Fishing Rigs

The right one makes the difference

Like most people then I started fishing I knew nothing about fishing rigs. I just put the float on the line, put on some weights and the hook. Put the bait on, cast out and waited.

Usually this resulted in me seating for a few minutes waiting for a bite and nothing happening. When I would finally reel in the line it would be all tangled up around the float. So I would take off the float, weights and hook, put on a spinner and try that for a while. I didn't know the correct way to shot a float, to be honest I didn't know the correct way to do any type of set-up.

When I would go into the local tackle shop to buy floats or spinner or anything, the man behind the counter would let me pick anything I liked, pay for it and leave.

I had a great tackle box full of all the bits I needed to catch a fish and no idea how to use it.

Which fishing rig to use?

• What you want to catch
• Where you are fishing
• What time of the day is it
• What time of the year is it

If you have decided to try a bit of float fishing then here is some advice

Float rigs may seem simple to do. You put the float on the line, put some weights on below it and tie on the hook, throw it in and off you go catching loads of fish. If it were that easy there would be no fish left to catch.

Putting on a float can be simple, if you know how to do it, but there are some things you have to take into account when getting set-up.

What are you trying to catch?

All fish have an area in the water where they look for food. If you want to catch bottom feeders there is no point in setting up to fish mid-water, and visa-a-versa.

How deep is the water?

The depth can change the method. If the water is only 2 or 3 metres deep (5 to 10 feet), you will probably use a fixed wiggler or stick float. If it is deeper you may want to use a sliding waggler or stick.

Do you have to drop through fish to get to the species you want ?

If you are trying to catch bottom feeders, there is a chance that you will encounter other fish on the way down, that will take your bait. So how do you overcome this.

What are you using for bait ?

Although the species of fish you are after will in a lot off situations control the bait choice and in turn the choice of float. There are times when the bait can be anything from a maggot to pieces of luncheon meat or deadbait. The weight of these can control which type of float you want to use.

To get more information about the different types of floats, their application and some of the rigs you will need to fish them correctly, click on the relevant link below.

Fishing the Waggler Float
Fishing the Stick Float
Fishing the Sliding Float

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