For effective floater fishing, the proven baits are dog mixers with a fake dog biscuit on the hook. Start by deploying two potfuls of liquidised bread at seven metres, accompanied by the flat float with a 6mm ‘butty’. This setup is vital for covering both near- and far-bank shallow water fishing. However, in windy conditions, a heavier float than suggested in this guide might be necessary due to increased tow.
For the line setup, use a 6lb. line as the main line and a hooklink loop to loop. Leave a few yards on the spool for hooklinks when filling the reel. Heavier floats, like Chubbers, Loafers, balsa trotters, or Crowquill Avon floats, are ideal for this kind of fishing. They are best shot with a bulk of BBs or SSGs positioned 1ft from the hook. Next, slide a 5mm bead, then the float onto the line, followed by a ball weight sufficient to cock the float, and another 5mm bead. Add split shot on the hook side of the float until two-thirds to three-quarters of the float’s capacity is reached.
Fishing floats like these are designed for high sensitivity and responsiveness. When conditions permit, the float should be dotted so that around 10mm of the tip is visible. For bigger species like carp, larger waggler floats, such as pellet wagglers, are used to fish bigger baits like pellets higher in the water. The variety of fishing floats is vast, ranging in sizes, shapes, and materials like foam, balsa wood, plastic, Indian sarkanda reed, or even feathered bird/porcupine plumes.
