Image Above: A couple of home made floats and old bubble float
Taking up float fishing again is little like returning home after a long absence; after all it was an afternoon staring at a float rigged for me by grandfather on a local park lake that first drew me in. The sea is a different matter; there is the depth of water and the small problem of waves but still to watch a float in water is meditation of sorts and one that is often only disturbed by the prospect of a fish.
I came back to float fishing for two reasons, one was to have some bait in the water while I was spinning from the rocks and the other because I began experimenting with making floats from corks and cane. The floats are of the sliding variety and large enough to seen amongst the wave crests without prohibiting a fish pulling them under.
Below are illustrations of two sliding float rigs, the first is pretty much a standard rig and I have had some success with this but on the downside it does have a habit tangling mid cast. The second is an improved rig which with a second stop knot keeps the float and the baited hook apart a little more successfully. The stop knots I generally tie with thin elastic or a short piece of the main line.
For bait I use mackerel strips, sand eels, worms or whatever I can get my hands on. As there isn`t much depth of water around the island’s shores I often limit myself to fishing around the top of the tide, letting the float drift with the wind or the currents. I suppose you can pretty much catch anything on a float rig but it is probably best for mid-water species like mackerel, garfish, sea trout, pollock and saithe.
Image below: Sliding float rigs
