BillM

In fast water I like the float to sit up a bit more just because all the waves will usually pull it down a bit if I have to much shot on.. A buddy of mine puts hardly any shot beneath his float at all, it almost lays on the surface... He catches a tonne of fish I think he was up on me about 4x at least last week on me, lol.

Fighting a fish might be a bit of a pain in the rain, but man o man does it make trotting smooth!!!!! Especially when I have roe juice all over my hands, lol.

The whole point of trotting is to slow the float down so that the bait is downstream of the float during the drift. The surface water is always moving faster then the water near the bottom of the river (this is where you bait is).. The last thing you want is the float pulling your bait downstream.. You'll snag up way more and it's not a very natural presentation... This is where the shot pattern is also important.. I usually bulk shot right beneath the float in order to c.o.c.k it, then bulk shot near the leader and maybe even some dust shot on the leader itself, depending on how much flow there is.. I like to then stagger shot from the leader up towards the float with big spaces between the shot the closer I get to the float... hook----------dust shot----dust shot------swivel-SSSSS--s--s---s----s----s------s------s------s--------------s--------------s-----------ssss-Float. This is a setup similar to what I used the other day in a fast flow.

A centerpin knot....duh!!! lol

Awesome!! lol I usually flip the drag on mine I know it's lazy but sometimes I'm fumbling around with a landing glove and need that extra hand.

Big float (9.0g or more) and bulk shot the hell out of it right above the leader... You need to get it down and keep it down. Also, don't cast upstream, you'll have way better control of the setup if you cast horizontally or slightly down stream from your standing position. I don't start trotting until the float is out of the fast water and into the seam (I keep pressure on it and swing it across). This way you know the bait is downstream when the drift starts... Lots of shot, lots of trotting, and hold on. I wasted HOURS the other day with a rig that was only slightly wrong. Buddy if mine gave me a couple of tips and what do you know, 3 drifts later I'm into one..

No, but the setups commonly used when float fishing do I think that's what the OP was referring to.

Clinch knot.

Great addition to the thread, I'm sure the OP found this extremely helpful.

I don't even wanna think about it!

Drew, it was a pleasure fishing with you man, my dad really enjoyed himself... We'll definitely have to hit the water sometime soon, any chance Mike and I can get you addicted to float fishing? And that report? Brings back some awesome memories!!! Although I gotta get a better camera, your pics look so much better! Glad you, bren and the kids are finally settled!

That thing looks like a missle!

You're not going to get much with $200.. Rod, reel, waders, jacket, floats, leader, shot, hooks, etc etc etc.. It all adds up real fast....

I know a few guys that SHOULD have these

Whatever can help me on the 'Geen is a good thing! lol

It sounds easier, that's most likely the reason you like it better

Even in the small ditches out east I don't think I'd bring anything less then my 13.6'... I guess it's all personal preference though.

A used setup is the way to go.. Can you get something decent for under $400 for sure.. If you are going after chinnies, you better get something with some meat to it

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and you are certainly entitled to yours. I fish with Mike and a lot of other guys who have fished that river for a long long time, before it was ever the in thing to do. Could I see the impact on a river that is completely self sustaining with no type of additional stocking? For sure. But for a river that get's something like 90,000 stocked fish per year like Wallico mentioned? It just doesn't add up even with the mortality rates you quoted.

My oldman and I used to sleep in the back of the truck all the time. It had a cap, he made some homemade bunks, it was great... And free

You mind as well skip steelhead fishing and head right to the pond for bluegill... 15ft foot rods have their place, and I wouldn't run anything shorter then 13' for anything else. 8ft? lol

It's pretty obvious who you are talking about without mentioning them man, come on.... How many times have you done this? Did you forget the giant diatribe you had over on the float board? It's hilarious that you think one post about one river lead to any kind of 'decimation'... If you are so worried about it, stop fishing all together.

Are you running dropshot hooks? I use a palomar to the hook, then attach the weight to the access.. Works great.

I don't think your camera had enough zoom anyhow

I'd love to see a local Cabelas.... Hell I'd love for Cabelas.ca to offer the same crap they have on Cabelas.com...