I was fishing fall Chinooks recently in a coastal river that was reasonably low and clear. I was standing on a high bank and was able to carefull observe my float and bait rig. I was surprised by what I saw.

On about half of my casts, the bait (cured eggs) landed on the water in a downstream position from the float. The weight brought the bait down, as it should, and the whole rig floated downstream with the bait in a downstream position. That's exactly as it should be, since most salmon are facing upstream and would encounter the bait easily.

However, on about the other half of my casts, the bait landed on the water in an UPSTREAM position from my float. Once again, the weight brought the bait down. But the bait remained upstream of the weight! This created a situation where a fish that is facing upstream would get bonked on the snout by the weight before it encountered the bait. Since the weight was in a downstream position, it was essentially "running interference" for the bait. That's a sure way to spook the fish and ensure the bait is virtually ignored. In other words, depending on how the bait and float landed on the water, only about half of my casts were effective. I tried to correct this by adding more weight but that didn't work. The only way I could avoid this was to ensure that the bait landed downstream of the float. That was somewhat effective on short casts but for longer casts, forget it. I cannot control how the bait lands on the water on longer casts.

I will admit that this also happens when drift fishing. That is, sometimes the bait lands upstream of the weight. But the critical difference is that for drift fishing, the weight lands on the bottom, which allows the bait to catch up to the weight and then pass it in a downstream direction. Thus, the bait ends up being downstream of the weight. But with float fishing, the weight is usually suspended, which doesn't allow the bait to overtake the weight and get "in front" during the drift.

I'm not saying you can't catch fish with the bait upstream of the weight but it's much more effective when the bait is in front and is the first part of your rig that the fish encounters.

Can anyone provide some ideas on how to ensure the bait is always downstream of the weight when fishing with a float?

I will also post this question on IFish. Thanks.

Interesting observation.

I would think that a quick mend and stop of the float would remedy the problem. I mend my line 3-4 times though each drift and each time stop the float for a millisecond. This activity should allow the bait to flow downstream of the float.

Did you have a corky on the bait? ....this may have affected your observation as well.

On your casts when the bait was behind the float, did you notice as you mended the line if the bait caught up?

What are you using for weight? I'm guessing you have all your weight in one spot. Have you tried spacing out your weight by using split shot or something? You could put a small split shot just a few inches above the bait, then 2 split shot 6 inches above that, 3 split shot 12 inches above that as an example. You'd probably need to experiment with the placement, but it should allow the bait to stay below the float better.

I always try to over throw a little, and then pull the float back. A quick upstream mend and I'm good to go for the drift.

Set your float a little deeper than you usually would and hold your float back some, this will put your offering in front of your weight and float. You will usually feel the take before your float goes down using this method. This can be deadly on finicky fish.

I also noticed this and a smaller(lighter) hook like a #4, 6, 8 baitholder(thinking eggs) and a little bit bigger chunk of bait will grab more current, keeping it downstream. But this only works depending on the currents. If the water is faster on top than bottom then you have to slow the drift a bit. Also slide your weights up a bit more and use a slightly thicker leader which will leave more line below the weights catching more current and pushing your bait downstream.

I like the mend the line method for jigs. However, with bait I don't think it maters very much. Perhaps I've hooked one to many chum. But if the bait is at the right depth the fish will hit it. After all, they are stupid enough to swim up into gillnets.

I guess your thinkin steelies and I am thinkin salmon. Try a longer leader and possibly a heavier float with more weight. Also remember big ass hooks for coastal chinook like 5/0-7/0 because then you can put the whup ass to them and quickly release any fish you don't want and it will still have a chance for survival. As a side note make sure your rod will set a big hook, some of the lighter rods won't stick a 7/0.

Thanks for the great ideas and suggestions! I will put all of those tips to good use.

I posted this question on IFish and one of the replies suggested that I try casting directly overhead, rather than side casting. That person (Crabbait) was exactly right in that I normally cast my rig with a side swing so I don't lose the eggs. However, an overhead cast would likely drop the eggs, float, and weight in about the same area. That would greatly improve the chances that the eggs would be positioned downstream of the weight.

Thanks again.

Yup, overhead casting and mend, mend, and mend some more is the way to keep your bait or jig a head of your float where its supposed to be. One thing that wasn't mentioned (if not obvious) is that the surface currents pushing the float is slightly faster than currents at depth, so the float will travel faster than your bait if not mended to keep the main line dragging behind to slow it down a touch.

Another tip is, when possible, situate yourself upstream of the fish and cast straight out instead of upstream. Casting straight out and mending as soon as the line hits the water gets your bait optimal in a hurry, and if you're already upstream of the fish....