Float fishing Part 1
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 31 July 2007 07:52
- Written by Richard Maurins
Prompted by a recent visit to the lower Isla, on a damp and possibly dour fishing day, I noted the locals were interested in the tackle and methods I was using. At one point I had an audience on the bank of nearly double figures watching every move. “Maggots are the way then” inquired one,”but I’ve been using them” replied another. Inspection of their tackle showed some of the answer but also the method of using it showed even more of the problem.
My background was of course fishing in rivers that were only just recovering from years of industrial pollution; game fish did not exist until quite recently. Like many I started as a four year old, fishing under supervision, mostly from my grandmother, who showed the patience that my grandfather, the only other fisher in our family lacked. Fishing stayed with me as all my mates also fished and over the years, with good fortune to work with an international match fishermen, I was taught the finer points of weeding out fish when others might struggle.
This is not meant as a “how to catch” article more as a “have a think and apply your own version of ” type of discussion.
So as not to get bogged down in technicalities I just thought I’d explain what I use and why, like most things in life it may suit some on certain situations.
TACKLE
I believe that a lot of rubbish is written about what is or isn’t a good rod, reel or line. We are all physically different and our styles vary, but I was taught something early on that remains true, the key point is to start with the fish and work backwards. I’ll explain………we probably do this anyway but…look at the quarry, then what size of bait/fly/lure do we think is suitable. Next how do we get it there, i.e. what line/method, then what type of rod and reel do I need to best present the method most successfully.
Now if you’ve ever seen a course fishing match the first thing you will notice is the array of different rods and reels they carry in their “holdalls”, each with a different presentation in mind. Now I’m not advocating “You need five or six rods to catch a Grayling or a Trout”, just sowing the seeds of thought to get a mind set as to why I ended up with what I now consider to be a fine tuned outfit.
My rod is made of carbon, this is because it is light and allows me to stand and fish for several hours without stopping, some times a requirement to get the fish feeding . I use a thirteen foot rod as this gives me the ability to lift and control the line with out it being too unwieldy on smaller rivers.
The reel I prefer is of the centre pin type, though as it’s a modern copy fitted with ball bearings, the purist would say it’s not a “pin” at all. The reason for this choice is what is more important, presentation of the bait. A fly reel is of little consequence really to presentation; it is just a means of holding the line. Often a fish is landed from the line and the reel isn’t touched at all, very different when “trotting” a float. Many anglers use a fixed spool reel with great effect and the closed face reel that were designed as a compromise are also very effective, but for subtle variations of each cast and presentation, I think the skill of using a centre pin is both enjoyable and effective. I guess that most vital of fishing ingredient, confidence comes in to it here.
Lines vary greatly and many an angler has their favourite manufacturer, the key thing when using a stick float, connected with two float rings, top and bottom, is that the line should float. When using a waggler type float, connected to the bottom of the float only, then it can be a line that does sink.
So far all of the float fishing I’ve done on fast moving water has been done with the stick float method, I prefer the waggler for slow moving or still water only. It’s down to control and that word I seem to be using a lot “presentation”. 
I use line of 4 pound breaking strain for all my float fishing, with, when the method and conditions dictate, a finer hook link, this can be as low as one pound breaking strain. The reason for the choice is not personal preference but what size hook I’m using to induce a take. When using hooks as small as size 20, you cannot get 4 pound line to present the bait in a natural manner ( it won’t tie a small enough knot either ). Study to be quite, said Izaak Walton in the first fishing book ever published, he should have added study the way your hook behaves as well. We all know a “skating “ dry looks horrible and fails to impress a large trout, well the same applies under the water as well.
Terminal tackle is a bit like flies, we all have more than we will ever need and a lot seems to be designed to catch anglers rather than their quarry ( I well remember the spinner for sale that was like a Devon minnow but had a naked lady for the body).
Floats should vary in size and material solely so you can vary the amount of weight to get the presentation right .The pretty colours and shapes are more for our eyes (helps if you can see the thing) than for the ability to deceive a fish. Weights should be lead free and in a variety of sizes to aid…(the dreaded “p” word). Finally hooks are to be in a variety of sizes and wire thickness to suit the bait that is to be impaled on them and most importantly, has nothing to do with the size of fish we hope to catch.
There is one more ingredient that I wouldn’t be without and that’s a bait apron, why?, it aids mobility if one spot is not performing, but most of all I usually stand in the river and it holds everything I need so I don’t have to move if I need a new hook or want to change a float.
Bait goes under the rain flap at the bottom, pockets for floats and hooks and things. The orange “stick” on a bit of heavy line is a disgorger and it’s water repellent if it rains.
If you are up to more “presentation”, I’ll ramble on about the methods I choose and why another time.
Richard "Burnie" Maurins ,57, born in Leicestershire and raised on the banks of the River Soar and Grand Union Canal, (well at the time they seemed exotic!), Richard has fished for everything with fins from minnow to marlin and has had letters and articles published in the Angling Times and The National Association of Specialist Anglers magazine. A former "specimen hunter", member of N.A.S.A. and the Tench-fishers group; Richard started fly fishing in Ireland and took a liking to it, mostly on the big southern reservoirs, but has always preferred moving water. He now lives in Inverkeilor, near Arbroath in Scotland with wife Mandy.