Following on from last weeks article on big

Following on from last weeks article on big-bodied wagglers, this week we turn our attentions to another big float – the slider. Again this method is very underused in this country but in the right situations it can actually outscore the more commonly used leger or feeder approach. I’ve learned a lot about slider fishing on England trips abroad in situations where legering is banned. This knowledge has helped me to overcome deep-water swims in this country and it’s a method I now love fishing. Like many anglers I did experience problems when I first tried the method. Tangles were commonplace, mainly due to the fact that my rigs were shotted up wrong. There are actually two very different schools of thought as to the correct way to fish with a sliding float and the divide appears to be between anglers from the north of the country and anglers from the south. Both seem to do it very differently but both seem to make it work. As I live in the middle of these two divides I tend to use both styles depending upon the depth of water I am fishing. The two main differences are that with one style the rig is used with an unloaded or very minimally loaded float, casting off a bulk shotting arrangement. With the other style a loaded float is used and the float is cast off a single shot(usually a number four) with a bulk shotting more than the floats length underneath. I must admit this rig sometimes looks dreadful as it hits the water but tangles are very few in my experience. It’s important to consider the depth you are fishing when deciding upon the sliding weight required. For instance you will need considerably more weight down the line in twenty five feet of water than you will in, say, fifteen foot. I always use a quick change swivel connector for my sliding floats as this means I can change float sizes quickly and easily and the type I use(see photo) allow the line to run through very smoothly.

My sliders range from four grams up to twenty grams and the sliding weight varies between three and eight grams.