Using a Marker Float

Marker floats and why I use one.

As I started to fish a lake with no success at all, except endless amounts of weed being pulled in, I had noticed that some of the other anglers always had a big float on another rod normally leant against a tree. I knew this to be a marker float setup, but I had never used one. After enquiring with a few of the other anglers I was told a marker float would help me to find features in the water such as gravel bars, clear patches in the weed and of course the depth of the water, So I looked into it and this is what I have learnt,

A marker float is a very buoyant float which is rather on the large size and has a swivel at the bottom end, at the top end of the float there are usually fins attached which helps the float travel when it has been cast out much like an arrow. These Floats come in a variety of different colours mainly yellow, black and orange, The float is a very important piece of my gear, not only can I tell what kind of bottom the venue has but how deep it is as well.

I made my marker float setup by firstly researching the types of places that I will be using it and also a little bit of research on the net, and chatting to other anglers about it, This is how I done it,

By tying a large running ring at one end of about 1" of braided line and a 3 quarter oz lead at the other end. This is to help the marker float travel through heavy weed with relative ease. Once I have added my run ring and weight to the braid, I threaded my main line (braided) through the running ring, added a stop bead and threaded it onto my floats swivel then tied it on using my preferred method of knot. My setup is ready to use, the stop bead is to protect the knot which I have tied to the swivel and to prevent the running ring from knotting round the marker float. This will inform inform me of what is lurking on the bottom of my venue. This setup can and will help me put fish on the bank. it's a good idea to use braid as a main line, it will help me to get a true feeling of the venue, with all the sensations of the travelling lead on the bottom of the waters bed being transferred to my fingertip accurately.

Now onto casting. This is where I need to have some skill but with practise it becomes easier. Once my float is somewhere in the lake, I can begin to reel in all the slack line until i can feel the weight that is on the bottom of the lake. Slowly and very gently and all in one action, i pull my rod to the side. If I find I have to pull very hard on my rod, it's most likely I am pulling lead through heavy debris or weed. If it's very easy, I may have found a clear patch. If the bottom feels very bumpy when I am pulling then I am probably pulling my lead over gravel. If I get a dense feeling when I am pulling my rod, my lead maybe going through silt.

With a marker float the list is endless of the features I can find, such as a platoe or a ledge, I can also feel were the snags are. Once I have found a feature with my setup I can test how deep the water is by clicking my baitrunner on pulling line out from my reel at 1ft intervals (marked on my rod). When I see the float appear I have a count of how many feet deep I will be fishing.

It is also very important to decide what weight I am going to use for the particular type bottom that i am fishing on, round, pear or gripper.

If I'm fishing on a drop off, bank or a ledge then I don't want to use a round weight as it mey roll off. Also, whilst using my marker rod, I look at whether to use a running lead or semi-fixed. Size, weight and appearance all play a part of my initial findings on the water.

This is not by any means a guarantee of catching but it must be helping me to put my baits into the right places.

Tight Lines