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Float fishing

 
A couple of years ago I made some casting floats, beech and ash, on my lathe.

Probably not much use to you but similar to bubble floats filled with water.

My floats act as the weight as well as the float, that way I can cast a bait, clipped up on the mainline, which releases and drops down to about 6' deep. I've cast them on a field and chucked them 75 yards.

I've had a couple of good takes on them with the float shooting across the surface but as yet not actually hooked into anything.

When time allows I'm thinking of adding a small ball weight above the hook to add some resistance and hopefully a hook set.

A bubble float may be your answer.
I envy your ability to see a float at 75 yards! How big are they? No wonder the hook up rate is poor.
 
The takes I've had have been close in, probably bass. When I've fished them further out I've done it by watching the line move in the tide keeping some sort of contact with the float, which is too far away to see, hoping that the line will tighten and result in a hook-up.
Over grass they go quite a long way, as I've said 75 yards, by the time there is a bait on as well I think it's closer to 60 yards.
They are an experimental thing thing that I'm still playing with.
The floats I have made weigh between 4 and 7 ounces but are as aerodynamic as a small cucumber.
 
The takes I've had have been close in, probably bass. When I've fished them further out I've done it by watching the line move in the tide keeping some sort of contact with the float, which is too far away to see, hoping that the line will tighten and result in a hook-up.
Over grass they go quite a long way, as I've said 75 yards, by the time there is a bait on as well I think it's closer to 60 yards.
They are an experimental thing thing that I'm still playing with.
The floats I have made weigh between 4 and 7 ounces but are as aerodynamic as a small cucumber.
How about a design which is concave at the bottom to accomodate a bullet weight to improve the aerodynamics?
 
I only use a bubble for livebaits, no lead at all as most small fish make straight for the bottom anyway
 
They tangle easy unless you are using floating baits. Better off with a big loaded waggler

Image 9 - Loaded waggler floats, set of 5 preloaded - roach, tench, bream fishing buoy
 
Yes, that kind of design but a marine version. As @Ianpick capacity to work in wood, maybe in teak or lignum vitae, envisaged with through boring and the weight able to descend on impact, if that is feasible. ALL PATENTS RESERVED!
 
Yes, that kind of design but a marine version. As @Ianpick capacity to work in wood, maybe in teak or lignum vitae, envisaged with through boring and the weight able to descend on impact, if that is feasible. ALL PATENTS RESERVED!
You want a controller float for sea fishing. What bait would you use ?
 
Yes, that kind of design but a marine version. As @Ianpick capacity to work in wood, maybe in teak or lignum vitae, envisaged with through boring and the weight able to descend on impact, if that is feasible. ALL PATENTS RESERVED!
One of my designs has a hole drilled through top to bottom then crimps and beads to determine the depth.
The problem I had with it is that there has to be a hooklength and bait under the float which tangled with the mainline.

The design below, made of teak, is my solution and does work.
20220807_130830.jpg

It's not a particularly good picture but the float is made with a vine eye and m16 nut which make up most of the weight, in this case 105g.
There is a leadlink and bait clip attached to the vine eye to which the shockleader is tied. I probably only need the bait clip but they're too small to clip to the eye.

The hooklength is then fixed to the shockleader, crimpbeadswivlebeadcrimp, and using a relay clip goes up and over and back onto the bait clip.

The float then acts as a weight with the bait clipped behind.
The nut and vine eye turn the float over on impact, releasing the hook and whatever length hooklength you've attached.
There will be a way of putting an adjustable clip on the rig to shorten the hooklength and run it off the shockleader.

Not easily visible at distance until I paint them yellow!

Lignum vitae sinks like a stone and is now not really available to buy.
 
Saw this online..could be useful to fish subsurfaceView attachment 30386
Not so sure about that. Prawns are normally fished over rough ground. (in my exprience, may be different elsewhere) The chances are the lead will get snagged losing you both lead and float and potentially your fish.
 
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Good diagram & explanation. I did one slightly different recently. 1oz weight on the bottom of the mainline and 2x 12" snoods & hooks between the weight & the swivel.
Do you have your weight on the bottom for this or suspended? Like the idea of this.
 
Do you have your weight on the bottom for this or suspended? Like the idea of this.
Yes, weight on the bottom about 1oz which the float seemed to support fine. 1 snood near the bottom & 1 3/4 of the way up the line to the float. Just be careful not to have it set too deep! I was fishing over rough ground, the float drifted into the shallows a bit and I got snagged up! ??
 

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