float fishing advice

[Island991]

hi im new to sea fishing. using a carp/match course rod to do some sea float fishing of the rocks/harbour. how long should free line be when casting? i have trouble fishing deeper depths as the rubber float stop wont go through top ring of rod. does it need to? am i using wrong kinda rod for the job, ie should it be a rod with bigger eyes?? or should i get used to casting with longer amount of free line? any help?!!

[Pross]

Try using some Power Gum to form a stop knot rather than the rubber band you get with a float pack. I use a carp rod for float fishing in the sea and haven't had any problems. The position of the knot will depend on the depth of water you are fishing and the species you are trying for. Generally, near the surface ( 8 to 10 feet) seems to be garfish territory with mackeral just below. Pollack are usually slightly deeper in my experience. It is really a case of trial and error and you will soon find the depths the fish are at in your particular mark.

[Island991]

thanks. how exactly do i use power gum? is it a rubber tubing type stuff??

[devondave]

its like fishing line....personally i just use a length of my trace line for a stop knot or though i do have my own complex way of tying it which i could never explain on here.....however your in a great place to be sea fishing get out there and catch some fish!

[geejayy]

island,
power gum is a soft elastic thread , i tie a stop knot by useing ,umm..
dont know what its called, a 'spade end' knot around the line ( instead of a hook shank)
pull it tight and trim the ends, this one can be moved up/down the line to adjust depth.
being small and neat it doesn't catch in the rodrings much, ive set it at depths of upto 30ft. a bead could be added if the 'ole in youre float is too large but the bead needs to be bigger than your tip ring or problems may arise

i suppose you could also use a 2-3mm lengh of rig tube, thread the line though it ,then back through it again in the same direction, move to desired depth b4 pulling tight.
this is usually used to stop rig components slideing about on the rig body but may work for this. though it will be fixed at one depth.

good luck geejayy.

[oldh]

Hi

If you don't want to buy Power Gum,you can use telephone wire.

Cut off a small length, remove the centre core and tie it onto your line at the depth you want to fish at, and trim the ends.

Andy

[Pross]

OK, I'll try to explain how to tie a stop knot. I tried to find a diagram but couldn't get a decent one. Cut a length of Power Gum about 4 or 5 inches long, place it parallel to your mainline roughly where you want the knot and wrap the gum around the mainline for 4 complete twists then loop the line back on itself a do another 4 twists around the mainline so effectively repeating the original twists. Pull both tag ends and the knot should close up into a compact knot which generally remains in place but can be moved up and down the mainline into the required friction with minimal resistance and which should not, therefore, damage the mainline. Normal fishing line can be used for the stop knot but is more likely to cut into the mainline. If you do make the knot with fishing line try to using a resonably thick diameter of line for the stop knot. Power Gum is reasonably cheap at less than £2 for a 20m spool. The stop knot is regularly shown in fishing magazines so it may be worth trying to get your hands on some.

[Island991]

thanks everyone. i have got some power gum, and tryed stop not....think i got it right!! although a stop not with gum still wont go through top ring on rod stopping me being able to float fish deeper. guess i just need to practice casting with longer amount of free line! or use a different rod. i have a flattie rod, with bigger eyes, but it is not very wippy for float fishing.

[Vlad]

I use red thread from my wifes goblen kit ( don't tell her please )!
When wet it is passing through the top ring easely.

[Pross]

I'm surprised the stop knot won't go through the top eye. If tied correctly it should be very small (not much larger than the hole in the float), I use a Targa 2.5lb carp rod for all my sea float fishing without any problems and even use it on my daughters rod which is just one of those kids rods you get in tourist shops in most seaside towns.