Loaded or unloaded Deep Stillwater fishing?

[whitty]

I've fished water up to 35' deep,though rarely caught many fish there,27' is the deepest i've had a good day from,these days I often fish over 10/11' with a slider,just a lot easier imo...

 

[Richox12]

Semi-loaded every time. Otherwise it'll cast no distance at all and like a bag of spanners as the unloaded float is pushed back up the line by the air causing massive resistance !!

 

[whitty]

Really Rich,my slider never lands like a bag of spanners,must be doing something wrong then...

 

[Richox12]

Landing's not the problem.

 

[whitty]

Or casting then,I get the occasional split of float to shot on either float,it is all down to how you cast,unless casting into the wind,or an awkward side wind,generally i'm unlucky to get two minor tangles in a day(not retackle jobbies),similar with what you are talking about,sadly i'm so long in the tooth and i've fished the slider since the seventies,using loaded and unloaded floats,for the last fifteen years mostly unloaded....

 

[Keith M]

Semi-loaded every time. Otherwise it'll cast no distance at all and like a bag of spanners as the unloaded float is pushed back up the line by the air causing massive resistance !!

Really Rich,my slider never lands like a bag of spanners,must be doing something wrong then...
.....
Or casting then,I get the occasional split of float to shot on either float,it is all down to how you cast,unless casting into the wind,or an awkward side wind,generally i'm unlucky to get two minor tangles in a day(not retackle jobbies),similar with what you are talking about,sadly i'm so long in the tooth and i've fished the slider since the seventies,using loaded and unloaded floats,for the last fifteen years mostly unloaded....

Same here Rich, like Whitty I’ve been casting unloaded sliders on and off since the 1970s and try as I might I can’t remember ever having many (if any at all) problems with the float sliding up the line during the cast, and I wouldn't expect to unless I was fishing into a very awkward headwind; which is quite rare for me anyway.
mind you I use fairly smallish eyes on my sliding floats to prevent the float eye going past the stop knot so perhaps that might be why.

I’m not saying it doesn’t happen; it might happen to some; however not to me for some reason.
You can bet your bottom dollar that It will start happening to me now that I’ve said that though; famous last words and all that

Keith

 

[whitty]

Yeah,I wish I hadn't said anything now Keith,lol...

 

[Richox12]

The unloaded floats don't get blown past the stopknot, that never happens with tiny 'crushed' eyes and/or micro beads, but separate from the bulk, get blown up the line and then act as a drag or parachute when trying to cast a reasonable distance - say 40m. Semi-loaded stay on the bulk and cast more as one staying straighter & further.

 

[whitty]

Yes Rich,if you have eyes like superman you can fish at 40m,then the loaded floats work best,most of my slider fishing is no further than 25m,if that,I never suffer with separation from the bulk and certainly cast 35m to flick the line under after the float hits the stop knot,we are talking at lost purposes because you are talking big,long range slider fishing,most slider fishing is done at less than 20m in my experience,it's what you make work that counts however...

 

[rayner]

My reasons for using a semi loaded float began in Ireland. I rarely fished over there without wind and rain, perhaps being in early spring when we fished there was the reason. If it wasn't windy or wet when we started it wasn't too long before it was, seemed to be a daily occurrence.
Similarly, the Flask was a windy venue more frequently than not. At times depending on wind direction the float does drift up the line, the weight just pulls the line through the float eye.
Fishing a semi loaded doesn't hinder the presentation of the bait or casting.
It makes little difference to the rig to have a semi loaded float.
Making my own sliders it was easy to make a loaded float, I had some brass inserts made from a friend that weighed 3/4 an ounce. Somewhere I have some left over.

 

[whitty]

Gary,I used to make my own loaded sliders using silver solder glued in the base,I used to put a float adaptor on with say 5AA shot,put a longer bit of loading than needed,then trim it with a junior hacksaw to reach an acceptable capacity,worked for me,but that was when I fished big clay pits at 25m plus,can't be arsed to do that these days...

 

[rayner]

I have a similar mindset to you, Alan.
Mostly because the waters I fish are less deep than the local reservoirs. I don't know if I ever fished above 15 to 20 mtr on reservoirs or Ireland.
I'd prefer to fish no more than 15 mtr but certain parts of Dam Flask would force you to go to 20 mtr because the bed in the areas I liked had a very rocky bottom strewn with bolder. If I could find a clear bottom around 12 feet deep that was my perfect depth all year round.

 

[whitty]

I fished a few clay pits where 12-16ft was the ideal depth,preferably no deeper than 20ft,sometimes you needed to cast 25-30m to get the 12ft,not something I do these days,though funnily enough,the depths mentioned ring true on other deep lakes I have fished in recent years...

 

[Pikerwoods]

My "new" local club water is an old clay pit with fairly deep margins of 7 to 9 feet which most people fish a pole. Have dumped my pole gear as I prefer rod & line fishing as less to carry and set up. Tried slider fishing on my 11ft rod and my old 13ft float rod (cannot due with threading line on bank) so just got a 12ft two piece rod so I can try a light slider or even fixed float.

 

[whitty]

The biggest issue is fish move out for security from autumn onwards,so margins tend to only fish late in the day,at least 12m out,more like 15m or more,with the depths 12-18ft tend to produce best in my experience,obviously each venue is different,but as a general rule that's what I go for...