FLOATER FISHING WITH A FLY ROD

i have just been given a brand new fly rod and reel. i dint like fly fishing but iam thinking of using it to floater fish on the surface in the summer.
i have seen John Wilson do this a few times on T.v and seen him catch 20lb ers.
do any fisheries ban this way of catching them and what weight fly line should i use?
Rigs?
real or partridge fake dog biscuits ?
or a cork ball?

Now you are talking! Use the fake Partridge ones...so much easier!!

As for the rod..I use a 10 foot 8 weight rod if the water contains big fish up to about 20 pounds. If they are bigger, then I would swap to my 9 footer for a 10 weight! Waters that contain fish up to about 10 pounds i would use a 6 weight rod.

Use a reel with plenty of 30 pound backing..u will need it! Make sure it has a good drag system too!

Use an 8 or 10 pound flurocarbon leader of about 8 feet...and thats it...nothing else.

Watch your backcast incase someone is behind you. Thats the reason it gets banned at coarse fisheries normally...because anglers forget that if they cast 20 yards infront of them, they have to have 20 yards clear behind them too!!

Just get them feeding the same way as normal...plenty of free offerings etc. when they are slurping them down, make your first cast. make sure u keep low and cast short until u have the distance correct, then drop the "bait" in amoungst the fish.....now...hold on tight!

E mail if u have any questions!

Hi Jon,

I use a 9 foot 8-weight and a Shimano Ultegra 78 reel. The reel holds 200yds+ of backing, and as Rob suggests, you will need plenty due to the relative softness of a fly rod.

Fish well away from snags and other anglers and you can catch some large fish no problem.

I use normal dog biscuits on a hair and improve bait presentation by tying a poly-ball inside a nylon 'sock' to the hook shank as it keeps the hook level and improves visibility at distance. Trout fishers will know the style as 'suspender' flies.

Great fun, with plenty of fireworks on a good day!

Rob, I never thought of the poly ball idea. I used to varnish the chum mixer after first painting the top orange or yellow. It was like watching a float!...Dead easy fishing The varnish was to stop the mixer taking on water...but the new plastic ones could be painted no probs.

I've caught using chum mixers on a 6 weight setup and had great fun - but they tended to sink fairly quickly - thanks for the tips.

A comment on the mixer becoming waterlogged and sinking - if you are using coloured floating line you can watch the line near the tippet and then strike at the first sign of movement. Strike indicators are made for this purpose although I suppose it's no longer floater fishing.

I've seen a bread fly pattern which looks the bees knees - I'll be trying that one in the summer

Anyone got any other fly patterns that take carp?

Yip...white Dog Nobblers and also the Walker Mayfly Nymph. Its also possible to catch them on big sedges etc on the surface.

Hi Mike,

Try the polyball suspender method. By using dry, drilled mixers, they'll float even when they get waterlogged because the polyball is taking the weight of the hook and there's nothing to pull it under.

In fact, the carp seem to like them better as they sit lower in the water. It also keeps the hook at a better angle in which to prick a taking fish.

One other point the fly line you will use is dictated by the rod. It should be marked on the butt what fly lines it will handle. Although you can go one size higher if a shooting head is used rather that a double taper. The down side to a shooting head isa loss in presentation ie the line tends to crash down rather than settle gently.

Thanks for the tips on flies - I didn't realise lures like the dog nobbler would be successful - learning this will get me trying all sorts of flies.

I'll give the polyball a shot too, though I always feel a fraud when using bait on fly tackle, it sounds a much better method than the dog buiscuit.