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Walter & Group....
Questions on lines used for tarpon fishing from Molly Semenik :
Gordy,
How far could a distance caster with a 10 wt rod cast a shooting head fly line?
Why not use a shooting head vs. a long bellied head?
What fly line design would go the farthest when considering a fishing situation, like Tarpon (quick load for fast presentation)?
Molly
[GH] Molly,
SHORT ANSWER :
For sure, a good caster would be able to cast a long shooting head farther than he could the long bellied fly line.
The longer the head the caster can carry, the farther he can cast.
In my opinion, the best compromise for tarpon fishing on the flats remains a WF line with a medium length belly.
LONG ANSWER : (Perhaps more than you asked for}.
1.) It takes longer for that long head to unroll. It is traveling the whole time it is unrolling, ergo greater distance.
2.) The thin shooting line behind the head provides less friction as it shoots through the guides and tip top.
3.) The greater the amount of overhang the caster can handle with perfect loops, the longer it takes for the head and running line to unfurl, so the farther it goes.
As Steve Rajeff said, "Overhang is the tool for determining the rate of turnover of the head ." He's also quoted as saying, " ...Longer heads inherently take longer to turn over than shorter heads, and as a result require less overhang (all else being equal). In the same vein, lines of varying densities will require different overhang." Jason Borger says, "Steve's advice is to use longer overhangs with higher-density heads and shorter overhangs with lesser-density heads. *
4.) The longer the head, the more line the caster has outside the rod tip when false casting so long as he can handle the weight and has no more than an amount of overhang than he can handle and still have well controlled loops. This allows him to shoot more line.
Caveats : a. The crude formula: "You can only shoot about an additional 50% of the line carried" is only a rough approximation. It is far less accurate when casting shooting heads.
b. Good casters can carry a limited amount of line as they false cast. Of course, this is partly dependent upon the casting situation . Given the same situation, they can shoot line on the final back cast, thus "carrying" more line for their final delivery cast than they would be able to carry when false casting.
I can hear Joan Wulff's words, now as she taught this..... "Shoot a little line on the forward false cast ... shoot a LOT on that last back cast....."
Now for the part of your question on tarpon fishing :
Firstly, the key to the answer lies in your question; " (Quick load for fast presentation) ? "
That implies a relatively short cast where there is no need for the shooting head. This is why Bruce Richards rated tarpon lines at shorter lengths than other lines of of lower designation in his proposed system. (An 11 wt. line rated at 53 feet / 12 wt. and 13 wt. tarpon lines rated at only 40' )**
As you know, most of the time you don't need hero casts of over 100' for tarpon. You DO need reasonable accuracy. Harder to achieve with shooting heads. This despite the fact that the farther away from you the tarpon is when he first sees your fly, the more likely he is to take it . Problem is that you need to make an accurate distance presentation. With most of us, accuracy suffers with great distance.
Also: It is often necessary for me to be able to pick up that line quickly after an unsuccessful presentation to tarpon and cast again. Picking up that shooting head is usually more difficult, especially if some slack has appeared in the shooting line. Added to this problem is the fact that I need to strip in much more of that thin shooting line before I can load the rod properly for a re-cast. By then the tarpon is on its way to some other Ocean.
With a well designed medium long belly tarpon line, I can pick up with a water haul ("tension cast") and make a well loaded change of direction cast to present again to a tarpon which has moved. I may need a roll cast pick-up if I'm using an intermediate sink line. That just won't work with an intermediate sink head unless the back end of the head is close to the rod tip.
All these are reasons most designers of specialty tarpon lines have concentrated on WF medium belly length fly lines whether floating or intermediate sink models.
* Jason Borger's NATURE OF FLY CASTING, by Jason Borger, pp. 240-241.
** MODERN FLY LINES by Bruce Richards, p. 95.
Gordy
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