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Back to Basics - The Float Part Two
by Brian Poole
If you're not getting many bites, swap and change your shotting pattern. You'll be surprised at the difference a small adjustment can make. For fishing on the drop, use a waggler which has a thin insert glued into the top of the float. This will allow you to tell when a fish has intercepted the bait on the drop.
When river fishing in summer, always look to fish in the area of the swim which has the strongest flow. When fishing for chub, feed first and then cast. This way you're guaranteed to have your hook bait falling through the water amongst your loose feed. Learn to feed without having to put the rod down. Not only is this more efficient it also enables you to strike at bites which come straight away.
Check balsa floats and float bodies for cracks and chips. Touching them up with a dab of nail varnish will stop them taking on water and becoming less buoyant. When waggler fishing make sure the locking shot are not pushed directly against the float. Leaving a slight gap between the shot either side of the float will help the tackle hang more naturally and result in better bites.
In really deep water, try using a sliding float. As the name suggests, these slide up the line until they hit a stop knot which is set at the depth of the swim. For waggler fishing use a rod which has a through action. This will aid casting and help prevent 'cracking off' on an over zealous strike.
Tip action rods are best for stick floats as they pick up line very quickly on the strike. The soft tip section provides the perfect cushion when you connect with a fish at short range. Ensure you fill the spool of your reel right to the lip. This makes casting easier and when river fishing the line will peel off the spool smoothly while trotting. Also, carry a couple of spare spools with different breaking strains of line so you can choose the right one for the size of fish you expect to catch.
Stick float rigs can be stored on pole winders so you can make a few up before you get on the bank and if you need to change to a bigger float you can do it in seconds. This is also helpful if you suffer from a tangle. If you use float adapters, even completed waggler rigs can be stored on winders. Store the float seperate from the winder and just push it back into the adapter when you want to fish. Always carry a bottle of Tippex, float paint and a black waterproof pen so you can quickly change the colour of the float tip should the light change.
Trap your finger on the spool of your reel occasionally. This will make the float stop temporarily and result in the hook bait rising from the bottom. Roach, in particular, find this motion irresistible. A closed faced reel is hard to beat on windy days. It gives more control and the line can't be blown back over the bail arm because, erm...it hasn't got one!
If you need to fish at distance with a stick float, choose a model that has a Lignum stem. Lignum wood is very heavy so it will outcast other stick floats every time. On rivers which are carrying extra water, use a stick float with a shoulder so you can hold back without it riding up. When fishing a stick float in summer it's best to use a strung out shotting pattern. In warm weather the fish are likely to be feeding up in the water.
If you're fishing with a stick float in an upstream wind, you can lift all of your line off the water and let the breeze form a bow which will allow you to almost hold the float dead still without it going off line. If the river bed is free from snags you can drag up to two feet of line along the bottom providing you use a float with a thick buoyant top.
Don't be afraid to use hi-tech pre-stretched lines for hooklengths. Most of these lines now have a degree of stretch so they're perfectly safe to use on running line rigs. When using a waggler, place at least 75 per cent of the floats capacity around the base otherwise it won't cast well and you'll find yourself undoing tangles for most of the session.
Never loose feed directly in front of you when river fishing. This could force the fish upstream and out of your swim.
If you're getting 'bitted' out, move most of your dropper shot so that they form a bulk which will drop your bait straight to the bigger ones below.
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