Centrepin fishing - float size

[George387]

I have just finished making these

 

 

 

They turned out slightly more heavy than I wanted

Made because last week on the River Tees with the river in flood trotting for grayling I could not see the tip at distane, so made some Avons with thicker tips for blind people like me. Thanks to George for giving me a master float to copy.

 

Gary

 

Your welcome mate, do I get a bamboo rod in return so I can try and do a copy...lol

they are looking good and as you say they suit your style...Blind man

[watatoad]

I thought checking was allowing the shot to lift (Stopping the float in its tracks) and lifting the shot and the baited hook.

Holding back was just slowing the trott but not stopping it

 

Do we all agree on that?

 

ANSWER:

No sorry, that's not trotting in its purity.

 

We could argue for weeks on this.

 

I have said what trotting is and will stand by what I have.

 

Now lets be fair to all I am not saying that holding back hard to cause the hookbait to lift does not work at times, but it just is not trotting.

 

Still being fair I am not saying the many other methods don't work or are wrong...All I am saying is they are not trotting...I will add you cannot trott with a waggler.

 

As I previously said

"ANSWER:

experience and experimentation will be your best advisers, but remember how to hold a pin and don't try to hold it like a fixed spool."

 

 

Gary

 

In past times we used to call that fishing the swim...So maybe the answer to our difference of opinion is as much in terminology as anything.

 

Fishing the swim was used when one was unsure of what depth the target species were feeding at, so one kept holding back hard every yard or so to try to find the fish then one would set up the hookbait and trott through keeping the bait in front of the float and at the same depth and speed as the water around the hookbait. Trotting is about full, constant and direct contact fishing which you cant have if the float is dragging the hookbait behind it.

[watatoad]

Your welcome mate, do I get a bamboo rod in return so I can try and do a copy...lol

they are looking good and as you say they suit your style...Blind man

 

Nice could you p.m. me with a price for a complete set of your floats...Toady the serious...hehehe

[watatoad]

The main problem with trying to beat the pendulum effect at far bank is the line in use and the length of the rod, not the float.

 

Trotting line should be a floating line but some throw any line on hoping it will do and in most cases it does but if your fishing far bank you need to have the line lying on top of the water so it is easy mended and use the longest rod possible in your armoury, I always use a 16ft rod for my general medium river work.

 

I have read all of Billy Lane's books and as budgie quite rightly says they are probably the best books out there even though they have aged the tackle is still the same and the techniques are still the same.

 

The float does come into it and a lot of people are using inadequate or should I say incorrect floats for the conditions, why? because they like the feel of them and are comfortable with them. If you had to ask some anglers to put a waggler onto the far bank and trot with it they would laugh at you, but it can be done and is deadly in the correct conditions, but how many river anglers change floats on a days fishing to suit the conditions...not many unless your static for your full session so you adapt & overcome, and rightly so.

 

COMMENT:

That's not fair George a lot of inexperienced anglers are going to get into trouble trying that, you know as well as I do many of them will miss bite after bite and not even notice most bites, especially with a needle tipped dart (fished waggler fashion)...Oh! where are the binoculars...hehehe...But George is dead right it can be done, but don't try it until you have learned how to do it closer then gradually practice until you get the distance, when you master it, then it can be the beginning of some real specimen catches...Chub and Roach of a size you would never have thought were in the river, but you will need the perfect bait to tempt them with.

 

There is no hard & fast rule you take each swim as it comes but unless you go prepared with at least a few different types of floats and not just the ones you think will do then when it doesnt go your way.....think to yourself have I got the correct float, line for the job....

[Tigger]

As far as I'm aware any form of allowing your float/any type of float to trundle along a river is trotting. Holding back etc are all part of trotting.

Edited November 10, 2010 by Tigger

[Dick Dastardly]

Yes Im with Tigger on this one.If its moving down stream its trotting in my books.

[George387]

Yes Im with Tigger on this one.If its moving down stream its trotting in my books.

 

I will definately add my name as the 3rd to that.

 

COMMENT:

That's not fair George a lot of inexperienced anglers are going to get into trouble trying that, you know as well as I do many of them will miss bite after bite and not even notice most bites, especially with a needle tipped dart (fished waggler fashion)...Oh! where are the binoculars...hehehe...But George is dead right it can be done, but don't try it until you have learned how to do it closer then gradually practice until you get the distance, when you master it, then it can be the beginning of some real specimen catches...Chub and Roach of a size you would never have thought were in the river, but you will need the perfect bait to tempt them with.

 

 

Whats not fair about it? we all have to learn somewhere, I learned by my mistakes and taking on board what more experienced anglers told me its the ONLY way to learn. If you sit & watch what other anglers say on forums then take it away & put it into practise on the river you will only improve so I think to say its unfair was wrong.

 

Ive spent countless hours on the river trying out things and I didnt think it was wasted. the thing with anglers ( and I say this loosely) is a lot of people want to catch fish these days easily they dont want anything hard or too challenging and it aint like that if your not willing to put in the time and learn then you are not going to advance at your game.

 

Im fortunate that I believe Im moving forward and learning everytime I go fishing because if anyone tells you they know it all...then Id call them a liar.

Edited November 10, 2010 by George387

[slitshot]

Down to my last Ivan Marks 7 AA Balsa trotter, had a look at your floats George those fluted Balsa on cane or the Cork Chubbers look the part, how much shot do they take ?

Must hold my hands up, this is my first season of float fishing with a pin normaly ledger also fish in the Sea for Mullet so probaly do things differently to you more experinced river anglers.So one of my main tatics this year has neen using homemade insert Peacock wagglers fished top and bottom and holding back, I trot my float to a pontoon or old pier and hold back so bait is underneath if no bites are forthcoming reel back my float and start again will hold back for up too 5 minuets normaly fishing at 3/4 depth as Mullet seem to prefer to feed up in the water. I am probaly doing every thing wrong

Edited November 11, 2010 by slitshot

[lutra]

Trotting a far bank swim a couple of rod lengths out it's difficult to hold back without an upstream breeze helping, the float just swings off line so you have to let the current take it.

I do quite a lot of long trotting beyond the rod tip (2-3 rod lengths) holding back and still keep a good line. A good weight of float bulk shoted and a main line you can mend but doesn't float to high and slip back at you across the top. Don't hold back for the first 10 yards, but mend your line and then you can start to hold back a bit. You will need to remend your line as it go's, but less the further you trot.

[Vagabond]

a main line you can mend but doesn't float to high and slip back at you across the top. Don't hold back for the first 10 yards, but mend your line and then you can start to hold back a bit. You will need to remend your line as it go's, but less the further you trot.

 

Yes! Absolutely right

 

It is remarkable that although FT's original query included remarks about how difficult it was to avoid "the float being pulled off course" it is not until Post 49 that the concept of mending your line has been mentioned (OK Tigger used the word in Post 31, but only in the context of using a waggler - if anyone else mentioned it, then I missed it and apologise in advance)

 

"Mending your line" is a term that is usually used in the context of fly-fishing downstream - but very important in float-fishing as well.

 

This has been an excellent thread so far, with lots of very good advice. The "differences" in approach can be related to the different types of swim - put the lot together, and we have a very wide spectrum of trotting techniques. Best advice is Budgie's - let the weight dictate which float you need, not t'other way round. All I would add is that the weight needed is in its turn dictated by the bait chosen and how it is presented - including the line diameter used to present it.

 

Its the old adage - start your thinking from the fishes' end.