From the OP: "Anyone use shooting heads with their 686’s or would you recommend a true 6 weight line instead?"
whrlpool wrote:
A suggestion. Fiberglass rods are at their best in versatility within the range of casting more "traditional" lines in double taper, weight forward, and variants, as opposed to the more distinct "throwing" of a shooting head rig. It sounds to me like you have your shooting heads covered to try on the Epic and/or to continue fishing with your graphite. I think the most fun and performance gains will be experienced in trying other line types and the techniques they enable.
If one wants to cast with shooting heads, is it really necessary to sacrifice delicacy of presentation?
While looking the other day at the diagram for a scandi shooting head, it dawned on me that it is just like the first 30 feet or so of a double taper line. Therefore, it would be fairly simple to find a very reasonable compromise between a DT and a scandi head.
Nowadays, conventional wisdom dictates that the line for switch/spey casting should be about two weights heavier than what is listed on the rod, so a “6-weight” rod should work reasonably well with an 8-weight line. For more conventional overhead casting, it is common for many fishermen to over-line by one weight. From my past experience of making my own shooting heads from DT lines, a 6-weight rod should work well with the first 30 or 35 feet of a 6-weight DT line smoothly connected to Amnesia running line. So one could take the first 30 feet of a 7-weight DT line (perhaps an old one), connect it to a running line, and be able either to use it as a scandi head for switch/spey casting or for overhead casting. Thus it would be quite feasible to have the delicacy of a DT line, but still be able to switch cast when there is little room for a back-cast, or even cast overhead and easily shoot out running line when desired.