Plumbing the depth with weighted floats

Hi all,

My first post shouldn't be too difficult for someone with a bit of experience so here goes ..!

Having just started fishing I've done a bit of research and understand how and why you plumb the depth of the area you're fishing. Well sort of ..

The floats I've bought are marked 4+2BB which I understand to mean that the weight is 4 and to properly set the float I add 2BB weights, one either side of the float to lock it.

I've got a clip on plummet and if I set the float to shallow, it disappears when I cast the line, exactly what you would expect.

However when I set the float massively deep, like 6 feet too deep, the float just sets itself as if it were on depth, instead of having a lot of the top showing, which I s what I expected.

So my question is basically am I weighting up the float correctly and if so should I be weighting the float light so it won't set properly if I'm over depth or have I missed something about plumbing depths (not unlikely !!)

You are setting the float correctly, so yes, you should only see the very top.

Just start too shallow and move the float up an inch or so at a time. Once sorted, don't forget to make a note of where it is, using the rod rings, so that if the float moves in the fight, you can re adjust it without having to use the plummet again.

If the float takes 2bb to set it correctly then I'd not use 2bb but a no8 near the hook and 2no1 each side of the float to lock it then small shot no4and6 to set the float correctly

I use a split shot to set the depth with a waggler

I set the weight to sit correctly then use a AAA near the hook to check the depth

The way you have set up the float, with extra shot so that just the tip is showing, has limitations when plumbing the depth at the start of a session.

The only information you'll get is that:

If the float tip isn't visible, the float is too shallow and the distance from the hook to float should be increased.

If the float tip is visible, it could mean either that the float is set at the exact depth, or that the float is set overdepth.

I suggest when plumbing the depth that you don't add all the shot that the float requires. This means that if the float is overdepth, too much of float tip will be visible, and this indicates that you must reduce the distance between the float and the hook.

Once you've got the depth right, then add on the extra shot so that just the tip of the float is visible when you add a bait to the hook and start fishing.

Thanks for the advice. I'll put it into practise today!

I am hoping Ican locate a number 4 section to
replace the now damaged section I slipped and stood on I have been to a
professional repairer only to be told the section is to badly damaged,so if
anyone has a spare secondhand will do or better still a iron arm 14.5 metre
old pole I will certainly buy it.

Firstly, the shotting capacity marked on floats is notoriously inaccurate and is in reality just an indication of the shot it may take. So the actual amount of shot needed to cock the float may vary considerably from this. As others have said you will need a shot placed fairly close to the hook to show bites more sensitively (Tell tale) or a series of small shot if fishing on the drop, the size of this shot would depend on the size and type of tip your float has. Suppose I was fishing at dead depth, say 7ft I would put on my tell tale shot first followed by my locking shot and then my bulk shot, it is the bulk shot that I would adjust to set my float, but I would do this with the float set far shallower than the actual depth. When the float was cocking to my satisfaction I remove most or all of the bulk shot and store it safely (usually under my tongue). Using a plummet clipped to the hook I adjust the float until the tip is just showing. It is a good idea to keep a Tipex pen in your box to mark the depth you have set, to do this place your hook in a keeper ring or around the leg of the butt ring and put a mark on the rod blank. I then re-fix the bulk to the line. If using a float that isn't loaded most of the shot should of course usually go around the base of the float

Unless I know the swim I would have a cast about with just the float and plummet first to find any features; shelves, depressions etc.

Hi Dan,

As others have already said; the shotting that is marked on a float is just an approximation of the total weight needed to cock it and not the actual size of shot you should use for example. A 3BB waggler might typically be shotted with a no8 'tell tale' shot nearest the hook, 2 No.6 shot at just over half depth and the remaining shot bunched around the base of the float. (see diagram below).



The following Shot Conversion Chart may be of help to you when shotting your floats.



Before you plumb the depth only add the bare minimum of shot around the base of the float so that when over depth it will ride high in the water (or lie flat) and only add the rest of the shot once you have adjusted the float and finished plumbing.

I hope this has been of some help to you
tight Lines

Keith