Centrepin fishing - float size

[Vagabond]

Incidentally Ive often found Grayling and trout often prefer the bait without it being slowed, but roach hardly ever.

 

Budgie - that brings back memories from my National Service days in the late 1950s

Here is a quote from the draft for my next book

 

 

Further down the Kennet valley I came across grayling for the first time in my life. I had read about them extensively, seen the wonderful illustrations of "The Lady of the Stream" in my copy of "Mr Crabtree" and had a burning desire to catch some. When I first caught sight of them, I was not disappointed, for they were beautiful and elegant fish. My route home lay through Chilton Foliat, where there was a bridge over the Kennet. Below the bridge was a long glide over gravel, and there were the grayling. Streamlined, with purple backs, lilac and silver flanks, and that distinctive violet-shot sail of a dorsal fin with its dark spots. Every bit as handsome as the paintings of Bernard Venables had promised. I wanted to fish for them right away, but a large notice on the bank warned me the fishing was private. Not only private fishing, but in far too public a place to consider ignoring the notice.

 

 

 

Thwarted at Chilton Foliat, catching a grayling from somewhere, anywhere, became my immediate priority. By dint of much searching I found a short stretch of river that seemed to offer free fishing. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that whoever owned it had neglected to put a "Private Fishing" sign up. Whatever, I decided to fish there and chance any consequences. Half an hour in the early hours of a Monday morning on my way back to camp seemed the best time to fish without attracting attention. The next Monday, at 4am, saw me crouched under a road bridge over the river, free-lining a worm down to the grayling shoal in the shallow pool below. On several occasions the line twitched, but I could not seem to hook the fish, which repeatedly stripped the worm off the hook. Before the half-hour was up I had run out of the few worms I had with me.

 

 

 

The next Monday I was back, but this time armed with float tackle, as I thought this would give me better bite indication. Still I got twitches, which I kept missing. This was very frustrating. Obviously the fish were taking the bait – so how might I improve my chance of hooking one? I thought about this during the following week and back at home at the weekend, I read up Jim Bazley's chapter on grayling fishing. One point he emphasised was that the float tackle should travel the stream without check. "Holding back" - effective enough for roach - was apparently bad news for grayling fishers. I decided that might have been my problem. By force of habit, and because I had caught roach, dace and chub that way, I had been holding the float back as the tackle went down the swim.

 

 

 

Bazley's advice was sound. As soon as I ran the float tackle through the swim without check, I got more positive bites and hooked a reasonable proportion of them. I even contacted a fish right at the end of the swim that had given no bite indication at all. It must have mouthed the bait at the instant I decided to retrieve my tackle. Ironically, it was my best fish - a few ounces under two pounds. The fight that grayling put up I found astonishing - nothing like a roach or trout, but a twisting, rolling pull that felt as if the fish were swimming backwards in the way that eels do. Presumably the very large dorsal fin enables grayling to fight this way. Over the years since that first introduction to grayling fishing I have not fished deliberately for them very often. However, a number of grayling have been stocked into the Sussex Ouse and the Medway in recent years, and I have always enjoyed catching the occasional grayling as part of a mixed bag.

Edited November 12, 2010 by Vagabond

[lutra]

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.

Yep "Mending your line" is very important when holding back, as any pressure on the float needs to come from directly up stream if it is not going to be pulled of line.

 

Personally i find it helps when mending your line if your float as good shoulders, as they will help grip the water and stop your float moving to much when you mend your line. I'm not a big fan of loafers, I much prefer an Avon with nice sharp shoulders.

[Rusty]

Yep "Mending your line" is very important when holding back, as any pressure on the float needs to come from directly up stream if it is not going to be pulled of line.

 

On that subject I've been trying red Power Pro for the past few weeks and I'm finding that whilst it's smoother and nicer to work with than Fireline Crystal it doesn't lift off the water in the same way. It floats well enough but when mending it drags off the surface slightly rather than coming straight off so I'll be reverting back to the Fireline. I know others are happy with mono but they're my thoughts as a braid user.

[far bank stalker]

I went trotting with a pin today using a 2AA loafer float. Part of the trick seems to be to be that, when the float hits the water, you need to give the reel a slight flick to start it rotating so the float doesn't get held back too much, which could result in the float getting pulled off course (if you are fishing the far bank). Is that right?

 

But then there needs to be a balance between the pull from the float and the slight friction and inertia from the reel. And presumably the bigger the float the more pull - so you need to choose a float to give the right pull, not just to hold the shot needed to get the bait down to the fish?

 

Assuming this is correct, I'd be interested to hear how more experienced pin users go about choosing a float. Does it vary with the speed and depth of the water?

i haven't read every reply here yet, hopefully i'm not going over ground covered, but i'm goin to enjoy this thread at my leasure!.

 

recently i've been looking at old float patterns, picking up on a point already made that at one point all reels where centre pin and a lot of course fishing was on rivers. it is my aim next season to get a real wild brownie from a real mountain brook by means of trotting, so i needed a float that doesn't really exist anymore. the patterns i found where 'stream searchers' and 'elfins' designed for the kind of conditions watatoad layed out for dace

 

also the array of 'avon' type floats is mind boggling compared to today, with the body being pretty much anywhere above the centre line of the stick, i suppose to catch sub surface currents at different depths

 

another nice tip i've seen is to cut the bottom stem off of a drennan crystal avon and replace it with a brass or stainless rod, then adjust it with fly tying lead super glued to the top of the brass rod where it joins the float top so that it self cocks and sets, then you can 'freeline' a bait and have the float indicator as well. this really is for trout fishing but it may work for other stuff too

[George387]

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 ?

 

The fluted Balsa can alternate with size the most I do is around the 7bb mark, the cork chubbers again go from 6bb - 8bb. I dont have any of those made in stock as I only make to order so if you wanted them I would have to wait, I do have balsa on cane from a non paid order that I done for a bloke then decided he didnt want to pay from 8bb, 9bb, 5AAA, 6AAA & 7AAA.

[watatoad]

The fluted Balsa can alternate with size the most I do is around the 7bb mark, the cork chubbers again go from 6bb - 8bb. I dont have any of those made in stock as I only make to order so if you wanted them I would have to wait, I do have balsa on cane from a non paid order that I done for a bloke then decided he didnt want to pay from 8bb, 9bb, 5AAA, 6AAA & 7AAA.

 

Get the money up front.

[Guest bbamboo]

The fluted Balsa can alternate with size the most I do is around the 7bb mark, the cork chubbers again go from 6bb - 8bb. I dont have any of those made in stock as I only make to order so if you wanted them I would have to wait, I do have balsa on cane from a non paid order that I done for a bloke then decided he didnt want to pay from 8bb, 9bb, 5AAA, 6AAA & 7AAA.

 

Always take deposits George.

No deposits No gear simple.

 

 

Gary

[George387]

Always take deposits George.

No deposits No gear simple.

 

 

Gary

 

am to honest for my own good and its only a couple of £ss, I know I will sell them elsewhere so not too worried over it.

 

Gary, update on rod, all eyes are on and will start lacquering tomorrow :)

Edited November 12, 2010 by George387

[Guest bbamboo]

am to honest for my own good and its only a couple of £ss, I know I will sell them elsewhere so not too worried over it.

 

Gary, update on rod, all eyes are on and will start lacquering tomorrow :)

 

 

 

 

Looks like the river is well up for the weekend.

 

On a different note (got the rod) lets hope when it arrives its in good shape you never know

 

Gary

[George387]

Looks like the river is well up for the weekend.

 

On a different note (got the rod) lets hope when it arrives its in good shape you never know

 

Gary

 

Have just looked, you done well to get it for that price, looks like you will be the one on the river next with a big rod....lol.

 

Wish I could say the same for the rod I was watching, bids went daft and for a no name cane rod in need of refurbishment it went over what I was willing to pay, never mind start lacquering today the nearly completed one.