Customizing shooting head : Guideline

The classic Power Taper System offers the angler the opportunity to adjust his own line, to his own needs. This gives you the chance to fine tune the length/weight of the shooting head to perfectly match specific needs and preferences.

For instance, among the guys in our Power Team, there are variations between the preferred weights of 10/11 heads, that span between 38 grams up to 43 grams for the same rod/line combination. So it is not a matter of one single gram being right or wrong.. If you are comfortable with adjusting your heads and making your own loops, these lines definitely still give you the edge. This is how you do it:

Remember that this chart is a recommendation only! Always have the following in mind; Are you wading deep and often, do you fish smaller, overgrown rivers?

We have divided the length/weight ratio into two different categories;

TYPE 1 is the shorter option, suitable for tighter and more difficult conditions. For example: Use a PT #9/10 cut at 10,5-10,9 meters if you fish tight waters with an LPXe 13´8/9wt rod.

If you fish more open rivers, then look in the TYPE 2 section of the chart. The same #9/10 head, but cut at 11,8-12,5 meters will work perfect with a LeCie 14’8 # 9/10 rod. This longer head will work superbly if you have a bit more room and want to achieve great distance with overhead- or Speycasts.

HOW TO DO IT

Measure the total length of your shooting Head out of the box.
Mark your desired length according to the chart, with a marker pen. Add one meter just to be on the safe side.
Always cut from the back end. (the thickest part).
Tie the shooting head directly to your shooting line. Test it on water, it has to feel easy to cast both at distance and at angled spey casts. It is pretty easy to determine if it feels right or not.
The part of the shooting head that has to be pulled inside the tip guide, is too long and should be cut.
Don’t cut too much at once. It is better to shorten it by 15-30 cm at the time until you hit it perfect.
When rod and line balance well and you feel comfortable casting the rig, you have found the correct length.
Important! When you cast and customize your head, remember to have between a half and one meter of the shooting line outside the rod tip when casting. This is called “overhang” and is the key to creating tight, narrow loops.
If you are wading deep, or fish in over-grown, tight places it helps to use a one size heavier shooting head and cut the heads a bit shorter. See Type 1 recommendations in the chart. A shorter and slightly heavier head will be easier in those circumstances.
For the best allround performance, suitable for both speyand
overhead casts, use the recommendations in the Type 2
columns in the chart below.

Cutting chart for power taper shooting heads

The below lengths are for Float, F/S1, F/S3, Stream Dip, H/I, I/S1, S1/S2 and S2/S3 lines.

When you use
the faster sinking lines, you might want to cut them back a little more so they become easier to handle.

AFTM	Rod length/weight	* LENGTH/WEIGHT T1	* LENGTH/WEIGHT T2
	Singlehand	Medium Length	Medium/long Length
7/8	Power Taper 9’ – 10’8 T1 #6/7 rod T2 #7/8 rod	9,5-10,5 m 16-18 g	10,5-11,5 m 18-22g
8/9	Power Taper 9’6 – 13/7 T1 #7/8 rod T2 #8/9 rod	9,5-11,0 m 20-24,5g	10,5-11,5 m 23-26 g
	Doublehand
8/9	Power Taper 12’6 – 13’7 T1 #7/8 rod T2 #8/9&9/10 rod	10,0-11,0 m 23-26,5 g	11,5-13,5 m 28-35 g
9/10	Power Taper 12’6 – 14’8 T1 #8/9 rod T2 #9/10&10/11 rod	10,5-11,5 m 28-32,0 g	11,8-13,5 m 33-40 g
10/11	Power Taper 12’6 – 15’9 T1 #9/10 rod T2 #10/11 rod	10,5-11,5 m 32,5-36,5 g	12,0-13,5 m 38-45 g
11/12	Power Taper 14’8 – 17’0 T1 #10/11 rod T2 #11/12 rod	10,5-11,5 m 38,5-43,0 g	12,0-13,5 m 46-52 g

*T1 = TYPE1 -Suitible for tighter and more difficult conditions.
*T2 = TYPE2 -Choose a longer head to achive great distance with overhead- or speycast.