floats

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:45 am

can anyone enlighten me on float fishing..

i've not really considered or even thought about it in the past, but i got a tackle box of bits and pieces from lidle (mainly for the forceps, glow sticks and box itself) which contained some different size floats so thought i might as well give them a bash.

what sort of fish would i target and how...if indeed they are any good for sea fishing.

graham

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 10:35 am

geordiesandman wrote:

can anyone enlighten me on float fishing..

i've not really considered or even thought about it in the past, but i got a tackle box of bits and pieces from lidle (mainly for the forceps, glow sticks and box itself) which contained some different size floats so thought i might as well give them a bash.

what sort of fish would i target and how...if indeed they are any good for sea fishing.

graham

Mullet (with freshwater gear), garfish, Bass and Mackerel come to mind. You can either fish deep with a sliding float arrangement or the surface layers, say 1 - 4 ft below the float. Actually you can catch a much wider range of fish (whiting are another local float fishing target round my way) and even Flounders will come to float fishing tactics. Good fun with light gear and well worth a try .... makes a nice change from chucking lead at the horizon.

Member Joined: Feb 11, 2010 Posts: 98

When i were a lad I caught my best coalfish off Blyth harbour using a float set-up- fished just off the edge of the wooden jetty with a single large ragworm. Def worth a try- don't know if the wooden jetty part is still there- haven't been there for at least 25 yrs

Regular Joined: Jul 26, 2009 Posts: 343 Location: Surrey

Float fishing is great fun in the sea. I've caught bass float fishing off a boat. Usually anywhere that has reasonably deep water (piers, rocks) can be floatfished. I have heard of casting a float off a beach for mackeral, but never tried it myself.

Occasional Joined: Oct 03, 2009 Posts: 184 Location: Hants

BFM May 2010 might give you some ideas ....

although PM me for other stuff I've written about float fishing.

Ada

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 6:21 am

thanks all.

when i float fish, i presume te float gets pulled around with any current, does this mean that i'll be pulling it back every few mins, or do i sipmply put the float out and wait for a bite.

also what type of rod to use? my beah caster? bass rod? or a spinning/carp rod?

graham

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 6:45 am

Hi G, if your just dropping it over a pier, you dont need to worry too much about the tide. When i float fish i cast out and let it drift with the tide, only reeling in when its too close to the beach or pier. As for the rod, i use the lightest rod i have, (taking into account the weight of fish you expect to catch) and the weight your casting.) This means you can hold onto the rod, and get that buzz when a fish bites and tries to run. And you get a decent scrap as you reel them in, something which is lacking with a 15ft beachcaster. I would go for the spinning rod, you will be more in contact with the fish, and enjoy it more, I know i did last week at Brid, so much so, im doing it at holyhead this weekend. Good luck, and have fun. Cheers...Mick

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 7:01 am

what about rod length?

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 7:06 am

Hi, i used a 9ft spinning rod, this time i'm only using a 6ft spinning rod, (that should be fun) big grin

you can use up to 12ft with no problems, If in doubt, take both and see which suits you best for float fishing. Cheers...Mick

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:44 am

To get a bit of distance when casting a float, use a small plastic bottle part filled with water as your float. Small fizzy pop bottles are good as they have a collar on the neck to tie to.

Occasional Joined: Oct 03, 2009 Posts: 184 Location: Hants

"To get a bit of distance when casting a float, use a small plastic bottle part filled with water as your float. Small fizzy pop bottles are good as they have a collar on the neck to tie to."

Or make your own half decent jobbies ......

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:37 pm

brilliant......

next question then....why the diferent shapes?

Occasional Joined: Oct 03, 2009 Posts: 184 Location: Hants

There are good reasons for the different shapes,
but the fact is that their applications and sensitivities are not as crucial as when applied to coarse fishing situations.

In the sea, wave action dictates a high 'shoulder' so that they don't keep disappearing on crests of waves.

In very calm conditions, I actually use a waggler/antenna with say 5 SSG shot which is very sensitive. This works very well off my home Hayling beach where there is minimal tide.
I've had bream, wrasse, mackies, garfish, pollack, red mullet and gurnards on windless summer evenings.

The 1 - 5oz sliders (as per 'how to make them') are developed specifically for boat breaming at nearly slack to slack tide, when other anglers are struggling to get any movement with traditional downtide gear (they should be using small baited feathers at these times!).
- see this month's Boat Fishing Monthly!
With the big sliders you can fish up to 60' comfortably.

An interesting adaption from 'carpers' is my use of a controller float. Excellent when scad and mackerel are too close for 'feathers' to work.
This is a very common situation at Selsey on summer evenings; the fish can be a rod's length out .... you got to get used to the float sailing sideways instead of going under!

Floats work well on South Parade Pier -

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 10:17 am

great, that makes perfect sense.... i presume then with a setup lie the upside down float, youd simply drop it into the water, a few feet out.??

Occasional Joined: Oct 03, 2009 Posts: 184 Location: Hants

If they're 'boiling', overcast slightly and bring it back towards the shoal.

It'll usually get attacked as you're setting it!

big grin