I have never float fished much and am wondering about a couple things. I have heard that if the float is at more than a 45 degree angle to the water then the current is too strong or you need to add weight. With this in mind, how heavy of jigs do you use? I have been fishing in slower type water with 3/8 ounce jigs and am wondering if this is the correct technique, or should I be drift fishing this type of water? I have read of people using 1/8 ounce jig heads and I may be wrong but it seems that the water would have to be moving very slow or else weight would have to be added in order to keep the jig down in the strike zone. I have been fishing eddies and slower seems using a float and maybe I should be fishing the slower looking 'frog water.' Please help as I would like to master this type of fishing, or at least get an honost start. Thanks.

Shep
I have caught fish in all different types of water. One of the hardest things to mastering steelhead fishing is reading the water. Until you know which water screams cast here, fish it all!! This is the best way to learn.
It sounds like your jig is heavy enough, but it shouldn't be leaning while your fishing(or only slightly). Make sure your line is not causing drag on the float, pulling it faster than the current. If that doesn't fix it add some split shot to stand that float upright. Having the float upright helps keep your line off the water.

As far as using a lighter jig... go lighter when water is low and clear. Heavy jigs for faster water.....keep it simple. I usually use a 1/4 - 3/8 oz in winter fishing conditions.
Keep those hooks sharp and keep casting!!!

Tight lines

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Marty
www.steelheader.net
marty@steelheader.net

I always use a 1/8 ounce fish doctor jig but
do add split shot. At Blue Creek the
jig of choice is a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce fish doctor jig. You just have to be able to recognize when the water is running to fast
for a bobber and jig.

Shep

Try changing floats. The Thill Turbomaster 3 from Lindy Lil' Joe in Brainerd, MN has them. They're a little pricey, but they stand up perfectly with a 1/4 or 1/8 oz. jig, without needing to add weight. You can fish them in just about any water from a boat or in most slower water from the bank. If you're fishing faster water from the bank, they make a float called the Brute Force which works in heavier water, but you must add weight to get it to stand up.

Fish on..........

You guys are spending to much on floats. Use backer rod to make your floats. It will cost you about ten cents a float.

I have been running fire line smoke grey 20lb on my spinning reel. I run it through my float through some hollow core lead and tie it to a swivel. I then tie a mono leader of about 3 foot or so to a jig or weighted fly. Since I have been using the fireline, I haven't lost a float, only the jigs. Now, I don't mind using the nicer(more expensive) floats.---mike

Try Dave Vedder's book on Float Fishing. That was a pretty good investment for me and I had already caught quite a few fish using a float. Nothing beats time on the river though-smilesforu is right--fish everything!! It never seems to amaze me what you catch them out of! Personally I like something that is moving about the speed of good plug water

Good Luck

Crayfin

You don't want your float going down the river faster than the current, but it can go slower than the current and catch fish but the optimum drift is a dead drift with the current. I feel you can fish a jig in nearly any water, sometimes it's a matter of positioning yourself correctly to get the optimum drift. As for jigs I run 1/8th & 1/16th in the summer and 1/4 in the winter, sometimes going to 3/8th but not very often. I like the Rainbow jigs because I can get them in any size(1/32-3/8) and the hooks will hold a steelhead without any problem.

Shep, take it from a guy that does a ton of float fishing. It is deadly on all different kinds of water. You also want to expierement with different jigs and the sort under your float on different rivers. While "Fish Doctor Jigs" work great at Blue Creek other brands work different on different waters. I am the inventor of "John's Jigs" a company I sold only 3 years ago, and for many including myself they are absolutely deadly jigs on such rivers as the Sky, Sno., Sauk, and Stilly. You can find them in most Seattle area tackle shops. "Teds Sport Center" in Lynwood is your best bet being they carry the entire line-up. Vedder is a close friend and I strongly recommend both of his books, "Jig Fishing For Steelhead" and "Float Fishing For Steelhead". Dave and I both fish the Canadian style dink floats with a in line slinky heavy enough to just keep the top 1 inch of the float showing in big water. In smaller water such as Blue Creek and smaller slow running creeks try a small "Thill" style float and split shot. A few hints on float fishing, even for those guys that like the sliding set-ups with bobber stoppers. One key trick to remember with floats is to use a level wind or center-pin reel,; why, Because you can effectively control your drift. You do NOT just want to free spool line out letting the float travel at the same speed as the current. Two reasons for this; one, the top current layer is always traveling faster than the bottom layers where the fish lie. Two, if your float is traveling at the same speed as the current both your jig and weight system are coming at the fish at the same time, and not the hook of the jig either but the jig head. If you have your float tilted slightly up river putting slight pressure on your reel as you let line out not only is the jig coming at the fish first but its also coming at the fish hook first. As for the sliding set-ups with bobber stops I don't use them. Why, because if you try to hold it back even just a little your float is going to slide down your line bringing your presentation up out of the holding areas. Also with a fixed float you can effectively fish a tale-out, thumbing your spool and dragging accross the entire tail-out. One last thing, buy a float rod if your serious about getting into it, Vedder has designed such a rod for "Lamiglass" it's a 10'6" rod. Long enough to keep your line off the water as you control your drift, and it has enough back-bone to burry the hook on a hook set. My honest opinion, float fishing is the second most deadly technique there is for steelhead and salmon. #1? side drifting out of a sled or drift boat. you cover more water and your presentation is always in the prime holding water or traveling lane. This is why float fishing is so deadly, especially for bank anglers; your float ,unlike drift-fishing, is always in the prime water not making an ark only covering the prime water for a brief time. Any more questions, E-Mail me I'd be happy to help out.

I've used jigs for about 8 years now, and I love them. I've actually really never had a problem with the drift causing the float to sit at a 45 degree angle. Usually when it would do that it was that the jig was sitting too close to the bottom and hanging up, causing the slant. Usually if I cinched down the bobber stop I was using it would correct the problem.

I've never had a problem using only 3/8 ounce jigs. Usually I'll tie up the marabou on my jigs smaller due to water conditions. I've noticed that usually it's the feather size, not head size, that influences the fish. I usually dip the heads in black and tie up smaller black marabou feathers on my standard 1/0 3/8 ounce hooks for clear conditions then multi colored jigs for whichever river I'm fishing (I've found different fish hit different colors depending on river). I use balsa floats, they're more durable and float better then styrafoam. I've only lost maybe 3 floats in the last 8 years due to snags, usually the jigs are up off the bottom enough to not snag.

Keep at it and you're sure to hook into some nice fish. I've caught about every species of salmonoid on jigs. I've found that chum love them.

tight lines.............

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Thank you for the tips everyone, I'll give the things mentioned here a try, and am headed out to buy a fixed float or two soon. Drift fishing is getting old and hopefully I now have enough information to float fish properly enough to be successful, thanks again. FYI I fish the central Oregon coast and have not found anyone else on this board in my area, maybe the folks up north know more about these aggrevating metalheads than we do down here!?

[This message has been edited by shep (edited 02-01-2000).]