[NrthFrk16]

aka Shooting Heads vs. Long Bellied Lines Part II

I am either opening an entire new can of worms or beating on a dead horse but I am curious as to why certain people favor the Windcutter when fishing tips compared to the MidSpey, yet prefer the MidSpey for Dryline work over the Windcutter.

Since I am relatively new the game, my experience level just is not there. Lately my days of fishing consisit more with experimentation and playing around with my casting stroke then actually fishing.

I've been fishing the 9140-4 with the 8/9/10 per Doublespey's advice and have been doing okay. The other day, I took out a 9141-4 with a 9/10/11 and was throwing the line much farther and more consistently then the 9140-4. Although the 9141-4 is not recomended for beginers, I was hitting 60-70' (where with the 9140-4 I was having trouble...might try the 9/10/11 WC on that rod as it the recomended line for the beginer on the 9140-4)
consistently and when I was able to shoot line I managed to hit 80'....I know, I know, its miniscule to what you true Spey gods can throw.

Anyways, sorry about the rambling. I had no problem controling the head on the WC but because I am having trouble shooting line, I was thinking about stepping up to the MidSpey, which if I can handle the longer belly, will be able to throw farther. Do you get my drift??...hope so!

Okay, what I am asking (finally, you say!!) is when I read literature from one Spey Guru is he recomends sticking with the WC when fishing tips but when fishing a dry line, fish the Midspey.

At the same time, I know people who fish nothing but the Midspey now, even during their winter work.

Which do you prefer and why?
...or maybe I should just figure why the Hell I am having trouble shooting line!!

I know this is repetive...my apologies.

 

[Whistler]

Most often MS is my choice for winter work.Head length works well with minimal shooting for fishing distance. When fishing a mid river lie it is no problem to shoot for the distance with either lines(no real advantage). So far as line control goes I think there is a slight advantage to the MS, but one can definately learn to mend the shorter heads.Since winter, at least around here,is COLD the less stripping the better(No pun intended). Casting tips, especially heavy ones is more difficult with the longer head.Another issue is rod length,the longer the rod the better suited it is to the longer heads. I like the shorter heads for small to mid-size rivers(fishing cast length) or for extremely heavy heads.Once again just my personal opinions based more on finger warmth and icy guides than the castability of either type of line. For summer(dry line) fishing I like a 60'-70' foot head length.
BN

 

[gordonf]

I’ve never cast a Mid-Spey but I regularly cast Wind-cutter, DT, and long-taper lines. I always fish a WC in the winter because casting a sinking head on a DT or LT line is a pain in the a*s. Try turning over 100’ feet of DT or LT line including a 20’ 300 grain head and a brass tube fly with a 15’ foot rod and you’ll see what I mean. Try doing it all day and you’ll soon be a candidate for replacement shoulder surgery. With a WC, on the other hand, I strip in the line to where the belly is just outside the rod tip, do one roll cast to bring the fly and head up to the surface, quickly setup the single or double, and launch the whole mess with surprisingly little effort. In the summer and fall I often fish a DT or LT simply because I like the graceful feel that comes with casting the longer lines, particularly when doing long single spey casts. I also find that I do a better job casting a reverse spey-cast (aka backhand) with the longer belly lines, though I haven’t figured out why.