LAST WEEK I covered the tackle needed for rod and reel float fishing, this week I’m going to look at using that tackle to float fish with a rod and reel on commercials and similar stillwaters.
The typical commercial fishery is shallow. Much deeper waters do exist but you need to be able to float fish using a rod and reel in a water that is typically three to five feet deep.
Fishing with a Waggler Float
The usual float for fishing stillwaters is a waggler. These come in many shapes and sizes; from floats that would be at home on a narrow canal to great bodied sliders taking four SSG shot. For shallow water fishing at modest range it is simpler to concentrate on small insert wagglers that have a bulk load of 2BB to 5BB. These are widely available in tackle shops and are made of a peacock quill stem with a thinner insert in the tip. The insert should be about 2-3mm in thickness. Once you have obtained a small selection of floats remember you’ll need some float attachments and a selection of shot for locking the float on the line plus smaller shot for down the line. AAA, BB, no. 1, No. 4, no. 8 and no. 10 will do the job.
Find a Comfortable Swim
To get started with waggler fishing, as with the pole, it’s best to learn to walk before you try to run. That means easy fishing at short range. You need to find a venue that offers plenty of small fish at close range with an even depth around five feet. Pick a fine warm day, a breeze is OK, (preferably blowing away from you), but a gale is not! Avoid swims with overhanging trees and find an open grassy bank if you can. It will also help if you’ve got open water in front of you rather than an island that is only ten metres away. Find out where a suitable swim is that has a) plenty of fish in it, and b) a depth around 1.5 metres/5feet.
Tackling Up
To begin with try fishing a spot around ten metres from the bank. This is close enough to be able to cast and feed accurately, without the additional problems associated with longer ranges. Tackle up with your float rod and a small fixed spool reel loaded with 2 – 2.5 lb line, taking care not to miss any of the rod rings. A missed ring means that the loose line will slap on the rod and reduce your casting distance. To fish at this distance, select an insert waggler float that takes 2AAA as locking shot plus at least 4 no. 8 shot down the line (it should be marked as a shot load of 5BB or 21/2 AAA).
Rod, reel and accessories
You’ll need a float adapter to attach the float to the line. Thread the line through this and lock the float on with the two AAA shot, leaving a small gap of about 1 cm/1/2 inch; this helps the float to fold on the strike. Next you’ll need to attach your hook link using a loop to loop method. Keep the two loops small and neat. With waggler fishing I would recommend that your hook link is around 50 cm/20″ long. A small barbless hook (no 18) completes the set up. At this stage you have yet to add any dropper shot.
Tackled up waggler
It is best to do this after plumbing up. Before attaching the plummet quickly check that the float is cocked by the locking shot with just about all (5 cm/2″) of the insert showing; certainly ensure that it is not sinking!
Plumbing the Depth
With a waggler you will need to take into account the length of the float when judging the distance between the base of the float and the hook. Unlike plumbing the depth with a pole where you can just lower the plummet in, now you find that you have to cast. Because of the short range you should be able to cast underhand by swinging out the plummet gently so that it goes slightly beyond your swim. If the float is set too deep then it will sit the same as when you tested the shotting; if too shallow it will submerge. Make adjustments accordingly until the float is about set to dead depth. This is your starting point. Now take off the plummet and add the dropper shot. Initially, stick to no. 8 shot only, placing one shot every 30cm/foot from the hook. This will give a slow fall to your bait yet still register on the float as each shot takes effect.
Once you’ve added these shot, test the float again; there should be about 3mm/ 1/8 inch showing. I know it’s not much but you don’t want passing boats mooring up, do you? If there is more than this then add more no. 8 shot to the bulk next to the float. If it’s too much, substitute one of the AAA shot for a BB and a no. 1. Try the float again until you get it right.
Standard waggler rig
This simple and versatile shotting pattern is the basis for most waggler fishing. It enables the float to cast well, and is suitable for on the drop fishing, fishing at full depth, and fishing over depth.
Time to Start Fishing
What we’ve just done may seem a lot of rigmarole but as with pole fishing accuracy and finesse makes a huge difference to your angling success, and getting into a routine of taking the trouble to get your waggler set-up right will pay dividends.
This first session should concentrate on catching some fish, regardless of size, therefore I suggest using maggots as bait. You’ll need at least a pint, two pints to be on the safe side. So, baiting with a single maggot, it’s time to start fishing.
A float rig as just described should cast well. But so often I see people struggling to cast waggler rigs. There are no secrets but a couple of tips can make a big difference. Firstly, ensure that the float is at least a metre, slightly more if possible, below the rod tip when you cast. This enables the rod to load up as you cast and then the power of the rod is used fully. Secondly, timing is important. When you release the line by lifting your finger from the spool you should be feeling the power build up in the rod and line. If every cast is accompanied by a loud whooshing noise then you’ve got too much power but poor timing. When you do get it right it is amazing how little effort is required. Practice is the only way to learn and, as with the pole fishing, getting ten minutes help from a more experienced angler will make all the difference.
Aim slightly high when casting so that the float lands on the water rather than ploughing into it. With practice you’ll learn the subtle art of feathering the line as the float lands by gently closing down the line at the reel spool but that will take plenty of practice. This allows the rig to land in a straight line rather than a heap. For the moment concentrate on being able to cast slightly further than where you intend fishing in a straight line. Final tip is to ensure that the reel is loaded with line within 3mm/ 1/8inch of the lip with no loose coils or knots on it!
14.12 carp caught on a 20ft rod
Having cast beyond the swim, draw back the float, using the reel, to the chosen spot. If you wildly miscast then cast again. You’re aiming to have that float within a metre every time. When drawing back the float you have two choices, to sink the line, or leave it floating on top. In perfect conditions with no drift you can leave the line on top but generally there is enough drift to require sinking the line in order to avoid the tackle being dragged out of position. To do this, submerge the tip of the rod about a foot when you reel the float back and you’ll see the line sinking.
Feed, Feed and Feed Again.
As with the pole fishing, feeding is key. With plenty of maggots you can afford to feed about thirty or forty every cast. Don’t leave the float in too long, three or four minutes is enough. Don’t be surprised if you start to pick up some bites on the drop as the float settles. To strike the bite you need to make a gentle steady pull to the side. This avoids trying to pull the line upwards out of the water on the strike. Inevitably you will miss some bites with this method. In a way this highlights one of the tremendous advantages of pole fishing in the directness of the strike but waggler fishing as a method has much to commend it and though more difficult to master than pole fishing it is worth persevering with. When you miss bites replace the bait even if it looks untouched as somehow the crafty fish know that another one has rejected it.
Experiment a little with that bottom shot, the one nearest the hook. Move it closer to the hook and the bites will register better but the fish may shy away, move it further away and you may increase the number of bites but also find that some don’t register at all. Similarly tryi altering your depth a little. Try both up and down. Each time you make a change note what you did and whether it made any difference – did it improve things or did you stop getting bites? If it doesn’t help, go back to the previous setting. All the time keep up that steady rate of feeding.
All of this should result in some fish. The small ones can be swung in but net anything over about three ounces. Three ounces equates to not much more than six inches long or 15cm. You’ll need to judge how much line to have out both when swinging a fish in and using a landing net, generally this is about the same as the length of the rod. For bigger fish you’ll need to play them first and this takes practice and skill. In broad terms use the power of the rod to tire the fish, side-strain where you pull the head of the fish around can be useful. Avoid letting the fish point you; this where the fish pulls hard and the rod ends up pointing straight down the line. At times you’ll need to give the fish line, either through controlled back-winding which is where you wind the reel handle backwards, or by using the reel’s drag. Ensure substantial pressure is kept on the fish even in these circumstances, and try to steer the fish away from snags.
Variations
In this brief look at fishing with a waggler I’ve described shotting, casting, feeding and playing fish. It’s just the beginning. Next time out, try a different size float. Will a float the next size down cope? Think about what this session taught you. How’s your casting coming along? Would some help improve things? How did the fish respond? Did you get lots of bites? Did you miss lots of bites? These are all things that practice and experimenting will overcome. With practice you can try increasing the range. Keep within your skill level and be comfortable that you are able to cast and feed accurately at the increased range. On many waters it is possible to fish beyond the range of the pole anglers, and it is this versatility that match anglers need.
In the pole fishing articles I described fishing with pellets. There’s no reason why you can’t fish pellets with a rod, reel and waggler float. Your target fish, however, have changed, now you’re hoping for small carp, tench and bream rather than small roach and rudd. That means you need to step up the strength of the tackle throughout to at least 4lb line and a bigger, stronger hook, around a no. 14. Otherwise the rig is unchanged. Some expander pellets are so soft that attempting to cast them with a rod is a frustrating experience as they fall off every time, but the ones I’ve recommended, Xpander 6mm pellets, are perfect for this style of fishing.
Other brands are constantly being developed such as Jellets which I haven’t tried yet but the principle is the same. For feed you’ll need a couple of pints (a kilo bag) of 3-4mm sinking feed pellets. As with the maggot it’s vital to keep a constant stream of feed going in. Once the bigger fish turn up they’ll soon scoff all that you can throw at them.
This has been an all too brief look at stillwater waggler fishing. Next week I’ll look at some more advanced variations on stillwater floatfishing
