Michael Evans Arrowhead lines

On Saturday on Thrybergh Reservoir I spent some time watching an angler who really knew what he was doing. He caught 3 nice fish in a short time.

But what really impressed me was the line he was using. Very limp and perfectly balanced with his Hardy rod. The line shot out very well, like a shooting head. I was suitably impressed and have just ordered one. At ?43 they are not cheap. The rating is 7/8, that means it should be fine with my 8 weight Harrison.

Has any of you ever tried one of these lines?

No, but I've heard good things about them. They are a short line though, 27yds I think in comparison to standard 32yds. If I remember rightly, they are a two tone line with the head being a different colour to the running line so, if you're a beginner, you know when the head is out of the rod tip and the rod will load correctly.

Personally Ron, I don't think you'll get on that well with it and would be better of getting a Partridge Reservoir Line as I reckon it would suit your casting ability much better. Also, you can pick them up new for ?39.99.

Do you reckon you'l have the line for Saturday as it would be interesting to see it in action?

Adrian,

I ordered this line specifically for fishing Thrybergh. It has a much shorter head than many other lines of this type which will help when there is not too much room for your back cast.

The guy I was watching was casting a very acceptable 25 yards using this line in difficult conditions.

I have since spoken to a couple of other anglers who are raving about these lines.

I have been assured that I will recieve the line tomorrow.

Not having used one of these lines I cannot comment, but I am inclined to the view that casting ability is far more important than the exact taper of the line, or the price tag on the rod for that matter.

I have been through the 'oh, I must try this new ....' so many times, gaining nothing but experience at considerable expense; nowadays I use what I know works and concentrate more on the one truly limiting factor in the whole set-up - me. I can now cast further than I have been able to since, at the age of 12, I made my first fly rod from a cut-down Sundridge Skorpio glass match rod with which I found I could cast almost a whole DT8F. Not very delicate mind you, but it worked.

These days I use an Aircel Supreme DT6 or 7F for 95% of my stillwater fishing and can get out 25 yards quite comfortably. If I fished bigger waters I'd use a shooting head for distance, but to be honest I find them too clumsy and limit one to only lifting off up to 10 yards, or whatever the length of head in use - and the same problem applies with WF lines.

I know it's been said, by **** Walker among others, that a rod will only lift off so much line; one of those situations where theory goes out of the window I suppose, as I can consistently (except in an awkward wind) lift the best part of twenty yards of DT7 with my 6 rated glass rod and put it back down over a rising fish, shooting a few yards into the bargain. The rod's not under-rated either, before you ask; it is just a case of utilising the strength in the lower part of the rod by adopting a more deliberate casting stroke and a timely double-haul.

I digress; all I say is don't fall for the latest 'gadget' in the hope that it will improve your casting; anyone who has seen Hywell Morgan in action at country shows will know what he can do with a ?10 Woolworths' rod! Then again, if you can afford it...why not?

Of course casting ability is important Fred, especially on the larger stillwaters where you suddenly see a fish, then you aerialise your line and drop the fly on the spot you THINK the fish will be after it has risen.

This is truly one of the most skill demanding techniques in all angling, especially when you have a dam wall, trees, people and other such fly catching obstructions behind you.

But I have been experimenting with lines and sometimes rods for over the 40 years I have spent fly fishing, and regard it as part of the fun.

And I hope to continue doing so for many more years.

Fair enough; as you say, it's all part of the fun, even if it doesn't transform your casting. I can see it might prove a useful tool for certain situations (such as a limited back-cast) in which case, providing you have a spare spool to put it on, it could be handy to have around.

One aspect of still water fly fishing that many do not take notice of is that unlike river fishing, a trout often has all the time in the world to inspect your fly. Presentation is paramount, as is retrieve or often the lack of it.

What do you do Fred when you have a number of fish in front of you taking buzzers just under the surface and they are not taking yours?

And I will assume that you have tried all the patterns shapes and sizes.

Well what I do on occasions is give the flies or flies a darned good pull. That often works and the fish are generally well hooked in the scissors.

Most of the waters I fish by the way are crystal clear. Thrybergh reservoir is one such water and the buzzer hatches are massive.

Funny you should ask that - I suffer the same frustration. A fast retrieve works quite well - better than static or twitched buzzers certainly, but not always.

The most successful fly I ever tied for buzzer-eating trout was formed with a heron herl body ribbed with fine silver wire, bronze peacock herl thorax and a couple of turns of short fibred ginger cock hackle at the head. Three strands of pheasant tail fibre were tied in behind the thorax and pulled back over the top. Hook was a 12 short shank Kamasan B170.

I once had eight C&R trout in half an hour on this; a fellow angler eventually plucked up the courage to enquire what I was using, so I gave him my other one and told him to keep it moving. He never looked back.

I lost that fly in a big trout and have never been able to replicate it; I must get some decent ginger hackles and try again...

An orange thorax PTN can be effective, fished with quite rapid two-foot pulls.

I also have a habit of casting out, sitting on my little stool, (yes I am a Walker clone even down to the hat.) putting the rod down and having a cup of tea from my flask. At the very moment I put the cup to my lips the rod clatters along the rocks and the reel screams.

Of course I miss the fish and get scalding hot tea all over the place.

But I'm human I suppose.

I've been having a bit of success with a buzzer tied with a green holographic thorax and a PT body ribbed with white silk.

And I do like to incorporate the tufts at each end using stripped cock hackle stalk or white rabbit fur.

I have just receieved my line by the way. I have spooled it up, put a braided loop on the front and it's all ready for the weekend.

It looks and feels really good. The head is one of those that I am sure will shoot a long way.

Wish I was fishing on Saturday. I sure I would walk the match.

Got late to this thread as usual, but I must agree with Ron. Most of my fly lines are 'long belly' lines and to be honest they are a bit of a pain on many waters as obstacles behind you mean you can't arialise all the head of the line. I believe long belly lines are meant to improve presentation, but I'd prefer to be able to shoot effectively with a relatively short length of line in the air.

I will bring the line with me on Saturday. It will be interesting to put it through its paces.

What's interesting about this line is that it appears to taper to a very fine point at the front. It gives me the impression that for shortish casts it will behave a lot like a double taper, yet when you need to get distance, you have the shooting backing.

Could be the ideal nymphing line. That's what it is advertised as.

By the way Fred, casters such ar Hywell Morgan are one-offs. I do not pretend to be as good as Mr. Morgan. And I would also suggest that many of us never will be either.

Many fly fishermen are way out when it comes to the distance they think they can cast. In 40 years of fly fishing I have only ever met 3 anglers who could cast 40 metres consistantly with a shooting head and one of them was a woman.

I know what I have done in the past. When I was in my 30s I could put out a 9 weight 10 metre long shooting head spliced to flattened nylon backing just over 45 metres in absolutely ideal conditions.

"When I was in my 30s I could put out a 9 weight 10 metre long shooting head "

Now he just wants shooting ....