You are always striping inside? No… Hm in this case you are in a trouble, especially if you are wading deep! While for double handers as well as for dry or nymph fishing i’m not using striping basket, it is one of the essentials while fishing pike, seatrout or any other creatures that request striping of fly line.  Quite many years ago, when I started to use these baskets I was quite convinced that it should have as many holes as possible, and it should be not too big. Actually know, its bit opposite -- I’m using only baskets that have no holes at all, and are big enough to catch and hold all fly line that comes in. Holes are not necessary at all, because if you are are wading deep, basket will be filled with water and your floating running line will simply swim out during the first cast. Another advantage of no hole basket is that you can use it as wading support, or float, when wading tricky coastal areas or getting to another river  bank.It is quite important to have rubber belt on your basket, because it allows to adjust the position with out changing the belt size. It is quite handy if you are wading and fishing in spots with different depths. Especially during the late autumn, winter and spring, when water temperatures are low, it is not right time to adjust something that is completely wet.

Last but not the least is cones. With out them in a basket, your runner will tangle quite frequent, so you better install them in one or other way. There is quite a lot of possibilities to do that, and a some good  info you can find in this article from GFF. I must admit, that during the last years I have tried almost all of them and finally came to the concept that can be seen in this particular video, where you can see my new basket.  Main advantage of removable cone board is that during the travel you can detach, and it and put it in safe place. I have destryed and bended many cones or other type line separators, while  putting all the things in my duffle for travel purposes, so it is worth to think about it when designing your new perfect stripping basket!

Finally, it is all about fish so you can also add some attitude on your basket -- at least you will remember how does fish look if you are blank…

But, wee will succeed… During the following days, together with my friends, we will chase sea trouts somewhere in sweden, and i will be back with photos and stories as soon as i’l be back.

Get ready -- season is comming!

Is there a good way to connect shooting head to running line? Yeaaahhh…, connections are always frustrating some one can say. Maybe, but we can get use to it, and with the certain improvements we can achieve loop to loop connection that will not disturb casting during the double haul. Ok, ok there are also double handlers and of course there are no hauling and connection point always stays outside the rod tip, so it will not disturb the cast – strength is an issue here. For sure, one of the best loops are factory made – yet little bit bulky, but smooth, long lasting and powerful.

If you have loops on both ends of your head – brilliant, but if don’t, or if you are going to customize the head…? I`m the one who likes to customize the heads, so loop preparation is a must.
In this short article i will go through different types of connections and give my Pros and Cons on them.

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April is time to fight big waters and big fish. Also you must fish quite deep and slow, because water are just warming up. Even more – if you fish large rivers for chub, asp or seatrout with single handed rods distance sometimes counts. Especially for asp (Aspius Aspius) here in Latvia. So it can not be much better way here than use shooting heads. And you know it!

The question is simple – how to choose the best one for your rod. Here i will not discuss about density (sink rates) because you know better where you are fishing. Also tapers remains for different story. Length and grams are discussed bellow. If you are fishing in bushy river with a lot of obstructions choose short heads – 6 till 8 meters in length and even some times shorter. For distance cast heads up to 13 meters are optimal, but average length for 9ft rods are around 9 meters. So it`s simple 9 meters for 9 footers. I must say this is length i use most. Another story is weight. There are so many rods and lines… And there are big differences in the same weight rods and lines. It is quite easy to go wrong here. The best way is – if you have shooting head that fit`s your rod, and what is sometimes more important, also your casting style, measure it`s actual weight and you will know once and for ever what you need. If you do not have any shooting head…, hmmm, you are not in the deep trouble also. Just stay calm – call your fly fishing friend who are mad about purchasing new lines and take some heads for test. Choose the best one and then go on and measure it`s actual grams. So you do not have any friends with “spare head”. You can do it either!
If you are going to purchase shooting head in fly store instead of preparing it by yourself please do not follow AFTMA recommendations – it may be deadly misleading. If there are no marks on the packadge about grams please take shooting head out and measure it – there is always scales in the store. Here is the table I have prepared for those who are not shore about correct grams. Please note – it corresponds for single handed rods only!!

This table is based on my experience and more less you can not go a lot wrong with it. Main thing that i would like to notice – there are still some cases when you need different weight. For example average 8 wt rod with a fast action feel`s comfortable with 19 grams, but for pike fishing i use 21 grams instead. Why? With such a head (21 grams) I can cast with less speed and achieve same energy in the cast and what is more important – if i use really heavy pike fly`s this heavier head balances system better than lighter one and in other terms “will straighten your fly line with ease!!!” To be honest it is not so trivial, because if you are using the head that is on the heavy limit that your rod can handle, it is quite easy to overpower rod during casting that will result in tailing loop and what is more important – disappointment! In this case use a lighter shooting head or adjust your casting stroke – take the power off! But this is story about how to cast a a head that will follow another time.