About the Author

Joe Rotter

Joe is the "blogger in chief" here at Red's in addition to being our guide service manager and partner here at Red's. He is a father of 3 spunky children his wife Kelly can only be found fishing when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the fish are gobbling up dry flies.

In addition to being a fly fishing junkie, Joe is a hard core bowhunter, is a volunteer Hunter's Eductation Instructor, and loves riding horses with his kiddos. Joe still guides a small part of the time but spends most of his time working on web marketing, travel, and helping customers find the right tools and information for the job.

How to Setup Mono Running Line and a Spey Shooting Head

January 4, 2016

We do A LOT of these at Red's. One of our specialties is setting up custom spey and switch rod systems and as mono- running lines have improved, this means that a lot more setups are being roped up with a mono shooting line.

As a review, see this image that diagrams how the entire system for a spey shooting head works: In the video below we'll show you how to either setup or replace your old worn out vinyl running line.

What Mono Running Line Will Do For You:

Shoots further
Same distance requires less effort
Makes cramped or tough casts easier
Affordable (replace your old line and buy an extra)

MONO Running Lines Available at Red's Fly Shop

Both are great products, the OPST is considered the premium running line but the RIO Slick Shooter is very good and half the price. Up to you.

A good job
very good job
Great resource thanks! How much running line are you loading on the reel?
I'm using 25-30 m runing, shooting line on the reel.
I want to know more about setup mono running . Please advice me .
I just bought a 13ft 7wt Meiser custom spey rod.. with a grain window of 450-750.. hvng no experience with two handed rods i was going into this unsure if I wanted to get into scandi, skagit, or a longer classic spey set up.. Im sure Ill one day try em all but for now I went with a RIO skagit line in a 525 grain weight (Skagit Max) and the RIO Slick Shooter shooting line... My reel is a Loop Opti-Strike OSTBWF8+250/304.53?1.26?9.6 oz. I spooled everything up and find that I hv lots of extra room on my reel due to not filling it up with a thicker running line and going with the much thinner mono... Have you ever heard of guys buying 2 spools of mono running line and filling the spool up abit more with an additional 100 ft of line or wld you leave the reel looking like it isnt filled.. Id like to see the colors of the orange running line and hv the shooting head fill the ports on the reel .. I had 175 yrds of backing put on the reel.. Wondering if he shld hv used more to achieve a more full spool..I mean..The outer port holes are only half covered by shooting head line and sink tip. I still hv like a half inch before hitting the reel.. wld you fill it or leave it alone.. Cld send picks if you email me.. Whats your opinion??
Good vid, thanks. You mentioned that a small perfection loop is desired. I was recently shown that the means to a really small perfection loop is to tighten the knot by pulling on the standing end of the line (and not the loop). In this vid, the standing end is the line/leader that connects to the fly.
Thanks, great video on explaining proper way of setting up. Thanks