Sensitive float fishing technique?

[theartist]

I find this time around in my fishing hobby ( 3rd time 6 - 15 , 48 - 54 , 57 onwards ) I am paying much more attention to reading and thinking about a way to consistently catch on a canal whereas my previous technique was just to throw a very few casters over the float once a minute - now that can sometimes catch a lot of fish !
)

Don't be surprised if you go back to doing this, sometimes the new fangled ways aren't always as good as what you already know. If it used to work it still will, I'd fish maggots on a canal as the bigger fish the caster will be selective for may take a while to hone in on your feed and maggots will get bites from everything, you can always try caster if there's too much small stuff feeding on maggot

Groundbait can work holding bream but often it wont, bread is just as good as they love it if bream are in the area try a bread attack. I never bother with GB and I do ok on the canal, preffering instead to flavour the maggots. It's the feeding that matters and you've got that right.

Canals can switch off though for no reason and they also should be treated like rivers so to consistently catch you need to know the better swims and certain times of year and use them. Even the best match anglers will struggle drawing a duff peg on a canal. Try new ideas but don't be disheartened if you go back to the old tried and trusted

 

[nottskev]

My laziness in plumbing up is largely caused by my preference to fish overdepth or up in the water. I never use a dumpy pellet waggler.

There's a lot to be gained and nothing to be lost by finding the depth of the water in front of you. Most of the time, it's the only way of having a look around under the surface. (And even blokes who say I don't plumb up on moving water, I just guestimate, run through and then adjust til float doesn't drag are plumbing up - they're just not using a plummet!)

You can gain useful information by finding out how the water shelves away from you and how the depth changes to left or right. Finding the contours of your swim is a vital step towards judging where fish are likely to be or will be happy to congregate, influencing where you fish and feed and letting you fish at an exact depth or a known amount overdepth or off the bottom.

I know you're not a user of those cumbersome pole things (!), but once you try one with a plummet on, it's an eye-opener to see how you can map the depths of your swim and set your float precisely. It's not so easy with rod and line, but equally important.

You don't have to use a plummet - although for some jobs a bit of weight does help - and a large shot on a bit of rubber band or pinched on the hook, or a bottom shot that registers clearly on the float will let you see the depth without causing disturbance.

Most often, anglers speak of plumbing THE depth - as if there's only one. But in most swims the bottom goes up and down, often in ways you wouldn't predict, and it's better to check the depth methodically at several points, not in one dunk.

If you fish the same place or swims regularly, trial and error experience will give you an idea how deep to set your float, but there's no substitute for actually finding out. I quite understand the urge to get set up and get fishing as soon as possible, but it can be one of the most worthwhile ways to spend 5 minutes. You'll find over time innumerable correlations between depths, contours and fish: crucians you only catch if your bait is placed just at the bottom of the little ledge; roach that only bite if your bait is 1' off the bottom; bream that will settle down better on a big flat bit; tench that feed on the sloping side rather than in the silt where the bottom flattens off; fish that will only bite if you steady your bait with a foot or two of line on the bottom.... and so on.

We all pick where to fish by having a look around the water; plumbing complements this with a look around under the surface.

 

[108831]

Lets think a bit,set ups are all pretty sensitive if done correctly,look at the lift method,its amazingly responsive,even an AA shot three or four inches from the hook sends the float launching into the air,even small fish achieve this response,if by sensitive you mean lightly shotted,fine tipped floats these still need to be right for the conditions and the vagaries of the fish on the day,I think its all relative and only certain fish in certain conditions require such a definite sensitive set up,most times you can catch plenty without such precision,still has to be reasonable for best results,but...

 

[mikench]

Thanks Kev, I must repent my recalcitrant ways.:culpability:

 

[rayner]

What's the answer, leave them to it or offer t intervene. I must say I'm of the intervention gang. I can't sit beside someone with obviously no idea without at least offering to help.

 

[Philip]

There's a lot to be gained and nothing to be lost by finding the depth of the water in front of you

There is one occasion when it can be a disadvantage and thats when you stalking and perhaps 1 cast is all your going to get or you risk spooking the fish. On those occasions fishing a little over depth (as best you can guess) and pulling back till the float cocks is one way round the issue.

In general however of course plumbing & knowing whats in front of you is an advantage. Some specialist anglers will spend whole days mapping our waters with a plumbing rod and marking distances to underwater features so they know in advance what they are casting to and even were to stand, what to aim at & how many reel turns to clip up to. So on the day of fishing the rods arte already prepared to hit the spot in one cast.
Of course this is more relevant when your fishing the same water over an extended period.

 

[108831]

Such knowledge is always relevent Philip,I fish places today that I fished when I was a young man,still know where the deep water is and roughly what it's going to be.

 

[theartist]

Remember folks you don't need a heavy plummet to plumb as the Kylie song goes

A simple no1 shot squeezed gently on the bend of the hook will cause no disturbance and will rest on any silt, chance are you will catch a carp on a commercial doing this which shows how freely fish feed if you drop in quietly

You could also resist the temptation to fish the plumbed depth straight away, why should the fish be on the bottom especially this time of year? And why plumb straight away? You can do it at any time

I'll very rarely plumb on a canal, maybe when I'm intending to fish dead depth for fish like perch in winter, with the tow from boat traffic you'll find the depth and the contours of the swim pretty easy without casting a plummet around

 

[Keith M]

I will plumb up on a stillwater almost every time and mark the depth against my rod. I can then fish overdepth or up in the water or change to dead depth at any time I want and as many times as I want, and if I manage to lose my hook or my line breaks above or below the float or I simply want to change my hook I know exactly how deep I was fishing before.

It usually only takes me a short time to plumb up and sometimes I find a ledge or gully that I didn’t realise was there before.

I do use a light plummet sometimes but usually I just use a largish shot pinched onto the bend of my hook.

Keith

 

[108831]

If i'm intending to fish at depth or so i will probably use an SSG to give a starting point,it will always need altering a bit for best results,but if you need to be dead depth or just under a biggish plummet gives accurate info...

 

[theartist]

If i'm intending to fish at depth or so i will probably use an SSG to give a starting point,it will always need altering a bit for best results,but if you need to be dead depth or just under a biggish plummet gives accurate info...

Unless it's silty, I remember fishing a pond once thinking it was over 5 feet deep when it was a foot and a half of water and 4 feet of fine silt, safe to say I was laying on, no wonder I mainly stick to rivers

 

[108831]

Bloody hell Rob,that must be virtually liquid,there is a lake at Houghton Regis(near Dunstable)that has a liquid silt bottom,there is a scientific name for it,but??? On there you had to use baits of neutral buoyancy,else it would be six inches under and the fish wouldn't go in after it.

 

[Philip]

I think people get too hung up about trying to stop baits getting into silt. The fish are feeding in it for things such as bloodworm.

Rod Huchinson wrote a really good piece about this and the conclusion was basically that he would cast to bubbling fish feeding in silt with a moving bait such as maggots or a worm. The fact it may bury into the silt did not really matter. The fish would find it.

 

[theartist]

I think people get too hung up about trying to stop baits getting into silt. The fish are feeding in it for things such as bloodworm.

Rod Huchinson wrote a really good piece about this and the conclusion was basically that he would cast to bubbling fish feeding in silt with a moving bait such as maggots or a worm. The fact it may bury into the silt did not really matter. The fish would find it.

He was after carp though Philip with a self hooking rig, you do that on a pleasure session on a waggler then you're just going to have a bad day, especially if the silt is fine and deep

 

[Philip]

He was after carp though Philip with a self hooking rig

Actually no he wasnt Rob.

He was after Carp but stalking bubblers not bolt rigging.

I do that with a waggler quite allot of late. I have been fishing a small fairly silty pond and casting to bubbling/fizzing fish with a waggler. I over cast then drag back to the bubbles. Its been working quite well. Had some Tench as well like that. The key point being I am trying to target a specific fish I see feediing.

The underlying point I am making is that the natural food is IN the silt not hovering on it. I think we underestimate a fishes ability to find food in silt. Same in weed. There seems to be a fixation with finding clear spots when sometimes in the middle of it is the best place.

Obviously it also depends on the circumstances. I am talking more about specimen type angling rather than say general pleasure/float fishing.

 

[theartist]

Actually no he wasnt Rob.

He was after Carp but stalking bubblers not bolt rigging.

I do that with a waggler quite allot of late. I have been fishing a small fairly silty pond and casting to bubbling/fizzing fish with a waggler. I over cast then drag back to the bubbles. Its been working quite well. Had some Tench as well like that. The key point being I am trying to target a specific fish I see feediing.

The underlying point I am making is that the natural food is IN the silt not hovering on it. I think we underestimate a fishes ability to find food in silt. Same in weed. There seems to be a fixation with finding clear spots when sometimes in the middle of it is the best place.

Obviously it also depends on the circumstances. I am talking more about specimen type angling rather than say general pleasure/float fishing.

Fair enough but how deep was the silt? And how far down would they go to feed, it only takes a dusting of silt to have a mass of bubbles. Funny enough the silty pond I fished I never saw any fizzing as the fish wouldn't go in it, probably because the silt is feet not inches deep. I'm sure big carp would have no problem rooting down a good foot or more but are smaller fish going to do that? RH's carp must have been getting to the bottom through the silt as surely feeding carp in a cloud of loose silt is going to lead to foulhooking?

 

[108831]

Not even carp will go past their gills in deep silt,they will poke their noses in and stir it up,but not to the extent of clothing they're breathing apparatus...

 

[Philip]

Fair enough but how deep was the silt? And how far down would they go to feed, it only takes a dusting of silt to have a mass of bubbles. Funny enough the silty pond I fished I never saw any fizzing as the fish wouldn't go in it, probably because the silt is feet not inches deep. I'm sure big carp would have no problem rooting down a good foot or more but are smaller fish going to do that? RH's carp must have been getting to the bottom through the silt as surely feeding carp in a cloud of loose silt is going to lead to foulhooking?

I dont know how deep the slit was but yes I dont imagine fish will be sort of submerging themselves totally in silt, more moving around nosing through it.

"Silt" is also a very general term, it could cover the stuff that is literally like liquid soup to something far firmer. Also in my opinion some silt can be totally devoid of ilfe while others can be teeming with it. I suspect the fish will go where the food source is and sort it out for themselves.

Funnily enough on the pond I am fishing foul hooking can be an issue. I dont know if there is a perfect answer to that one really but I am always open to ideas.

 

[Keith M]

We have quite a lot of silt in our estate lake in certain places and the Tench get so involved in burying their heads in it looking for bloodworm and other things and emitting clouds of small gas bubbles coming from the silt through their gills that they will often miss your bait if it’s sitting on top of the silt.

How many times has this happened to others on here when they have cast in front of a moving mass of Tench bubbles which have carried on moving right past their bait and without the Tench taking the bait? Quite a lot I should imagine; it’s happened to me loads of times in the past on a silty lake.

Keith

 

[theartist]

Funnily enough on the pond I am fishing foul hooking can be an issue. I dont know if there is a perfect answer to that one really but I am always open to ideas.

If you find out let us know too

I often watch the carp and barbel in the silt on my local river, ok it's a river but the plus side is you can sit there and watch them for ages under the rod tip in very shallow clear water, I still haven't got anywhere near solving the foulhooking issue though and glad it's not just me. I've found the best way is to freeline a visible bait like bread or prawns in water so shallow I can actually see it. This is of course no help when fishing a pond but it is interesting to see how wiley the carp are compared to the barbel, how they will waft the bait when it's on gravel yet will sometimes go straight for the one resting on the silt which isn't very deep. When pellets are introduced they root around clouding up the water but are still quite refined compared to the barbel who stir things up in a haphazard manner. I often get liners and thankfully foulhooking is kept at a minimum when i can see the bait. When trying a float in the margins anything other than dead depth will almost certainly lead to foulhooking, too shallow and you catch a pectoral too deep and they spit the bait out without moving the float. Using barbless any foulhooking thankfully doesn't last longer than a few seconds although that carp will no longer return and the ones with it don't usually either.