How Are They Hanging? Son of "Float Rubber"

[nottskev]

Now that we know where the float rubbers go, what about the locking shot on wagglers?

Leave a gap? Or place them together? The experts used to advise a gap to let the float fold on striking, but I find gapped shot can knot themselves, especially on fine lines.

A third way, is to set the float up to slide a bit, giving a direct strike, which I like if its feasible in the circumstances, which usually means still or slow water.

Another - heretical, but I like it for some purposes - is to lock the flloat with float-stops or slider knots and put the locking shots down as a bulk.

How do you lock, or not, your wagglers, and why?

 

[tigger]

Now that we know where the float rubbers go, what about the locking shot on wagglers?

Leave a gap? Or place them together? The experts used to advise a gap to let the float fold on striking, but I find gapped shot can knot themselves, especially on fine lines.

A third way, is to set the float up to slide a bit, giving a direct strike, which I like if its feasible in the circumstances, which usually means still or slow water.

Another - heretical, but I like it for some purposes - is to lock the flloat with float-stops or slider knots and put the locking shots down as a bulk.

How do you lock, or not, your wagglers, and why?

I haven't done any waggler fishing on flowing water for yonks now but if using a bulk round the float I always had the weights very close to the float. I have used your heretical method also. I often used a loaded float and used stops to keep it in place, and used as little or sometimes no shot on the line at all depending on circumstances.

 

[Mark Wintle]

The way the locking shots are placed affects the casting and the way the float 'folds' on the strike. The best compromise is a 1/2" gap, certainly not much more.

Fishing with Ivan Marks' protege Phil Coles a couple of years ago was very interesting. He reckoned that the way the shots were distributed made a difference to the way the float sat and cast. Ivan had taught him that a float taking for example 1 BB and 3AAA as locking should have the BB above and the 3AAA below, again with a gap. I tried it when fishing with him and there was a marginal improvement.

 

[Alan Tyler]

I keep telling myself I must do a bit more waggler-ing, and was wondering about a hybrid - anchoring the float between plastic stops, but having an additional short length of line through the lower stop to take the shot, thereby avoiding tin-shot damage to the main line, and expensive fallings-off of said shot as soon as the line is stretched a bit.

I imagine I'm not the first to think of this - does it work, and if not, what goes wrong?

 

[Philip]

Now that we know where the float rubbers go, what about the locking shot on wagglers?

Leave a gap? Or place them together? The experts used to advise a gap to let the float fold on striking, but I find gapped shot can knot themselves, especially on fine lines.

A third way, is to set the float up to slide a bit, giving a direct strike, which I like if its feasible in the circumstances, which usually means still or slow water.

Another - heretical, but I like it for some purposes - is to lock the flloat with float-stops or slider knots and put the locking shots down as a bulk.

How do you lock, or not, your wagglers, and why?

If you use a longish silicon float adapter between the locking shots you can have the best of both worlds..tight locking shot for anti tangle but the float can still fold over easily on the strike

 

[thecrow]

Always lock it in place with the shot tight to the float, I have no idea why its just how I have always done it, there are however some interesting points raised in this thread that someone that doesn't know everything can learn from

 

[thecrow]

Now that we know where the float rubbers go, what about the locking shot on wagglers?

I don't think we do know where float rubbers go Kev, it seems to me that there are many variations and reasons why anglers place them where they do, this thread has also raised some points to learn from that if the reader doesn't already know everything there is to know about angling

 

[markcw]

I keep telling myself I must do a bit more waggler-ing, and was wondering about a hybrid - anchoring the float between plastic stops, but having an additional short length of line through the lower stop to take the shot, thereby avoiding tin-shot damage to the main line, and expensive fallings-off of said shot as soon as the line is stretched a bit.

I imagine I'm not the first to think of this - does it work, and if not, what goes wrong?

that sounds interesting, it is similar to a link leger set up but with a waggler
and the shot underneath, you could alter the shot,adding or subtracting as circumstance dictate during the day without damaging main line,
would the shotted line wrap around the main line on the cast though ?

 

[Ray Roberts]

I do it the same way Mark describes with a swivel type float adaptor and it works for me.

Earlier someone mentioned fixing the float with stops, I have used a variant of this idea for fishing close to marginal reeds and also between lily pads where I want the float to follow the shot rather than lead it. I put a short tail rubber on the line then push the base of the unloaded float into this. I fish this with a bulk and one dropper and it works a treat.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Mark Wintle]

I have experimented with very fine silicone rubber on the line to pinch the shots onto, especially in the early days of tin shot but since the availability of Anchor double-cut no longer bother. It does make it easier to move the float when needed which is useful on a tidal river.

The best method for getting the float to 'fold' was shown to me a very long time ago by Witham expert Ernie Wilde who whipped an eye on the float with a very small swivel trapped by it. The strike is better this way but it's best for moderate range open water casting as not as accurate or far-ranging as locked shot without the swivel - accurate casting is the name of the game for fishing tight against far bank trees. I still have one or two wagglers made up this way.

 

[sam vimes]

I can't claim to be the most prolific user of wagglers. However, on my stillwater forays this year, I've been messing around with float stops used in conjunction with float adaptors and an olivette instead of shot.

 

[peter crabtree]

If I'm using heavier wagglers I attach them with a link swivel, thus allowing them to fold back easily on the cast and the strike...



Regarding the locking it depends on the venue. If I'm casting across a canal or narrow river my locking bulk will be around the float's base. That way the business end of the rig flies behind the float making it less likely to snag the opposite bank.
On big venues like the Thames or a reservior I prefer to utilise a sliding rig ( also with a link swivel )with a float stop above the float and my bulk at the business end and I cast overhead, sea fishing style. This way the bulk gives good casting weight and the rig should hit the water beyond the float if feathered down carefully. It also gets the bait down quicker hopefully avoiding the pesky bleak...

 

[tigger]

I use the float adapters PC but I use the slightly different version comprising of a swivel and rubber tubing.

 

[nottskev]

I have experimented with very fine silicone rubber on the line to pinch the shots onto, especially in the early days of tin shot but since the availability of Anchor double-cut no longer bother. It does make it easier to move the float when needed which is useful on a tidal river.

The best method for getting the float to 'fold' was shown to me a very long time ago by Witham expert Ernie Wilde who whipped an eye on the float with a very small swivel trapped by it. The strike is better this way but it's best for moderate range open water casting as not as accurate or far-ranging as locked shot without the swivel - accurate casting is the name of the game for fishing tight against far bank trees. I still have one or two wagglers made up this way.

Yes - the swivel idea does make the float "looser" on the strike, and I have a few floats like that. All the little whip wagglers I have, for example, have swivels in the eye of the base. The main drawback seems to be that you lose the quick change facility, unless you involve further bits of attachment.

I was wondering why you say the swivel attachment casts less accurately. I can't quite see how the same float and shot, gapped as you suggested, would cast any differently if you use a swivel whipped to the float or a push on adapter. Why the difference?

 

[peterjg]

Crow, I humbly apologise. No need to get shirty, I was just having a little jest. I also like to fiddle with my tackle .....

 

[thecrow]

Crow, I humbly apologise. No need to get shirty, I was just having a little jest. I also like to fiddle with my tackle .....

As I have done very little "serious" float fishing on running water but had noticed in pictures that different anglers positioned float rubbers in different places I wondered why it could be, very few good anglers that I know do things differently for no reason and some of the answers on both this and the other thread have explained things to me for filing away with other stuff that I continue to learn even after 60 years of fishing, in my experience even a very small fiddle can make a big difference to the fish on different days.

 

[peterjg]

Crow, absolutely right. A little adjustment can make a massive difference. Yes, I'm also definately still learning and that's what makes fishing so fascinating. For example, only yesterday while legering (stillwater) for roach I shortened the hooklength by only a few inches and it made all the difference - though next time conditions might be different? I've been fishing since the early 1960s and yet there is still so much to learn.

 

[Mark Wintle]

I was wondering why you say the swivel attachment casts less accurately. I can't quite see how the same float and shot, gapped as you suggested, would cast any differently if you use a swivel whipped to the float or a push on adapter. Why the difference?

You notice the difference when you have to cast to a far bank bush on rivers like the upper Thames and Stour. In open water it doesn't matter but casting accurately to an exact distance the float behaves differently when the bulk is a short way apart from the float and the float doesn't fly the same way. It's one of those things that I could demonstrate in 5 minutes on the right water. The sad truth is that I can't get the accuracy anymore - my eyes can't follow the float and bait to the inch perfect accuracy needed now. In open water it's easy to over-cast and pull back but up to a bush over cast and you're in the bush or cast short and no bites. We used to call it fishing up the rat holes and it was quite a skill.

 

[mikench]

I'll ask my Chinese friend , Won Hung Lo , what he does !

 

[nottskev]

You notice the difference when you have to cast to a far bank bush on rivers like the upper Thames and Stour. In open water it doesn't matter but casting accurately to an exact distance the float behaves differently when the bulk is a short way apart from the float and the float doesn't fly the same way. It's one of those things that I could demonstrate in 5 minutes on the right water. The sad truth is that I can't get the accuracy anymore - my eyes can't follow the float and bait to the inch perfect accuracy needed now. In open water it's easy to over-cast and pull back but up to a bush over cast and you're in the bush or cast short and no bites. We used to call it fishing up the rat holes and it was quite a skill.

Fair enough. I've fished in rivers - and canals, too - where you needed to get right up to the far bank trees and bushes, but I've not used floats with swivels for that, so never made the comparison. I'm quite happy to accept the findings of those who have!