stick float

[basha(mark).]

whilst I was fishing yesterday 2 guys came down set up with stick float in mind and we got talking.they'd previousely been down a few days before and asked me the question how do you determine the depth.

that's an easy one if your wading because you can gauge the depth easily by looking at the water height on your waders.my solution is specially on faster running water is judgement yourself,in any case the fish will tell you what depth you need to be.the sure far way is to just change the depth accordingly,if you don't trip on the run through then go deeper.if your float drags on the run through or disappears then shorten the lengh between hook and float.its all trial and error and although you can plummet certain swims on very fast and pacey water,somewere like asenby were I fished yesterday,the bottom is so up and down,that there is no set depth.in deeper water use a plummet slightly heavier than that of say the lower tees.

its all about were the fish want it.ive explained on other threads about long trotting or strett pegging,this comes into its own on such waters as the depth is determined by the angler holding the rod back on the run through,catering for all depths by holding the float back and letting the bait rise or vise versa,

shotting patterns are more important than actual depth on pacey water,button hole style been my varied method covering all layers evenly.

this is an ideal post for the likes of shane who is slowly getting into his stick float fishing.let the fish determine the depth and you wnt go far wrong.

[ronny]

Nice one mark, never used a stick float before so I will certainly take this on board mate

Any chance of a run down on shot patterns? Jim explained to me a bit when we went fishing, but I was watching Matt Hayes and he had most shot up the line but a single one near the bottom and he said that shot was to indicate the bite?

[Deleted]

Nice one mate.

Other considerations...in a deep pool with fast flowing water, bulk your shot low down. Also, in such situations trying to get the fish back to your net through the powerful water causes the fish to bounce off, use a 16 or 14 instead of 18 to 20 in these situations.

Small stick floats are great for near bank and shallow work, if your trying to hit the middle, use a larger stick. A shirt button style of shotting works well in most situations, but with a small 6 or 8 near the hook, but you may want to bulk it down to get trough the small dace.

As a rule of thumb, a stick float will have shotting strengths, I go for one bb for every foot of depth.

Don't overhead cast...this will lead to tangles. Do a sideways flick and feather it so the shotting leads the float.

For far bank trots, use a chubber or loafer, or even a peacock waggler. This will provide enough weight to stay adjacent the far bank trees rather than being dragged to mid flow.

It's all about natural presentation. If you have different rates of flow, your float may be going slow than the line between rod tip and float. This will cause your float to drag, making your bait unnatural. You need to constantly mend your line to suit (a tip actioned rod will help with this).

Sometimes in cold conditions it pays to present your bait over depth but hold bak the float, lift your bait off the deck and slowing it right down, giving the fish plenty of time to take. I do this new features where I expect a bite as well.

A centrepin or closed face provides a good reel for trotting, but modem open face reels are just as good. One problem might be when you finger the spool to strike, and then click the bail arm over...this can cause a moment of slack which loses a fish. With practice you can avoid this, but this is not an issue with centre pins or closed face reels.

Use floating line...I like drennan float fish in about 3.2lb or so.