Long range floatfishing skills are quite rare in this country
Long range floatfishing skills are quite rare in this country. When faced with a situation where they need to fish a long way out, most anglers, it has to be said, opt for a swimfeeder approach. Let’s face it, the feeder is a fairly simple method and can often be deadly in the right situation. There are situations however when a big bodied waggler can outscore the feeder. Species like roach and hybrids often like a bait that is dropping through the water rather than anchored to the lakebed with leger or feeder tackle. Once mastered, the big-bodied, long-range waggler can be a very effective and enjoyable way of catching these species. Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to have taken some memorable catches on the big waggler on trips to Ireland and in Europe on England duty. I can recall many big weights of fish from the Trory section of Lower Lough Erne. There the fishing is often brilliant and aggressive feeding tactics with a ball of groundbait fired out every cast is the way to get the best results. First priority when fishing in this way is to get the right floats for the job. I prefer loaded wagglers as this cuts down on the need for too much shot around the float. My big wagglers range from 6 grams capacity up to 20 grams. You will need a strong mainline to cast these sizes of float and the best I’ve found is Maxima in three or four pound breaking strains. Lock the float onto the line with a Milo connector as shown in the picture. This will stop the float slipping on the cast. Down the line I always incorporate a small swivel to eliminate line twist on retrieval.
There are lots of big lakes in this country where a big-bodied waggler will work. Go out and get some and give them a go!