[jpm75]

Hi guys, I need some help. Just got my hands on a very cheap 13ft double hander. Should be able to get my hands on a decent 9/10 reel but I don't have a clue on what type of line I will need. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Regards, John.

[Ben Dixon]

Hi John,

Where will you be fishing and what experience do you have with a two handed rod?


Cheers

Ben

[jpm75]

Hi Ben, most of my fishing will be on the rivers in Ireland, like the Drowes for eg which isn't very wide but it gets quite a good run of early fish from January and grilse later on. As for experience, I have little to none only a few lessons with Glenda Powell, and that is only a few. Any tips?

[Ben Dixon]

Hi John,

Get a shooting head set up, far easier to cast than a full line, better in tight spots and works well at close range too.  I like the MacKenzie DTX heads or the Vision Ace.  What is the rod?

Ben

[jpm75]

The rod is a shakespeare royalty 13ft 9/10#. Just got it on ebay really cheap, hoping it will start me off.

[Ben Dixon]

Get a Mackenzie DTX 42 gram floating head head for it, easier to source than a Vision and better in terms of ability to turn stuff over. 

Where are you in Ireland?

Cheers
Ben

[Hamish Young]

I'll second the suggestion of a MacKenzie DTX head, I've recently acquired a DTX Spey rod and have matched that to one of the DTX heads. The head turns over brilliantly with an assorted selection of tips and copes with tubes no bother, it inspires confidence and I find it super easy to cast.

My Dad has (somewhere in darkest France) a Royalty 14ft and I've previously matched that to a Rio AFS head, in my Dads hands it coped better with a head than a Snowbee 2D line so my guess is that the 13ft rod will be equally happy with a shooting head.

The rod may have been a bargain but spend the money on a good head, it's worth it.

H 

[jpm75]

Cheers Hamish, thanks for the advice. I'm a total novice when it comes to fly fishing for salmon so any advice is welcome.
Thanks again, John.

[jpm75]

Hi Ben, I'm in the north of Ireland, so I can fish most of the rivers here with only a short drive and its only a few hours to fish some of the rivers in the south.