FLOAT FISHING
Part Two - Basic Stillwater Waggler Fishing
I'm making some general assumptions here about where and when you are going to fish. Firstly I'm assuming that it is a 'mixed' fishery containing your everyday British coarse fish such as roach, rudd, perch, bream, tench, etc, rather than a commercial carp fishery. I'll deal with carp fisheries as a separate topic in another article because the method for these, though much the same in principle, needs a few amendments to the basic rig.
Secondly I'm assuming for the moment that you are fishing in the warmer months of the year when the fish are most active, rather than the middle of winter when the most experienced of coarse anglers are likely to be struggling for a bite.
In part 1 I covered the basic kit required to go waggler fishing on a stillwater. Now in part 2 I will cover how to set up a waggler rig for general stillwater use and start fishing with it.
Selecting Your Swim
First thing to do on arriving at a fishery is to choose your swim, which is the term used to describe the area in the water where you will be casting your tackle and bait. Ideally you will be seeking water between three and six feet in depth. Fish will be in water both shallower and deeper than this but any shallower than 3 feet means you are likely to spook fish with constant casting and retrieving of the float, any deeper and the float rig itself becomes difficult for the inexperienced angler to handle with any efficiency.
If at all possible choose a swim without any obstructions, like bushes or trees, behind or above where you will be casting from. These will hinder your casting. You are going to be using an overhead cast so make sure you have enough room. Save the tight swims until you are reasonably proficient.
What Is a Waggler Float?
OK, I've mentioned the style of float we are going to be using several times now, so I had better tell you what a 'waggler' float actually is. Very simply, it's a float that you attach to your line by the bottom end only. The float just 'waggles' about on your line, hence the name.
Wagglers
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In a tackle shop you will be faced with an almost endless array of waggler floats in all shapes and sizes, called by almost as many commercial names. But if you look closely you will see that they are all based on only two varying aspects of design and therefore there are only four basic styles.
Firstly, wagglers are either 'straight' or 'bodied'. Straight wagglers are slim stick shapes, the same width all along their length. They are generally made from peacock quills, sarcandas reed or plastic. Bodied wagglers have an additional bulbous body at the base of the float, usually made from balsa, that aids its stability in windy conditions.
Secondly wagglers either have an 'insert' tip or they don't, which means that the painted tip is either the same thickness as the main body of the float or it has a thinner insert. The purpose of a thin insert tip is to make the float more 'sensitive' to the bite of a fish as it is easier for a fish to pull under than a standard thick tip. The disadvantage is that it is more difficult to see clearly at any distance.
Therefore, from the two design styles you get the four basic waggler patterns:
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The standard tip straight waggler
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The insert tip straight waggler
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The standard tip bodied waggler
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The insert tip bodied waggler
Every waggler float you see will be a minor variation on these four basic float designs. For the new fisherman in our scenario I recommend that you use a standard bodied waggler that takes 2AAA or 3AAA of shot. This float will cope more than adequately with all of the conditions you are likely to encounter. It will provide enough weight to cast easily up to five or six rod's length out, it will ride the surface chop caused by a stiff breeze and it will be easy to see.
On this note, I would recommend that you buy four floats that are all the same apart from their tip colour. Get two with red or orange painted tips and two with black painted tips. The background reflection of the water you are fishing into will dictate the tip colour to be used on the day. If the reflection is the light coloured sky, the black tipped float will be easiest to see clearly, if the background reflection is dark, like tree reflections, a red tipped float will show up better. Having two of each colour gives you a spare if by chance you lose one.
Setting Up Your Waggler Rig
Put your rod together ensuring that the line guides are aligned. Attach your reel to your rod at the top of the handle where it joins the butt ensuring the reel spool lines up with the rod first line guide on the rod. Most rods have reel seats now that automatically set your reel in the correct place. Open the bale-arm of the reel and thread the line through all the line guides.
Waggler with silicon float adapter and locking shot in position
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The waggler, we now know, is attached by the bottom end only. At the base of the float there is usually a small eye that you can thread the line through. Alternatively, you can buy silicon float adapters. These are small pieces of tubular silicon rubber that you attach to the line first and then push the float into. The benefit of these is that that you can change floats quickly without breaking down the rest of your rig. Either method is fine, so thread the float onto the line.
Now, we have to add the shot to cock the float. You will need shot in the following sizes and these can usually be purchased in a single multi-size dispenser, although you may have to buy the No.8's separately.
AAA
BB
No. 1
No. 4
No. 6
No. 8
This is an important rule when waggler fishing. The bulk of the split shot, approximately 90 to 95%, is placed right at the base of the float, with the rest in the smaller shot sizes further down the line. This is how to shot and set up a typical 3AAA waggler rig correctly.
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Lock the float on the line by adding two AAA shot, one either side of the float eye. Leave a small gap, approx. ¼ to ½ inch, for the float eye to move in.
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Immediately below the lower of the two AAA shot, add a BB, a No1 and a No4 size shot. This should leave the float requiring a small amount of shot, equivalent to about a No.4, to 'dot it down'. These will be attached towards the hook. Before these final shot can be added you need to do two more things first.
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Take a size 18 ready tied hook to nylon from the packet. You will see that it has a loop tied in it. Using an overhand knot, tie a similar loop in the mainline. Pass the mainline loop through the hooklink loop then pass the hook through the mainline loop. Pull the hooklink right through and pull tight and the two loops should come together in a figure of eight configuration.
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Split shot
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Next you need to plumb the depth of the swim. Attach your plummet to the hook and let it hang below the float. Allow the float to hang about three feet below the tip of the rod. Trap the line just above the reel with the index finger of your hand holding the rod and release the bale arm with your free hand. Swing the plummet into the anticipated fishing area using a gentle underarm cast, closing the bale arm when the plummet hits the water. The float will either sink or lay flat depending on whether it is set too shallow or too deep. Wind the rig back in and adjust the depth of the float by carefully sliding the locking shot up or down as necessary. Repeat the process several times until the exact depth is found. You then need to add approximately two to three inches to the depth to ensure your bait will be on the bottom.
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Now your tackle is set at the correct depth you can add the final couple of shot. Attach a No.6 shot just a fraction below the half distance between the float and the hook and then a No.8 shot a fraction below the half distance between the No.6 shot and the hook.
That should set your float to fish just about right, though you may have to play around with the sizes of the smaller shot to get it perfect as the exact shot required often varies from float to float. You want to end up with about ½ inch of the painted float tip above the water.
Getting set and casting out
So that's it. The float rig is set up and you are ready to fish with it. Now set up the rest of your tackle so that it is close at hand. You need to fish from the sitting position so get yourself comfortable on your chair or box and Insert your rod rest in front of you so that when you place the rod in it with the rod butt resting on your knee the rod tip is just touching the surface of the water. Make sure your landing net is set up (most important, don't wait until a decent fish is on to discover that your landing net is not assembled) and your bait and catapult are easily accessible.
Next, set the drag on your reel. Make sure the anti-reverse switch on your reel is engaged. Hold the line just above the hook and put a good bend in the rod. Loosen the drag until the reel just begins to give line on the slipping spool. This will ensure that any decent fish hooked does not snap your line. Bait your hook with a single maggot and you are ready to cast.
To get your float out it is usual to use a gentle overhead cast. You will need to have mentally noted the area that you plumbed the depth of earlier. There's not much point plumbing one place and fishing another! Your aim now is to cast the float about four or five feet past the point at which you want to fish.
Release the bale-arm and trap the line with the index finger of your hand that is holding the rod. Have the float hanging about three feet below the rod tip. Take the rod tip behind your head so you are looking along the rod butt towards the area you are casting to with your free hand on the end of the rod butt. The rod behind you should be pointing at an angle of about 45 degrees. Smoothly but firmly bring the rod forward and release the line from the reel as the rod comes in front of you. The rod should end up pointing slightly upwards from the horizontal and towards where you are aiming your float.
If you have timed it all right the float will sail out over the water. Just before the float hits the water, slow the line down by gently placing your index finger on the rim of the spool. This will force the hook to overtake the float in the air and land in a straight line on the water with the minimum of disturbance. Close the reel's bale-arm with a turn of the reel handle This will initially take a little practice to perfect but after a while become second nature.
The float is now in the water and about four feet beyond where you plumbed up the depth. Now we need to bring the rig back to the plumbed area and at the same time sink the line between the float and the rod tip. Sinking the line prevents the wind drifting the line and pulling your float out of position. Dip your rod tip under the surface of the water and rapidly give the reel handle three or four turns. This pulls the line under the surface and the float back the four feet or so to where you want to fish. Place the rod in the rest so it remains still and there you are, fishing the waggler. Your hook and bait are just laying on the bottom and waiting for a fish to pick it up.
What you need to do now is attract the fish to the area around your hookbait and get them actively looking for food.
In part 3 of Float Fishing I will show you how to feed correctly to attract and hold fish in your swim, how to identify bites, how to strike, how to play fish and some tips on how to overcome some of the more common problems encountered when stillwater waggler fishing. See you then.
