Currently float fishing...

[LukeShaw]

Hi, I'm a beginner fisher. Only 17 at the moment and started fishing with a whip a couple of years ago. Recently decided to get rid of that idea as I wanted to progress further.

I was just wondering is there any help you can give me or tips and advice on what I can do to become a better float fisher?

I'm currently using luncheon meat, sweetcorn and worms as bait. I have not been catching much at all and some times going blank! Would really love any good tips you can give me:

groundbaiting before i start to cast

where abouts on the lake i should be floating

what sort of depth is the best for floating

what bait/groundbait is the best

any ideas, advice and tips are welcome!

Thankyou, Luke

[lozza]

Take the same principles that you would use when whip fishing and use them with rod and line. If you were catching using a whip why not just adjust you float set up accordingly. The advantages of using a rod and float set up would be the distance away from the bank that you can cast and fish

 

Just keep things very simple to start and then progress as you get more confident in using rod and line if you can fish with a whip your 90% any how.

 

As far as depth to fish at is concerned fish on the bottom and see how that goes before changing depth. I always ball ground bait in the swim if there are no fish already present before I set up, but only if I already no were I want to fish. You don’t wont to feed a snag.

[Austin]

Hi, I'm a beginner fisher. Only 17 at the moment and started fishing with a whip a couple of years ago. Recently decided to get rid of that idea as I wanted to progress further.

I was just wondering is there any help you can give me or tips and advice on what I can do to become a better float fisher?

I'm currently using luncheon meat, sweetcorn and worms as bait. I have not been catching much at all and some times going blank! Would really love any good tips you can give me:

groundbaiting before i start to cast

where abouts on the lake i should be floating

what sort of depth is the best for floating

what bait/groundbait is the best

any ideas, advice and tips are welcome!

Thankyou, Luke

 

Best tip i ever got when i started was to dip the tip of the rod into the water and reel in sharply a couple of turns to sink the line to prevent the line bowing and the float drifting.

 

Make sure the hook can pull through the bait before you start or you'll never hook anything. I personally prefer maggots and soft hooker pellets for general coarse fishing but its all very much a horses for courses discussion that.

 

Try fishing around the margins just because you have a rod and reel doesn't mean you have to smash it out as far as possible unless you are looking for a particular feature or you can see serious fish activity.

 

Fish the bottom to start with if you are struggling with that lay a few inches of line on

 

No one groundbait or bait is best again horses for courses. I find on one pond i go to if i use maggot i get nothing but perch, if i use strawberry pellet the carp love it. Maybe start simple using maggots and throw a few maggots in occasionally as free offerings.

 

Finally have a good read through the forums the guys on here are very experienced and you'll find the full range of answers to alot of questions from the science to the black art of it all

[Ken L]

Where are you fishing ?

Those baits are fine for a comercial with a big head of carp but you'll sit waiting a very long time for a bit on the average park pool or canal.

 

I would suggest that you post up a few details of the water that you're fishing (type, depth, species etc) and ask for a few suggestions on how to tackle that.

[LukeShaw]

Thanks for the help its much appreciated. Because i yet to have bought a plummet to measure the depth i'v always asked fishers at the lake how deep they believe i should fish in the waters and gone with there suggestions. Think its about time i should try to sink to the bottom!

 

I'm going this friday to a local place either the Three Pools or Sefton Farm. I live in Southport and the closest to me are, Sefton Farm Fishery, Mere Beck, Three Pools, Bannister Farm, Leisure Lakes and Hurleston Hall. If anyone is familar with any of these lakes please let me know any good tips you can pass on to me!

 

I will use the tips that you have all given me and hopefully fingers crossed catch a couple of nice fish! If so i'll upload some pictures haha!

Thanks again

[Ken L]

Well I don't know the area or the venues but a quick look on the net for the Three Pools fishery showed details of a major fish kill followed by this in March of this year.

 

You definatly need to plumb the depth and I would suggest that you start out by fishing maggot or casters on a 18 hook about 10cm over depth with a waggler type float.

Trickle in a little loose feed (and a little groundbait if you want and it's allowed) and don't increase the feed rate until you start getting bites.

That said, my general coarse fishing is a little rusty and I'm sure someone will be along with a litle local advice.

[LukeShaw]

Ye was quite bad what happened there. Think everything is ok at the moment. sounds like a plan I think we are fishing at the three pools this friday so your advice is very helpful and I definately will use it! i dont suppose anyone knows of a good recipe for a good ground bait? I'm thinking about making a good mix of different things and only had a few ideas: bread, dog biscuits, sweetcorn! any other ideas please let me know! thanks!

[Ken L]

If the Van Den Eynde range is still on the market, just pop into your local tackle shop and buy a bag. If you need it to go a bit further, just mix it 50:50 with brown crumb - but don't over do it, you only need a bit unless you know there are lots of fish feeding in front of you.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Don't need a plummet if you don't have one. Squeeze an SSG onto your hook or make a little loop of nylon with a few big shot on it and attach that to your hook.

 

Plummets are fine if you have one but it ain't the be all and end all.