Being from the heart of float fishing country in Canada I am very interested in how they fish the float on the west coast. The methods and intent would be the same I would imagine but the type of tackle would very due to the water you fish. I have been float fishing for Steelhead for 30 years and use mainly a centre pin reel, some of which are old and very collectable, I have over 40 centre pins so I guess you would say that I am in the sport. I need to get some leads on information on the techniques you use, I belive "when you think you know all there is, you then start to learn"

Looking forward to some guidance on this topic.

Thanks

I am new to the float fishing gig. I caught my first two steelies on a float and jig (thanks RT for the shlappen jig/worm suggestion) last couple weeks on a trip to Washington. I fish tuf line on a Level wind reel. I did fish with a 11'6" rod but the second float caught fish snapped it in two. when I get a chance to get back to the coast I plan to explore float fishing even more.
About these centre pins, they seem to be like fly reels. What is the difference? Are they easy to cast?

One tuff lesson I learned with my first couple of float caught fish is that you cannot feel the bite like drift fishing. I lost my first fish, in my opinion due to daydreaming and not realizing I had a fish on ( thought it was another snagg) and not setting the hook properly. Guess I should pay more attention to the signature I put at the end of my posts......

Sure give RT all the credit! I'm with addict on this one I love using tuf line on my level wid while float fishing , you just have to be careful with your leaders since the tuf line doesn't stretch. I prefer the slip bobbers since I'm constantly moving on the river and its real easy to slide the float a few inches one way or the other.
Floatzman, I'm real interested in using the centerpin style reels but I don't want to drop a couple hundred $'s just to see if I like it. do I need a special rod? If you are interested in selling one of your many reels let me know.

Buzz

I use a 10.5 foot Lamiglas with a Shimano Curado BSF with 14 lb Fireline. Float/jig fishing is my primary method as it continues to out produce any other technique I've seen.

HeY Floatzman. Hawk from Minnesota here. I can vouch for the effectiveness of the float rod, baitcaster set up.

I fish lots of rivers in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and found that it works pretty darned well. More than likely, I use a lot of the same small balsa floats that you do. My rig is set up (10 foot rod and baitcaster)with 10 pound Power Pro, and connected to 6 pound maxima ultragreen as a leader. Most of the time, I coat the first 30 yards of the Power Pro with a dry fly dressing to help it float on the surface, if I go for a real long drift. The reason I run a shorter rod, is I fish a lot of rivers where a longer rod would be too restrictive. Usually a looper bug,cadis or small stone fly,1/16th ounce jig tipped with a waxie, or a size 6 egg hook and a 5 or 6 egg spawn sack will due the trick during this time of the year.

I saw a few guys running center pins over at Tippy Dam in Michigan, and up on the U.P. and they were doing well. The only turn off for me, was the effort required to retrieve your line. I'm always looking for ways to fish differently, and it would be a giggle to learn the center pin gig from a Canuck. Do you ever fish the St Mary's, Saugeen, or Ganaraska? If so, maybe I could make a road trip, and we could fish together some time. I'm a puppy, and have only been a steelhead addict for 23 years. Hope this helps you out. You can e-mail me if you want to get in to more particulars. Could also send you some rigs that have worked for me in the Midwest.

floatzman, i think everyone in the U.S. copied the float techniques from canada. 30 years ago almost nobody used floats down here. after seeing how effective it was in b.c, i started using that technique in wa. state. it works great in bc, because most of the rivers have very rocky bottoms. the only difference down here is we use spinning reels or baitcast reels.

Floatzmen,
welcome to our usually happy little world!I am not a bobber guy so can't offer much there.I am curios about the center pin reels?How do you cast one of those?Also, do you use flourocabon lines?I have tried them in the past and was discouraged by the lack of knot strength!

I wrote a little piece in RT's column in the last STS which is pretty informitive, if you need more send me an e-mail.
Peace Superfly

Great board, lots of replys and I would like to thank you all for the mail back, I will respond to all. Keep up the good work as I feel this is a very benfecial board to be a part of. Anyone wishing to get any information on the Canadian way of float fishing just let me know I will be happy to share any knowledge that will help you.

Robert

boy did I word my post wrong.

Thanks to RT for the jig idea.

Thanks to buzz for teaching me how to float fish, and also showing me how cool it looks to see that float go swimmin' up river. Oh and the tuf line, man did that make the difference in technique............you rule buzz!!!