Float Tackle

Float fishing is a special kind of pleasure. You sit there, eyes glued to the float, impatiently waiting for it to go under so you can strike. But float tackle demands a certain amount of know-how from an angler if the fishing is going to be successful. You need to know which float to choose, how the float should be shotted, how the float should be attached to the line (since there are several ways of attaching it), and how to adjust the depth of the rig depending on the depth of the water.

Here is some material on float tackle and types of floats. If anyone has more knowledge to add, please share.

The Many Faces of the Float

Vladimir Struev ( Rybolov-Elite No. 2 / 1998 )

The winter season is drawing to a close, and it's time to think seriously about the summer season. From spring until late autumn, the float remains the constant companion of many anglers on ponds, lakes, rivers and canals.

The float is a very ancient invention, devised by our angler ancestors so that they could see a bite in time and strike. Gradually the float's appearance changed, and ever newer materials were used to make it: balsa wood, goose quill, reed stems, black poplar and so on — but the principle behind it has survived to this day.

The requirements for a float were set out quite fully back in the last century by the academician of Russian angling, Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneev: "A good float must be stable, that is, it must not fall on its side in a strong wind or waves; it must be clearly visible despite ripples; and, of course, it must be sturdy and not become waterlogged. Any float that meets these conditions can be properly balanced, that is, made so sensitive that it will register the slightest touch of a fish on the bait".

It is safe to say that the modern float has lost none of these qualities as it has been improved. From a simple piece of bark it has turned into an elegant product, it has become functional, that is, easy to control, and for every fishing situation today you can find dozens of models in the most varied shapes. A true float-fishing professional will have hundreds of models in his arsenal, each of them intended for a particular spot and fishing conditions, that is, for a specific depth, current, species of fish, bait and so on. As a rule, floats of the same shape but different weights make up entire series.

Since this article is aimed at those who are only just learning the basics of fishing, we will talk about the most common float shapes.

.. It would seem nothing could be simpler: there's a rod, a line, some kind of float. Put on a maggot, a worm or some plant bait and cast your rig into the river — if there are fish, they'll definitely bite. Maybe they will, but if the fish is wary, it may hold the bait in its mouth for a moment and spit it out, and you won't notice a thing, because your float turned out to be too crude for such delicate fishing.

Back when my friends and I were still 10-year-old boys, we often rode our bikes to Saltykovka outside Moscow and pulled out small red and silver crucian carp at Serebryany Pond. Each of us took along a two-section bamboo rod and a "Young Angler's Kit" — a double plastic winder with two rigs wound on it, consisting of line, split shot, No. 3.5 hooks and hollow plastic floats.

One of them was somewhat longer and at the bottom, where it was attached, had the shape of a long cone, while the other was oval. That was when I noticed that the first float registered a bite more clearly than the second. The whole point was that when pulled, the cone-shaped float had to overcome less water resistance than the oval one. The difference may have been quite small, but it was noticeable. That was the first time I understood that the shape of a float can matter a lot for successful fishing.

There is no such thing as a universal float. For example, you'll like the one that shows a cautious crucian bite in a pond, but it will be completely useless in a current — it will start to sink when it gets caught in eddies or under the pull of the river flow.

A float's sensitivity depends largely on whether it is fixed to the line at one point (A) or several (B). With sharp, confident bites, when the float dives under the water, this isn't so important, but if the fish bites cautiously (which happens much more often), float A will be far less sensitive than float B.

This will be especially noticeable if the surface of the water is restless, rippled or choppy on a windy day.

The same can be said about controlling the rig — float B lets you work the bait while still seeing the bite clearly, which can't be said of float A (fig. 1).

Now let's classify floats according to fishing conditions and talk about each of them separately.

Functionally, floats can be divided into the following types:

• - floats for catching small fish;
• - floats for fishing in still water;
• - floats for fishing in a current;
• - floats for long-distance casting;
• - floats for live-bait fishing.

But before we start going through each category, let's agree on terminology (fig, 2).

The signalling part of the float that the angler sees while fishing is called the antenna.

The floating part, the body, balances the entire load of the rig (sinker, hook). It may be fitted with a small ring for the line to pass through.

The lower part of the float, the keel, provides its stability. The line is attached to the keel with silicone tubing. The lowest piece of tubing should be long enough to extend from the keel onto the line, so that the float does not tangle when the rig is cast.

FLOATS FOR CATCHING SMALL FISH

The smallest floats are used for catching bleak, roach, perch and other fish at shallow depths, not far from the shore (fig. 3).

Bleak can also be caught on light tackle from a boat with a short drop of up to one and a half meters. Thanks to the low weight of the float and sinkers, the baited hook sinks slowly through the water column, as if gliding, which is especially attractive to this fish. Floats of this type are designed for a load, that is, the total weight of the sinkers and hook, of 0.05 to 0, 85 g.

With a normal load only the antenna is visible above the water (fig, 4).

This applies to almost all types, except floats for live-bait fishing. For fishing with light floats, short two-to-four-meter rods with a fixed rig (when the line is tied directly to the rod tip) are used.

FLOATS FOR FISHING IN STILL WATER

These are used mainly for fishing in ponds and lakes. They can also be used in a very weak current, usually at depths of more than one and a half meters. The main external forces that act on the float and bother the angler in this situation are the wind and the ripple it raises. Hence the requirements for such a float: the smallest possible area of antenna sticking out above the water, that is, minimal windage, and the lowest possible body resistance as the float moves through the water column, that is, minimal resistance to the fish's bite. The best body shape is long and spindle-shaped (fig.5).

The load for such floats is from 0.3 to 3 g. They are used for catching roach, perch, bream, crucian carp and other species. On a bite, such a float moves easily down or up in the water, when a bream sucking in the bait lifts the hook and sinker, and just as easily moves sideways when a crucian carp pulls. In this case it is better to use a fixed rig, but a running rig (a rod with a reel) can also be used.

FLOATS FOR FISHING IN CURRENT

While in a pond or lake the float works in a relatively calm environment, in current it is constantly affected by water streams, whirlpools and eddies. The same forces act underwater on the rig along its entire length, bending the line with the sinkers into an arc, which means that, though slightly, they constantly pull the float down.

To make it easier for the float to withstand all these loads while performing its main function as a clear bite indicator, it is given a more barrel-like shape, which makes it hard for wind and current to lay it on its side, like a roly-poly toy (fig. 6).

A larger diameter than that of a still-water float keeps it from sinking in a whirlpool or eddy. The thickness of the antenna is not as important as when fishing on a lake or pond, but the keel should be longer. This gives the float extra stability and makes it more controllable. The load capacity range is very wide, from 0.20 to 30 g. Current floats can be used with both a fixed rig and a running rig. We will only note that in the first case it is easier for the angler to control the rig and strike the fish in time. But a rod with a reel also has its advantages in some cases.

By the way, there is one more type of float, for deep rivers or canals with a strong current, The antenna and keel of such a float are most often a continuation of its body (fig. 7).

The float is attached to the line in two places: the line is passed through the ring in its lower part and clamped with a rubber ring just below the antenna, This is a highly controllable float that is well visible on the water surface. It is best to fish it with a rod and reel, since such tackle is designed for both long casts and long drifts. In world practice such a float is used together with Bolognese or Nottingham rods. In the future we will pay special attention to these rigs, as well as to the English rod, with which floats for long-distance casting are used.

FLOATS FOR LONG-DISTANCE CASTING

When on a large body of water, river or canal the habitats of big fish - the channel edge, a ditch, etc. - are located far from the shore, floats for long-distance casting should be used. As a rule, these are heavy designs that allow you to deliver the bait more than 20 meters from the shore, and precisely to the fish's presumed holding spot, These are, as a rule, sliding floats fixed on the line with a stop knot (fig. 8).

A thickened metal keel is used to add weight. Usually the load capacity of such floats is indicated by a double figure, for example, 5 + 2 g (5 g is the weight of the weighted keel, 2 g is the weight of the rig). A running rig with a spinning reel is used for fishing.

FLOATS FOR LIVE-BAIT FISHING

For this case, fairly massive floats are used, as a rule barrel-shaped (fig. 9).

Their main purpose is to hold the live bait at a certain depth. On a bite, a live-bait float will not frighten the predator. As a rule, such floats are loaded to 2/3-3/4 of the body and fitted with a large, highly visible antenna with a thickening at the tip in the form of an oval, a ball, etc. They are fixed on the line with rubber rings or attached as sliding floats with a stop knot. In the second case, the float's keel should have a ring. These are the general approaches to the shape and functional purpose of a float. Perhaps this information will help you choose the right model for specific fishing conditions.

FLOAT COLOR

Which antenna colour to choose is entirely up to you. One angler sees red better, another yellow, a third green. On top of that, fishing conditions also affect whether the antenna is visible or not. On sunlit water red or black shows up better, on an overcast day green or red, against a dark bank white. The most common colours are red and yellow-green. Well-known companies make floats with removable antennas or produce special markers you can use to paint the antenna the colour you need, and after fishing restore the original colour by simply wiping off the paint.

Recently, special attachments for floats for night fishing have appeared on the shelves of our shops. Usually these are capsules of 3x2.5 mm or 4x39 mm. If you slightly bend one until it cracks, the chemical ingredients inside react and the capsule starts to glow a fluorescent yellow-green.

The glow lasts for 30 hours, so it is more than enough for one night. There are also special floats designed for use with these attachments (fig. 10).

Of course, it would take more than one article to describe the many shapes and functions of floats for different kinds of fishing. The subject of floats will also come up in articles devoted to particular kinds of fishing. Given that the fishing tackle market in Russia is still not as developed as we would like, and good floats are hard to get not only in the provinces but in big cities too, in one of the upcoming issues of the magazine "Рыболов" we will explain how and from what you can make a float with your own hands.