Weighting a Float Rig

The weighting of a float rod is the full set of sinkers placed on the line. Sinkers do two jobs. They help the bait reach the depth the fishing conditions call for within the expected time and hold the bait at a set level, and, since they make up a certain share of the rig's total weight, they also help cast the rig a certain distance. Besides its main functions, the weighting often also gives the bait a certain speed and path of movement in the water. In other words, the weighting, or more precisely how it is spread along the rig, helps or supports a particular kind of bait presentation. It is also worth noting that a rig may have no weighting as such at all. For example, when fishing the shoreline surf for wary roach and crucian carp at a depth of 10-40 cm, the rig might look like this. A thin line, the smallest float (quite often an ordinary match is used instead of a float), and a hook with bait. The baits used most often are bloodworm, worm, a bit of bread crust, or a grain of pearl barley or corn. The bait almost always sits on the bottom or is slowly dragged along it. If you are using bloodworm or a similar light bait, you have to add a small tell-tale shot that lies on the bottom and anchors the rig. If you are using corn or another relatively big and heavy bait, the bait itself does the job of the tell-tale shot.

When fishing for carp, crucian carp or roach in 'managed' waters at shallow depth and in calm weather, you have to use very light rigs so as not to spook the fish. In this case very light rigs are used, and once again corn, worm, pearl barley or some other bulky bait does the job of the tell-tale shot.

The cases above used to be exceptions, but now, since so many 'carp anglers' have 'sprung up', they have become quite common in practice.

As the literature has said more than once, when building a rig it is important to settle, first, on the minimum rig weight that can be cast accurately to the chosen spot and that lets you carry out the necessary repeatable manipulations. Second, it is very important to spread the weighting along the rig so as to give the bait the right kind of movement (or, on the contrary, to keep the bait still). Third, when fishing in the wind, a rig quality such as resistance to wrapping and tangling becomes important.

These days relatively few people use heavy weighting in the form of a single sinker or a sinker with a tell-tale shot. Such rigs are typical for fishing with static baits lying on the bottom, for big fish on big baits in relatively shallow water, and also for pole fishing, with, conversely, very light rigs in still water or very heavy rigs in strong current near the bottom. The same stripped-down rigs are used for speed fishing for bleak or roach, or other small fish. By speed fishing we mean here fishing at a rate of at least two or three fish a minute. In all other cases rigs with distributed weighting are used. We have discussed the options for distributed weighting more than once when looking at specialised rigs for one kind of fishing or another and at rig presentation technique, so there is no point repeating ourselves. The most common rig weighting options are shown in fig. 1: 1 - 'universal', 2 - 'falling', 3 - for great depths or heavy baits, 4 - 'bottom'.

It makes sense to touch briefly on some of the most typical practical difficulties anglers run into when using one or another way of distributing weighting on the rig.

The first thing every angler runs into is the quality of sinkers and choosing and matching them correctly for a specific rig.

Sinkers are divided into fixed and sliding ones. Fixed shot weighing up to a few grams is standardised by weight worldwide and has its own numbering, which comes from hunting shot, which sinkers were traditionally made from in the past. Since not all our 'float anglers' are familiar with it, I will give the European numbering for the most common weights of split shot with a single slot for the line.

The lightest sinkers are made as thin cylinders with a slot for the line along the axis. The following numbering is used for them.

It should be noted that, all other things being equal, it is better to use round shot, since it tangles the line less.

The quality of shot depends on the hardness of the lead and the shape of the cut. The worst fixed shot is made from hunting shot - it is too hard. But if you melt down hunting shot and add roughly the same amount of pure lead, you get just what you need.

Quite rarely in float fishing practice are sinkers used that are made from a soft putty filled with heavy tungsten powder. You can roll any sinker out of this putty as easily as out of plasticine. The bad thing is that putty sinkers hold well on cords and braided lines, but not on monofilament. However, if you place a putty sinker on the line above any shot or knot, it holds on it quite satisfactorily.

Good shot is easy to pinch onto the line with your fingers and just as easy to open with a fingernail. At the same time, the shot does not slide along the line on its own while fishing. Good shot can be moved along the line by hand with a bit of effort. This is needed to change the rig setup right in the middle of fishing.

If you need sinkers heavier than two grams, the heavy fixed sinkers shown in fig. 2 are very good, especially if they are made of tungsten alloy. The line runs through tubing. The best tubing is silicone.

Sliding sinkers are made from hard lead or even tungsten. Otherwise the holes in the sinkers quickly deform as they knock against each other, against the stopper knots and other extra parts of the rig. To cushion the knocks, short pieces of insulation are threaded onto the line between the sinkers. Olive-shaped sinkers with a piece of tubing running through them are very good.

It should be noted that sliding sinkers really only make sense on heavy rigs weighing at least ten grams, because the hole clogs up one way or another and the sinker starts twisting the line just like a fixed sinker, and to change the setup of the rig you have to move the stopper knots, which damages the line. All in all, 'the game isn't worth the candle'.

Storing sinkers is also no small matter. Split shot should be kept separately in the compartments of a special box or even in separate boxes. This applies above all to the smallest sinkers. Each compartment of the box should definitely be labelled with the weight of the sinkers, then putting rigs together will be much easier and quicker. Sliding sinkers are best stored either in little bags or with short pieces of wire or thick line pushed through the hole. Otherwise the holes in the sinkers will clog up from the sinkers knocking against each other during transport.

Fig. 1.1 shows the classic and most common arrangement of sinkers on a rig. Fig.1.3 shows a light rig for fishing in the shallows or with a large bait at a small depth (up to 2.5 m). Fig. 1.2 shows a rig for fishing in calm conditions with a falling bait. Fig.3 shows a rig for fishing in a strong head wind or crosswind, when most of the weight is placed on the float keel to prevent tangles.