For you guys who use fixed floats when fishing for steelhead...

Do you generally attach the float and your offering (jig, worm, etc.) directly to the main line, or do you use a leader (tied to a swivel) in a lighter pound-test than your main line? I usually opt for the first option and haven't had any problems with this setup when fishing for steelhead, but I'm troubled by a lingering memory...

A few years back my girlfriend and I were fishing a high alpine lake. I was tossing Super Dupers and catching and releasing my share of dink-sized trout. My girlfriend wasn't having much luck, so I tied a hook to her main line (4 lb. test), attached a good ol' fashioned red and white bobber, and then stuck a garden worm on the hook. A few minutes later, her bobber goes down and the line goes screaming off her reel. She's hooked into a beautiful fish -- an absolute abberation of an alpine rainbow -- and he's giving her all she can handle. Finally, though, the fish appears to be tiring, and she's able to bring it toward the shore. But then all of a sudden the fish takes off again and the line snaps -- above the bobber! -- and we watch in sadness as this wonderful fish tows a red and white plastic bobber towards the middle of our pristine alpine lake...

I hated the thought of this fish having to tow a bobber around until -- hopefully -- the hook worked its way out. The thing that confuses me still is why the line broke ABOVE the bobber rather than at the knot...

Guess there must have been a nick in the line.

Anyway, anything like this ever happen to you guys when steelhead fishing?

I tie my jigs directly to the main line. I figure the least amount of knots I can use the better.

For summer fishing I tie my jigs directly to my six pound mainline. For winter fish I use a swivel and short leader. I use foam(dink) floats for winter fishing and need to add extra lead on my mainline below my float to stand the float upright. Also makes casting with my baitcaster easier. I fish with both float/jigs and spoons for winter Steelhead and prefer to use heavier line for spoon fishing, helps drive the 2/0 siwash hooks home. This setup allows me to carry only one rod and effectivley fish both techniques.

One positive when using a leader: You can use a lighter leader than your mainline, so that you're less likely to lose your float when you hang up.

One negative when using a leader: Like Jigman said, your knot is the weak link and now you have two of them, instead of just one.

I guess it just depends on how much you want to spend on floats, and how much faith you have in your knots .

Fish on.......

try using a canadian style float the line goes through the top then wraps around the float through the bottom.use acouple of split shot on the bottom portion to keep it upright if using jigs tye it to the main line,when using bait i use a barrel swivel and lighter leader with a split shot above the barrel.with this kind of float it doesnt pin ch your line