Freshwater Fishing - knowing your depth

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Knowing your depth

Do not spend hours of wasted fishing time by not knowing the peg you are fishing

By simply pluming the depth of your peg you can find were the shelves are (remember fish follow contours on the bed just as we follow the lay of the land)

So just spend five minutes pluming your peg (if you fish the lake / river regularly then take a note book and write the info down or draw a little picture – Thus you start to build a great reference book on the stretch of water)

The Plummet
Can be bought from most good tackle shops



Using it

All you need is a float attached to the line via a rubber band; this makes it very easy to adjust the depth (do not us split shot as this can damage your line)



Now swing it out three feet and if your float disappears then the depth you set your float at is to shallow – just move the float up and try again – repeat till the float is just cocked

Now swing the rig out say ten feet and see what happens If the float stays cocked then you know that a shelve is running out for 10 feet

If the float disappears then the depth has changed i.e a shelve is there – just try say 6 feet out until your float cocks again and then you will know were it is

Just repeat till you get to know your peg



Hope this make some kind of sense

Plummeting the depth helps you catch fish period plus its something you can do during close season

[Norfolkboy]

nice read!! good info

[Ben]

yeah
i always do this but i wondered if fish got scared off by a big wieght falling next to them??
if you are in the water fish dont really seem to mind
i found this out on work expo when i was wading around in the river cutting weed and the amount of fish i nearly trod on was amazing
they dont seem to mind at all but i thought a big wieght might scare them

[Ben]

i also find i have more luck if i rais the bait about 2 inches off the bottom as well

although if it is windy this allows the float to move out of its depth

[desertfox20002002]

i allways have problems with depth so i bought some polaris floats which are supposed to find the right depth then lock on to the line trouble is i bought them on ebay but i have no got a clue how to use them they have two holes in the bottom if neone can tell how to use them maybe with diagrams it whould be a great help

[socko]

i bought a job lot of floats off Ebay and one of these polaris floats was in it,I wondered what it was for.

i thought the holes where to put something on the bottom like the baggin waggler has.

[pingu]

cheers richard good info
definately an important part of course fishing if not the most important

[fishypaul]

Originally Posted by desertfox20002002

i allways have problems with depth so i bought some polaris floats which are supposed to find the right depth then lock on to the line trouble is i bought them on ebay but i have no got a clue how to use them they have two holes in the bottom if neone can tell how to use them maybe with diagrams it whould be a great help

a polaris float i think works on the same principle as a locslide float which i have used successfully,
the line is threaded through the holes in the base of the float and you then attach your normal leger rig on the end of the line,make sure you put a small split shot just above the rig to stop the float sliding right down.
after baiting up you cast out to the desired spot and leave the line loose for a couple of seconds,the float will lay flat on the surface,
when this happens you simply put your rod in the rest and slowly tighten up,
the tension in the line will cock the float,the more tension the lower it sits,so when you are fishing at long range you can set the float quite high for better visibility.
when a bite occurs the float will either lay flat or go under,

a very useful piece of kit.

[Twinkle]

Good info, I will give these floats a try

[tat]

Polaris floats are sh1t hot.A marvellous piece of kit.You can fish 40ft of water with a float no probs,used them for about 4or 5 yrs now.