pole rigs?

[pedro]

im very new to pole fishing,i fish my local water & do ok,im caught on pellets/cat food/paste/corn..but im stuck on rigs & floats, when i see all these floats in tackle shops i havnt a clue which is best? my local water is calm & 5' deep, im unsure how to shot,where & why? can anyone give me a basic guide?

[mrwell]

Originally Posted by pedro

im very new to pole fishing,i fish my local water & do ok,im caught on pellets/cat food/paste/corn..but im stuck on rigs & floats, when i see all these floats in tackle shops i haven't a clue which is best? my local water is calm & 5' deep, im unsure how to shot,where & why? can anyone give me a basic guide?

Hi Pedro....it is a mine field when choosing the right rigs for sure but you have given me a little to go on so great....the venue you fish is calm(most of the time) and five feet deep...ok lets start there then.

Really all you need is five types of pole floats that cater for all your pole fishing....yes there are plenty of variations around and to go into all of them will take forever but all you need to know is your venue and cater for bait being used and conditions on the day and that is all the determines your choice of rigs/float...you already know the venue well so all that matters now is the floats....here is the floats i would have in my box remember that this is just my choice and is not the must have.

SLIM BODIED FLOATS....
Carbon/Fiberglass stems....these are very sensitive floats and ideal for using baits like small pellets,caster,sweetcorn and maggots and are better used on calm days.
ROUND BODY FLOATS....
These are for use when there is a tow on the water,the more tow the more rounded the body should be to give you better control so really you need to have a good selection of these types of floats because there is sure to be tow on the water even on calm days.
BALSA DIBBERS....
These floats are small(some vary)but are great when you are shallow fishing in choppy conditions so always have a few of these in your rig box.
RUGBY BALL SHAPE....
Again these type floats are ideal for shallow/margin fishing with a thick tip for extra buoyancy.
RUGBY BALL/ROUNDED BODY WIRE STEM.....
These give you a good stable presentation with a high sensitivity,these floats are great when fishing for F1 carp with small bait like say bloodworm/joker but more at home in Winter than any other time.

These are the five shapes that you need to have to cater for all your needs and conditions but how you use these floats is up to you because it is how YOU want to present your bait to the fish that counts,shot patterns on your rig set up is also your choice, i like to use the minimum i can get away with in all my fishing preferring to let my rig set at it's own pace and not like a bomb.

All you need do is keep things simple and get used to using these floats in all kinds of conditions then you will understand the floats better and how they work with different baits,it is very difficult to try and tell you all the rig set ups but the five floats i have mentioned are a good choice to start with and in fact covers nearly all rigs...good luck

[pedro]

thanks, dont get me wrong ..im catching but i really want to know more,going back to shotting,why shot say 12" from the hook of have a stream down the line? as im fishing pellets mostly is the wire float best?

[mrwell]

Originally Posted by pedro

thanks, dont get me wrong ..im catching but i really want to know more,going back to shotting,why shot say 12" from the hook of have a stream down the line? as im fishing pellets mostly is the wire float best?

Well the shotting patterns differ considerably to conditions on the day really but having shot to near the hook is not advisable because this will spook the fish this is why you seldom see any shot near the hook and 12 inches is a good distance from the hook although you can put small shot or rig putty nearer if you like but i think you already know this....i would just put the bulk of the shot at mid depth this will set the float more quickly but with less weight towards the hook it should drop in a natural way and gain you better presentation.

Float choice is all down to weather conditions...it is no good using a sensitive float in choppy conditions and wire stem floats give you a good deal of sensitivity so on a calm day these will work well with pellets but in choppy conditions they are not the choice but maybe a balsa dibber float would be better for better buoyancy and presentation....what you have to do is fish the conditions on the day and this is why it is impossible to tell you exact shotting patterns because these are really personal preference and the weather plays a big part in choosing the pattern used...there are a lot of videos on this subject from the likes of Bob Nudd and these are well worth watching to give you a better idea.....sorry i can not be of more help but i can only give you a rough guide line based on personal preference and this may not be the best for you on your chosen venue but your catching so you can not be doing much wrong....good luck!