Jump to content

Question's On Float Fishing


skeeter

Recommended Posts

Here's the scoop.

Im starting to like this float fishing so i stopped today and picked up a few things,

Raven specialist hooks size 12

Blackbird swivels

Phantom fluorocarbon leader line 5.6LB

 

What i need to know is how long of a leader do you guy's normally use, and what would be the best knot ? :dunno:

 

2nd- Are neoprene waders suppose to be 100% water proof???? :dunno:

Cause mine are not, and no i didnt piss myself. :wallbash:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Skeeter,

So much to learn...I'll take a poke at the leader length question. Really all boils down to water clarity. On your crystal clear days you may want as much as 36 inches hook to the swivel/main line. I usually pull off about an arms length in these conditions. In murky stained water you can get away with running your main line to the hook or at least cut back the leader to half size,18 inches or so all pending.. In murky water I usually start off with main line and if nothing happens after a few drifts I add a section of tippet and give that a go..

 

Good luck !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the help Chris .

Roy , the door is always open for you.

SRT8, my pants had water spots all the way down on the legs and the front looked like i pee'd myself.

Sweat, good possibility since i was really warm all day in them.

I hope so....LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

verry intrested in this type of fishing.

i have had some luck in the past but it was most likely dumb luck.

i usualy used a 6ft lead 4-6 pound tied to the smallest swivel i could find.with a small balsa float just in front of the swivel about 18inches.

 

it was all tryal and error.

gave up on it because none of my freinds took any intrest in it.

 

willing to learn ill be watching for any tips.

 

saltydawg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sweat, good possibility since i was really warm all day in them.

I hope so....LOL

 

 

I hope so too, if not that,then...................blink.gif

 

 

I need some of Geoffs Brain Bleachhuh.gif

 

I noticed some of the "elite" members havent shared their skills here.Whats up with thatdunno.gif

Musta been a hocket game on or sumfinangel.png

Edited by mercman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope so too, if not that,then...................blink.gif

 

 

I need some of Geoffs Brain Bleachhuh.gif

 

I noticed some of the "elite" members havent shared their skills here.Whats up with thatdunno.gif

Musta been a hocket game on or sumfinangel.png

I have some extra for all of Dann's outings so just let me know if you need it... :whistling:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The whole "trick" to steelhead fishing is stealth for the contions that you are fishing. For example if you are fishing 6-8 foot depths in the east ditches then a 3 foot leader is plenty. If you are fishing really fast turbulatnt water then a leader isn't even neccessary.

 

I have complete trust I two knots. I use the Orvis tippet knot to join mainline(10 lb) to florocarbon leaders. I use this knot for all my steelhead, and walleye setups. The failutre rate of this joining knot is extremely low.

 

For the hook I also use the Orvis knot( the hook version). Simple and super strong. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this knot. It is truly amazing.

 

I don't use a swivel for joind the leader. One less knot to tie/break.

 

I use as little weight and terminal tackle as possible. My personal favourite is "Sticky Weight" a tugsten based moldable weight that hangs up less on the bottom rubble. Experiment with the different shot styles for the waters you fish.

 

In high pressured waters and/or very clear slow water , finess is the key.

I have fished behind fishermen that have pounded spots for hours and caught rainbows by staning further away from a spot and going with a lighter stealth approach. Fish as close to cover as possible. Risk loosing some tackle.

 

Don't over look the variety of baits to use. I've passed many a snag that was decorated with roe bags of all colours. Switching to a pink worm or a fly(stone, caddis, mayfly, bugger) or bead has paid off so many times. Don't get caught up in using one type of bait. As the stream warms up during the day , steelhead become more active in thier feeding and will prefer available forage. I've caught more bows on a purple wolley bugger and stone fly nymph in the middle of the day than anything else.

 

I've heard way too many guys that claimed that brown trout roe was the ONLY way to go. Not so. Sometimes it would work and some times it wouldn't.

 

Experiment and change up often to find what is working that day. There is NO magic 100% bait. I've tried them all in 50+ years.

 

Just my 3 cents.

 

muddler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The best way to learn anything is to synthesize advice and practice it for yourself. Nothing will teach you about leader length better than trying it for yourself.

 

Solid advice there.

 

An example, I was running a 2.5ft lead in about 6ft of water last time out. Rest of the crew ran deep, they thought it was my bait, I beleive it was more the lead combined with the type of bait. Simply time on the water to figure this stuff out.

 

IF you head east fire me a PM skeeter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think one of the biggest things I've seen from my relative few years on the rivers have been guys running way to short. Also running way to light. Why run a 4gram float when it's going to take half your drift for your bait to even get in the strike zone? Sure there are times and places that a light rig is required, but around here it's a rarity. This also hampers your casting ability, so when the other guys are bombing 15gr floats out to the main run, you are stuck fishing the crap water close to shore because you don't have the weight to reach.

 

My leads are usually longer then the depth I'm fishing.

Edited by BillM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harrison i sent you a pm but this is what i got.

"The member cannot receive any new messages"

 

Maybe your in box is full?

 

I'm getting ready right now to head out to oshawa creek.

 

Opps, sorry, clean some PMs out. If you head out this weekend PM me.

 

Phil

 

PS. watch out for shopping carts in Oshawa. Bubbles would be in heaven :)

Edited by Harrison
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think one of the biggest things I've seen from my relative few years on the rivers have been guys running way to short. Also running way to light. Why run a 4gram float when it's going to take half your drift for your bait to even get in the strike zone? Sure there are times and places that a light rig is required, but around here it's a rarity. This also hampers your casting ability, so when the other guys are bombing 15gr floats out to the main run, you are stuck fishing the crap water close to shore because you don't have the weight to reach.

 

My leads are usually longer then the depth I'm fishing.

 

 

Bulk shot in faster flows to get bait down quickly, thru the whole run, and not just the tailout, if u do that you too will be taking epic solo paddler picswhistling.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recent Topics

    Popular Topics

    Upcoming Events

    No upcoming events found

×
×
  • Create New...