need a 3-6' leader with those sink tips. This is standard practice for sunk line work. There are knotless tapered 4' "sinking line leaders" out there, but its really not necessary to use them. Lots of guys just use straight mono with sunk lines, or you can just use 2.5-4' of the tapered section of a knotless tapered leader and add some tippet. This is what I normally do. If you pick straight mono, I wouldn't go over 12lb with your 6wt and 10lb with your 5wt, as you still want to preak the leader/tippet before the rod.

[EastTexas]

Thanks for the tip

Is a 1 footer too short for a 5WT?
I have only used the 3 footer on the 5WT so far...