Floating lines

Need a floating line that naturaly floats , I'v tried muslin and vasaline ( tends to glogg up the rod eyes) also the spray on floatants ( ?5 a can)that are available, but just wondered if there was a line out there that did not sink on it's own after a few hours or with a bit if wear and tear.Also bulk spools.
I need it for stick and waggler fishing on the river so breaking strains up to 4lb should do.
thanks

Unfortunatly there is no nylon line that will naturally float. Most nylons have a specific gravity of between 1.04 and 1.12, so sink they will if they break through the surface film.

It might be an idea to try some of the floatants used by fly fishers, eg Mucilin or Gherkes Gink in conjunction with lines like Drennan "Floatfish" which I use for mearly all my stick float fishing. To put Gink on the line, wind it through a tissue which has had a bit of the floatant rubbed into it.

Now, this may sound a bit mad, but it works... at least, it works for drifter fishing for pike. Get one of the uncoated braids - Power Cable from Harris's is good. It really floats. You'd be advised to tie in a 'leader' of mono for the business end - about 15 feet should do it.

Dave, I did a bit of searching a few years ago for a line for my trotting. The best I have found to date is Drennan Floatfish.
From memory they're available in breaking strains of 2.6,3.2 and4.2lb upwards.

I use Daiwa Super Shinobi and find it floats well without the need for any additive.

It's ?6 or ?7 for 100m's though so a bit pricy, but good none the less.

Try a braid. They do Fireline down to 4lbs, it's great stuff. I know a few people are using it for long trotting and are quite pleased with it.

I used Vaseline when I fished with mono and it rots the line, so it's risky unless you chanfgte your line every couple of trips.

Disagree with the mono leader bit for drifting - fish 30lbs or more braid straight through to the trace/uptrace, the rod cushions you if the fish starts bumping around.

There's always a risk the mono line will sink, risking a bite-off if you're using a livie and it gets up over the line, or a fish comes up in the water and hits it, which they often do.

I've tried mono leaders for zander on leger/helicopters and have never been confident in the knot attaching braid to the mono, which has a habit of strtangling because they have completely different characteristics.

You really have to pull into them hard to hook them sometimes, because you have to pull through the resistance of the float/vane before you make contact with the fish.

I know the savage takes hook themselves against the resistance of the float, but the cruisers which just gob the bait and swim off slowly need a good clout to bang the hooks in.

Maybe Chris and I will agree to disagree. The Fireline I've got doesn't seem to like floating. I agree with Chris about knotting braid to mono, why is why I don't. Use the second-smallest Drennan ring to join mono to braid - makes it easy to change mono leaders, too. I also agree with Chris about grease rotting nylon, in the long term, which is why I make it easy to change my (greased) leaders. I tried a micro-swivel to join the lines - don't bother, it jams in the rings during the cast. BTW, a drifter rigged properly disengages the vane when you strike so you get a more direct pull. Anyway, haven't we strayed from the poor bloke's original question?

the daiwa line that is free with this weeks at is not too bad and the line i have is 4lb

Agree to disagree by all means. I use them bottom-end only with a controller tube, less tangles. Found those pull-out rings were a nightmare - line got tangled round the float when the wind spun the vane.

You get a direct pull but you've still got to pull that vane through the water, because the float's either under the water or you pull it under as you tighten on the fish.

Must admit I never thought of using a rig ring though.

Fireline floats better with age but it does still float when new. It's got a coating of some sort which wears off and it starts going lighter with use.

Having said that I tend to use the 30 and occasionally 20, so it's probably more bouyant than the lighter strains.

Sorry for strtaying off the point. I'm sure there are some floating monos - Drennan Floatfish (?) is one.

Dave, I've found that the best thing to ensure nylon floats is Kryston's Greased Lightning. I always use this on the main line when floater fishing or trotting. It really does make the line float like a cork.

I use drennan float fish too and to keep the line behind the float on the surface I run about 5' of line over the top of a lypsyl (for chaped lips), it works for me.