This weekend saw me out in search of Silver though unfortunately the Salmon had different ideas but thats fishing. It did however give me a great opportunity to spend more time using Guidelines new PT 4D Multi Tip system. The two days saw me fishing wide open wader lower down the river and more mid size waters further up the system. Typically Irish April weather played its part and gave everything from warm sunshine, heavy rain and howling upstream winds at times. I couldn’t think of better conditions to get to grips with the 4D system, trying out different combos on different rods. Words & images by Kieran Conlon –
Guideline Power Team Ireland.
The new Power Taper 4D Multi Tip Shooting head I think is the ultimate interchangeable shooting head system. The combinations work great straight out of the box as per the body/Tip guide but it’s so much more than this and can be really customized depending on your fishing requirements or personal casting preferences. On the faster rods such as the Lxi T-Pac going up a belly size and down a tip weight can give awesome results giving wicked line speed and great for tight spots, windy conditions and max distances with the shorter 15′ tips. Also great when your deep wading.
For example the 12’9 8/9 Lxi T-Pac combined with 26 gram belly and 15′ 9 gram tips is a great combo when conditions get tough or if you like a little more load on your rod. Produces wicked line speed for very little effort.
The 26gram belly with 12 gram 18 foot tips on the 13’9 9/10 LXi T-Pac is real treat to cast and fish with giving fantastic presentation but again don’t be afraid to try the 29gram belly if you want a bit more load and again go down a tip weight to the either the 9 or 11 gram 15 tip.
The little 12′ 7/8 Elevate matched to a 20gram floating belly and 15′ 9 gram tips is also a combo that works real nice. I have used tip right down to 15′ S2/S4. This will be ultimate summer set up for the small to medium size rivers in lower water conditions. It will easily handle the faster tips too though you may need a roll cast or higher lift to get it up first especially when wading deep but man does it fly.
These lines are not just great casting lines but fantastic fishing lines. They track great in the water and maintain a great belly in the line. The slightly thicker profile means that when you have multiple current speeds hitting the line it doesn’t get dragged out of shape so much. Makes for great contact and control of the fly through out the drift. When a fish hits you’ll know about it straight away. The combination of three bellies and 7 tips especially in the higher line ratings mean you’ll cover every condition from the very start of the season till the end.
Coupled with the potential to reduce or increase the overall length by 3 feet by switching between the 15’ & 18’ tips (for 26gram bellies and up) is just going to make life so much easier and no need for a scissors. Of course having a graduation of 4 densities means it’l be easier to bring up to surface and you’ll have that direct contact between you and fly. With this system the possibilities are nearly endless and I can see a lot of experimentation to be done this season.
Words & images by Kieran Conlon
Guideline Power Team Ireland