Welding Fly Lines - Making a full fly line out of a head system
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2018
- Head systems are great, but there are circumstances where a full line system perfroms better. If you have wanted to convert a shooting head into a full line, here are two ways to do it.
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Very well done video. Clear, perfect close-up shots and full description of what this entails. Thank you!
Great video, I caught my first salmon using a shooting head system recently ( having transitioned from Spey lines), I was very unnerved by the loop to loop running line/head connection banging into the eyes, particularly the tip eye! I was sure I was going to lose my fish! This tutorial is exactly the solution, I am sitting waiting for my heat-gun and clear shrink wrap tubing to arrive,
Thank you again, and tight lines. Ash
Thank you for all your knowledge Peter! Great videos
Fantastic, thanks a Lot
Thank you
Amazing. I did this and it worked as easy as the video. Brilliant, thank you.
Always nice to hear.
Slick nice and useful
Great information! Thank you for a very concise and well explained video...👌🏼
Its really helpful, thanks for sharing.. Salutee.. Tight line
You sir are quite slick!
Just discovered your UA-cam site, what an amazing source of information! I have a question, is there a way of making a smooth connection when using mono as shooting line?
Mono won't weld without drastically weakening its breaking strength. Something like Loon Knotsense is probably the only option.
Great vid.I can,t understand why makers don,t make more full lines with short Scandi and Skagit heads .I use the the same shooting line and Rage head for probably 95% of my fishing and wish they were a full line because of the lumpy joint.
I just bought a bunch of Maxcatch shooting heads ranging from 200-300 grains with hopes of shortening them into something similar to the OPST commando to use on my 4-7wt rods. They are basically clones of the older Rio skagit max shorts ranging from 17’-23’. Im trying to figure out where to chop them down from or if i should just take a few feet off the tip and a few feet off the butt. Im curious, If i took several feet from the belly could i weld the remaning front/rear sections to each other or would that not be strong enough anymore? Thanks for answering my countless questions, I should really be paying you!
Guideline took this approach with their custom cut shooting heads. We always trim from the butt end, not the taper.
Good job! Very interresting! Thanks
Thanks for useful info!
What size shrink tubing do you use? Great video!
3/16" and 1/8" mostly.
This video is just what I needed and I can't wait to try it. One question though--how do you strip off the shrink tubing without damaging your fly line?
I use pointed fly tying scissors to knick the heat shrink, then I peel it off. Sometimes the heat shrink is stubborn and I have to knock it multiple times.
@@hooked4lifeca Good to know, thanks.
Have you ever tried to weld a "grip section", (approx 20 ft long section of floating running fly line ) to a Rio slick shooter running line? I'm want to convert Rio "slickshooter" running lines to Gripshooter running lines.
No I haven't and I wouldn't try. Nylon doesn't weld like PVC or PUR. It just melts and weakens. This is why welding sinking lines that have nylon mono cores is so difficult. If we're not careful, the core melts and loses all of its strength.
Fantastic! I have a RIO OBS that I accidentally cut the running line. I will save the head and make a new line. Have you ever tried to tweak either of these methods to work on mono running line?
Unfortunately mono cannot be welded using this method as there is no coating on it to weld.
Another thing you might try before welding the OBS head back onto a line is to attach a loop to the rear and experiment with casting it backwards, long taper forward. I’ve heard that people do this with the retail OBS shooting heads and it acts just like a Scandi head for roll casting, and it would probably still overhead cast really well too.
Yup, that works. I've done it with other lines that were built like the OBS lines.
Can you explain a bit about the heat gun used and perhaps what make it is, it seems to be a very gentle slow heat
This one is very similar to mine:
www.amazon.com/Genround-Electric-Industrial-Nozzles-Temperature/dp/B07569TLBY/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1532604204&sr=8-28&keywords=1500+watt+heat+guns
This one comes with the heat shrink adapter, making even more efficient than mine.
Have you done any testing to see which connection type- the “Y” or the Loop-to-Loop, is the stronger of the two?
I've done testing of loops in the past, but not this particular set. I would not expect there to be any significant difference between the two methods.
Hi Petergreat videoI have been searching for a clear intermediate with a short DI3 tip approx 8ft.before attempting this with my lines do you think this idea would work the same?cheersBrendo
The idea is fine as a number of lines have been designed with the floater - intermediate - Type 3 head. I'd just be careful of the clear intermediate, for depending on the brand, the mono core may have a melting point not far from the melting point of the coating. If you can find a braided core intermediate, that might be a better approach.
Sir, nice video. Good information. Can it be used by connecting the Skagit head to running line by the usual loop to loop and using heat shrink tubing over the point where the loops meet ( the figure 8 connection point).
Yes, we can make a full line out of a head system by using that method.
@@hooked4lifeca thank you for your help sir.
Your channel has been very helpful.. Look forward to more videos.
Great video, 💯💯 I have a question, you mentioned you wait for it to cool then strip off the head shrink, what you mean with that. Are you taking the heat shrink tube of it once is cooled? Or do you leave it on, didn’t quiet understood that part
Yes, always remove the heat shrink. It only serves a purpose during the welding process.
@@hooked4lifeca ohh thanks a million for the reply, will definitely give this a try. Tight lines. 💯💯💯 greetings from Ireland
Thanks. Do I strip all the welding tube off or only the ends?
Yes, strip all of the tubing off as it serves no further purpose and would just snag on the guides.
I’d like to make my own short Skagit head by cutting out a middle portion of a 23’ head. I would expect most heads are braided core, could I use a similar method to join it back together or would this not hold?
Joining skinny line to skinny line works fine. Joining skinny line to thick line works OK as well. Joining thick line to thick line comes with a bunch of potential problems. When making a line shorter and lighter, I'd cut off the back end and make a new loop. I have an old video on how to do that.
@@hooked4lifeca Thank you for the info! I was hoping to maintain both the front and back tapers (front taper for turnover, and back to enable me to still mend when nymphing). I guess I'll take your advice and just cut the back taper to get the length/weight I want.
If I have completely severed a fly line (sinking) can this method used to repair it?
Yes it can, however sinking lines are a bit trickier to weld than floaters, but it still can be done.
Any issues associated with welding two lines from different manufacturers, say welding PVC with polyurethane?
Polyurethane (Airflo) melts at a lower temperature than PVC, plus it does not have any plasticizers that will leech out when heated. Basic rule of thumb, weld thin PVC to thick polyurethane, but not the other way around. The latter can be done, but requires close attention to melting points.
What if we use mono shooting line, can we do anything like thise welds
Unfortunately no. Mono running line will not weld and it will become severely weakened if heated close to the melting point.
What size heat shrink tubing did you use? Thanks!
Depends on the diameter of the line I'm welding. Anything from 1/8th to 3/16th O.D. heat shrink.
Which method do you prefer for joining lines?
I really don't have a preference - it's just whichever situation presents itself.
I would prefer the loop to loop because the cores are looped over each other. Not sure if there is any real difference!
what size heat shrink is best 2mm or 3mm
2mm for thin tips and running line and 3mm for everything else.
What type of heat shrink is that?
Polyolefin 2:1 clear heat shrink which comes in a variety of sizes.I was using 1/8" and 3/16" in the video.
Any ideas on welding mono to coated lines?
Won't work, the mono just melts and loses all of its strength.
@@hooked4lifeca I wonder how they pull it off with running lines like gripshooter.
@@rushthezeppelin They're coating mono with PVC. That's a very well established technology as a lot of sinking lines have mono cores. They're taking hot, melted PVC or PUR and extruding it onto a cold mono core. Our problem in trying to weld is that we would be heating both the mono and the PVC or PUR. We can experience how badly this goes wrong if we overheat a sinking line that has a mono core.
@@hooked4lifeca that makes sense, now to make my own pvc extruder lol.
Okay so I'm having a heck of a time finding the right shrink tubing out in the wild. Hardware stores don't seem to sell any that is clear and I even checked some electrical supply places and found some clear 1/4" but that seems too big for welded loops on like running lines (should work if I want to connect a head to running line I suppose). Online I seem to be finding some but most of them say they are adhesive lined. I assume that is going to be no bueno as far as stripping it off cleanly? Also I'm not finding many examples that are more than 4". Do you have a link for the stuff you are using?
Diameter of tube? Thanks
1/8" O.D. for fly line tips and running line. 3/16" O.D. for thicker belly sections.
@@hooked4lifeca Thanks!.
Can’t understand where the orange “Y” coming from
I am using Airflo Ridge running line that comes with a large loop for looping on shooting heads. I cut that loop to make the "Y". If your running does not have that large loop, it's possible to make a loop, which is then snipped to make the "Y" Here's an old video of mine that shows how to make a loop. ua-cam.com/video/cONydFcpYtk/v-deo.html
hooked4lifeca got it now and thank you, great video.