Floater fishing

[mikench]

I pondered about putting this post in the carp section but decided the method was not exclusively for carp or even still waters. Yesterday and previously I have tried floating dog biscuits, bread and horrible oozing strawberry floaters which colour your fingers blood red.

It is fair to say that a combination of clever , wily and wary fish and probable poor presentation on my part , has produced modest success. The first time on the venue yesterday produced lots of fish and I enjoyed the experience . I simply removed the float and hair rigged a squidgy bakers complete small dog meaty chunk. I created some activity with freebies and eureka - success.

Next time out , as mentioned in the HDYGO thread i used a waggler rod, a controller float and a floating line and failure.

Yesterday I repeated the first routine and had at least 20 carp cruising around and taking all the freebies but ignoring my bait completely or sucking it in and spitting it out in a split second. Often they just turned away at the last minute. I bought some fake biscuits by Enterprise Tackle but have yet to try them.

What am I doing wrong? I enjoyed the attempts and even now can smile at how cagey the fish were and how , I assume, they had learned to distrust the bait.

 

[103841]

Most probably not doing much wrong at all Mike. I’ve found some days they’ll take it and some days they won’t.

When they’re being cagey leave your bait out of the water for a while and just feed them, get them to compete for food and often their guard will drop sufficiently for you to put your bait back in and have it taken.

Have different hook baits to offer, bread, floater cake, even a pumped up lobworm.

 

[mikench]

You are probably right John. It's a fascinating, but equally frustrating way to fish. I'm on my second 1kilo box now. I will try crust next time without a float and with the hook concealed. My view is it's the line that spooks them. At one point yesterday the water in front of me was churning with carp, there were dozens, all competing for the freebies. They were wary but the freebies were taken. It was into this feeding frenzy that I was placing my hook bait. After 10 minutes or so it was only my hook bait which remained . I tried wafters and pop ups in bright colours and again the freebies proved popular but alas, not my hook bait. Carp are not daft. It's fascinating and enjoyable though and made me chuckle.

 

[John Keane]

I pondered about putting this post in the carp section but decided the method was not exclusively for carp or even still waters. Yesterday and previously I have tried floating dog biscuits, bread and horrible oozing strawberry floaters which colour your fingers blood red.

It is fair to say that a combination of clever , wily and wary fish and probable poor presentation on my part , has produced modest success. The first time on the venue yesterday produced lots of fish and I enjoyed the experience . I simply removed the float and hair rigged a squidgy bakers complete small dog meaty chunk. I created some activity with freebies and eureka - success.

Next time out , as mentioned in the HDYGO thread i used a waggler rod, a controller float and a floating line and failure.

Yesterday I repeated the first routine and had at least 20 carp cruising around and taking all the freebies but ignoring my bait completely or sucking it in and spitting it out in a split second. Often they just turned away at the last minute. I bought some fake biscuits by Enterprise Tackle but have yet to try them.

What am I doing wrong? I enjoyed the attempts and even now can smile at how cagey the fish were and how , I assume, they had learned to distrust the bait.

Take a leaf from the fly fishers book and sink the line to the floater. When dry fly fishing on stillwaters you thoroughly degrease the line using a bit of washing up liquid on a rag, or a proprietary sinkant like Orvis Mud, this ensures that the fish are not spooked by the indentations and reflections where the line sits on the surface film. You could use fluorocarbon as that sinks but you will still need to wipe it down first.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

It maybe the hook is making big the hook bait sit different in the water to the freebies

or as said above they may see the line on the surface, I try to have the last couple inch of line or more below the water

 

[bullet]

I used to do a fair bit of floater fishing for Carp with fly and normal gear.
Personally I found making the line float was much more successful, as the Carp were less likely to touch it, which made them spook like hell.
Freelined crust worked best.
If you can fish in such a way that means no line is on the water at all, eg very stealthily in the margins, you might find the fish are as keen on your hookbait as the freebies!
Oh, another thing that sometimes worked was hooking a small piece of crust under a larger bit and slightly crimping the two together, this way you could sometimes catch those ones that came and had a bit of a suck at it.

 

[Roger Johnson 2]

Hi Mike, Mrs J and have done a lot of floater fishing, we agree with the others about sinking the last few inches of line it’s a big help, fluorocarbon is not ideal as it sinks too much and creates problems with foul hooking. We found directly hooking, not hair rigging made a favourable difference to number of takes. The angle of presentation can also be critical most takes occur when the fishes approaches the bait head on, so doesn’t feel or see the line, fishing the bait on your side, rather than in the middle, of the freebies helps a lot. We also reduced the duck problem by fishing as a team, we found that by feeding between us and fishing on the outside edges of the feed, our floating lines would help to keep the birds away. I also agree with your observation that freelining is more successful, but sadly not always feasible. Lastly, when we see all these cautious fish behaviours on the surface, is it reasonable to assume they’re just as canny when it comes to bottom baits? ATB Rog


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[mikench]

Thanks chaps for all your comments which I will take on board . The first occasion I mentioned I had progold line on the reel and I simply removed the float and any shot and hair rigged a biscuit. I caught about 10 fish. Next time out I used a controller float and A long fluro hooklength. My reasoning was that it's supposed to be invisible. Invisible or not it sank and pulled the bait closer to the float. I then changed the hooklength to Drennan float fish with an application of mucilin. I think I may have caught a couple. The line floated and the distance between float and bait remained stable.

yesterday I simply freelined the hookbait but hair rigged. I will try it on the hook next time. I tried a 12 then a 14 but no difference. It was clearly my presentation which was putting them off.

despite the lack of success I enjoyed the experience of simply watching these fish I consider a little stupid showing me they were anything but. I usually use a sliced loaf but will take a crusty one next time.

i conclude that what method and bait works one day may well not work the next regardless of the type of fishing pursued. The Gardner cutting the grass around the pool and the pegs stopped to observe the literally feeding frenzy in front of me and casually asked why I wasn't catching any of them. " you might well ask" I responded phlegmatically .

 

[108831]

Right Mike,here is my methodology,I would rather not feed dog biscuits,though I've caught loads on them,choosing to feed dry 6mm expander pellets,try to feed with a gentle breeze is off your back if possible,throw 6-10 pellets close in and allow them to drift,watching them intently,for every pellet taken,feed another in the original spot,even if the pellet taken was fifty yards away,keep this going and you will find the fish following the trail of feed right up to the point of introduction,or near to it,when they are feeding confidently within casting range of a free lined 8-10mm expander pellet on a band on around 4lb mono,a 14 hook,when you catch one they often back off again and you have to go through the process again,without casting,don't worry about not having a bait in the water at this time,as confident feeding fish is what leads to the best results,on commercial type fisheries I have caught more Bthan 70 carp in a day on this method,on lake four at Makins I had fifty carp with quite a few doubles in that,good luck.

 

[John Keane]

I’ve had most success using a Matt Hayes Surface Missile controller and 6ft of clear nylon with the last 2ft degreased. I save up crusts from our loaves and break them into 10p sized pieces and fire them out with a catapult. I don’t put the bait in until carp have started slurping up the freebies. I often just hook the crust straight on and other times hair rig it. It’s a fun way of fishing as long as the water isn’t full of ducks, coots, moorhens and marauding black headed gulls, the latter meaning you have to keep watching the sky as well as the water.

 

[103841]

Just to add, I have a day ticket water close by where I could catch a decent number of carp in just an hour or so. Nip across to my estate lake a mile away and I could spend many hours trying to get just one fish, normally ending in a blank.

 

[108831]

I caught quite a few decent carp on hard waters doing similar to my above post,sometimes I've had to use a small controller,but distance floater fishing(30m plus loses its excitement for me),whatever rocks your boat.

 

[nottskev]

It's something I only do now and again, and probably on waters a bit like yours, Mike. I prefer crust to dog biscuits - I'll cut the top, bottom and sides off a tin loaf and cut the lot up to have plenty of bits to feed. The fish are usually prepared to come fairly close, if it's going to work at all. A piece of crust, dunked, generally casts far enough, and if it helps I put on one of these little floats. I find proper controllers are usually much more large and clunky than I need, so I pull a loop of line through a float body, glue it in and add a shot or two - 1 or 2 AAA. I stop it at whatever distance from the hook with a sliding stop. On occasion, I found carp wouldn't take my bait off the top, but readily took a piece of flake suspended a foot below one of these little floats. Somedays, though. they either won't come on top or won't take your bait.

 

[mikench]

Alan I assume you use your expander pellets dry ?

Silly question perhaps but should the crust pieces be hooked on a hair rig or straight on the hook and should the crust side ie the brown crust be on the surface facing down or facing skywards?

 

[108831]

Yes,sorry Mike,also,strike when you see the bait get sucked in,don't expect the line to run off,you will miss more than enough,but because of the freelining aspect spooking is minimal. Also if your bait drifts right across,then refeed,patience is an absolute virtue,keep at it,maybe have another rod set up to fish the margins until it kicks off.

 

[barbelboi]

Another reason for not using flouro for surface fishing is that it may well spook the fish by refracting sunlight.

 

[john step]

Mike. Those fish have got wary because they have been targeted many times before. Virgin waters are easy peasy but the fish wise up remarkably quickly. You are not doing anything wrong basically.

Do try those Enterprise artificials. They do work by keeping the hook out of view.

Try floater fishing with sinking bait. Daft but it works. Get them going on freebies them swing a large lump of sodden flake
amongst them . It sinks very slowly and gets takes.

Buy some white typing correction fluid and paint your hook white when using bread and leaving the point exposed.

Try other means of hiding the hook. I have had success with Nash zig bugs fished on the surface.

Try mugging them in the margins with the line off the water and draped over the marginal grass.

Best of all fish with a ripple on the surface and not flat calm.


Edited. Oh yes and a method when there is no one else about because you will look bonkers.....Buy a few bagettes and let go stale.
At the lake cut a strip a couple of inches off. Baiting needle a large hook through the crusty bit and wind it round the bread and hook it in tight hiding the hook.
It casts a dream and the carp will agitate at it, competing each other and one will grab the hook.
Set the clutch light as they often take off rapidly.

Its what the Mediterranean fishers do for mullet. Cheating but it works.

 

[mikench]

I have dome zig bugs somewhere, but where. It's an intriguing way of fishing.

 

[108831]

The fish have become wary,but if they are eating freebies they are definitely catchable.

 

[mikench]

I am prepared to have another go and will try expanders and a baguette ; oh la la!