Tackle, Setting up a standard sliding float.

A standard sliding float set-up

Fish will be caught at various depths and to catch them you will need to adjust the depth at which you present your bait. Trial and error will be needed so the length of line between the float and the bait needs to be adjustable.... hence the sliding float.
To set up the standard kit that you will get from the tackle shop put the parts on to your line in this order, bead, float (coloured end first ), ball weight, bead and then the swivel. Tie up a hook length, about 30 to 40 cm long and attach this to the lower eye of the swivel by putting the double overhand loop through the eye and then passing the hook back through the loop and pulling up tight.
The stop to prevent the bait and weight sinking right to the bottom is formed by the small elastic band you will find in the kit; put the band around the line above the float and put one end of the band through the other and pull up tight. If you have large eyes on your rod you can leave it like that.... if the band catches on its way through the eyes you will need to trim off the free end of the band.
You can now slide the band stop up the line to set the fishing depth.

stages in setting up the float stop.

Improved version.

The picture above shows an improvement to the basic set up. A problem with the standard set up is that the sharp edges of the ball weight wear the line away and eventually you will lose your float and weight..... and worst of all, your fish. This variation involves putting the bead and ball weight onto the loop in the hook length, this gives double the line to resist wear, but check frequently and discard and tie another hook length if you see any chafing of the line. You can make life easier for yourself by using a snap swivel ( like a safety pin clip ) instead of the swivel supplied.Experience, or looking to see what other people have done when they catch a fish, will determine the depth you fish at: for mackerel and gar the books usually say about four feet and two feet, but I catch most of mine at a depth of about nine feet for both species. Pollack are found deeper while bass can show up any any depth.

For a cheaper and more versatile set up have a look at my rig here

Cardiganshire, Gwbert, Cliff Hotel.

From the town of Cardigan take the Gwbert Road, the A4548, along the north side of the Teifi Estuary, past The Patch Caravan Park, up the hill and along the flat towards the entrance of The Cliff Hotel.
On the left you will have great views of the Teifi Estuary and see why, with the incoming tide and banks and gullies, Poppit Sands can be a dangerous place to fish.
The road down to the hotel is private, the public road turns sharply to the right and you should be able to park on the left side of the road here. There is public access along the drive to the hotel, diagonally down across the car park and down alongside the fence to the golf course. Follow the path down to the cliff top.

Walk around the greens rather than straight across the playing surfaces if crossing the golf course. You will see, near the post on the point, a narrow path and steps down onto the rocks. There are places where you can safely stand to fish; you can either spin or float fish or cast out a bottom fished bait onto the sand beyond the rocks for a variety of different fish species.. There are gullies which hold wrasse , pollack and bass and mackerel are caught in numbers here in the summer.

Rock ledges under The Cliff Hotel.

This is not a mark for small children and can be dangerous for anyone when the sea is rough or when the rocks are wet after rain.

If bottom fishing in around the rocks you may lose tackle in the rocks or weed so take plenty of spare bits and pieces.Bait can be a problem in West Wales. Mackerel or raw king prawns can usually be bought from Tesco in Cardigan, and there is a tackle shop in Cardigan ,Castaway Tackle Shop in College Row (01239 621856 ) which sells frozen bait and live ragworm. As you go through the High Street on the one-way system you will notice a small square to the right, immediately turn left down the hill, this is College Row, there is a car park about 50 yards further on. It is advisable to phone to check that they have live bait before travelling far as supply and demand in this area is erratic.

Tide Times for the next seven days

Cardiganshire, Patch

Hoping for a flounder at 'Patch'.

From the town of Cardigan take the Gwbert Road, the A4548, along the north side of the Teifi Estuary, the road drops down to run alongside the beach at Coronation Road; at the end of the flat as the road swings up and to the right there is a boatyard on the left and a narrow lane running down to the beach. To the other side of the lane is The Patch Caravan Park. The beach is firm enough to drive on but you should be aware of how high the tide might come up and park accordingly.

The seaward side of 'Patch'.

This venue is a ridge of stone and sand formed by strong currents in the estuary, the beach to the seaward side is scoured by the tide and is fairly rough ground so some tackle loss can be expected, the upside to this is that crabs hide under the rocks and soft or peeler crabs can be collected. If you do look for crabs make sure you replace the rocks carefully as you found them. Leaving the rocks turned over with weed trapped underneath means the habitat for the crabs is ruined. Fishing a legered bait of crab or worm will perhaps tempt a bass, flounder or pollack.

The landward side of 'Patch'

On the other side of the bank conditions are quite different, the current swirls back around and deposits sand which forms a large sandbank which is exposed at low tide. Lugworm can be dug on the bank if you are feeling fit. the inlet can be waded across without too much trouble or you can walk around dry-shod. The inlet here is prime hunting ground for flounder and the mullet which can be seen cruising in large shoals, legering works for flounder and maybe a bass but float fishing is the way to go for the mullet. Mullet fishing is a black art and possibly to succeed you must sell your soul or spend years learning the techniques for this most frustrating of all fish. Just ponder, they don't get that big or occur in such numbers by being caught!
From the end of the spit you can fish into the main channel, there is a strong current for most of the tide cycle so techniques have to be modified to suit, grip leads will be needed but if there is a lot of weed even these will be ineffective; you could try float-fishing a bait with the depth set to drag the bottom or try a spinner or plug.
This is a good safe place for kids, in summer there are pontoons where the kids can hand line for crabs or paddle and explore the sandbank at low tide.

pontoons at Patch.

Approximate tide Times for the next seven days


There are no facilities at all at this venue.

firm sand and shingle

Cornwall, Porthkerris.

Spinning for mackerel or pollack, Porthallow in the distance

Porthkerris is a disused quarry site on the Lizard between Porthoustock and Porthallow, take the B3083 from Helston past RNAS Culdrose then onto the B3293, past the dishes of Goonhilly Down and then onto the B3294 down into the village of St Keverne, turn sharp left after the red telephone box, and head for Porthallow... look out for a sign for Porthkerris, it has a picture of a shark and a big black arrow on it. From here the road narrows, yes narrows even more!, proceed with extreme caution, there are few passing places and driving off the road is not an option. You have to pay to park and to fish here, currently £2 parking and £1 per person fishing.

Rock ledges, Porthkerris.

At the bottom of the hill there are toilets and, in season, a snack bar. You will need to pay here, or if you are an early riser, someone will find you as you fish and collect payment from you. There is a small beach here which is used for other pursuits such as diving and swimming, fishing is done from the rock ledges which are reached by driving out to the left. Fish from any of the accessible ledges but take care when the rocks are wet. this is not a venue for small children but should be suitable for sensible older children. The rocks give access to deep water close in. Mackerel are the main sport here, and the litter left by those 'anglers', whose experience is limited to the slaughter of these fish, spoils a picturesque spot.

The 'disabled' spot.

At the far end of the car park there is a disabled wheelchair sign painted onto a block. Disabled wheelchair users will however be disappointed, access down the slope and across the rocks to a small rough concrete flat area (located behind the concrete pump house*) is not suitable for even a rough terrain chair. It is possible for persons walking with the aid of sticks and or crutches to negotiate the distance by care and patience. This spot is about the only flat spot to stand on, most of the rocks are sloping giving rise to sore ankles by the end of the day. If you are on this spot and able-bodied please give it up to someone who needs it.
Float fished fish strip or sandeel will catch mackerel, gar, pollack, wrasse and maybe a bass; bottom fishing over the rough will get thousands of wrasse, blennies and other small species with a chance of dogfish or gurnard. Congers are sometimes caught on big fish baits at night.

*The pump house supplies sea water to the new building within the car park area which processes the water to get sea-salt for the food-faddist; all salt comes from the sea, the supposed inferior salt from Cheshire mines being from the sea millions of years before man polluted it.
For your bait, the nearest place is a large angling shop in Helston, Atlantic Fishing Tackle in Wendron Street (just by a car park), that sells bait including ragworm and lugworm. Tel 01326 561640.

Tide Times for the next seven days

from 'disabled spot', but not for wheelchair users

Cornwall, Coverack Harbour

Coverack Harbour

Coverack Harbour, early morning.

Coverack is a typical picturesque fishing village on the Lizard, take the B3083 from Helston past RNAS Culdrose then onto the B3293, past the dishes of Goonhilly Down and then onto the B3294 down into the village. There is parking on the right as you enter the village and a small car park just past the harbour entrance. There are small shops selling snacks and drinks nearby, and a few cafés within easy walking distance.... The disused Lifeboat House now serves as a restaurant that has a take-away fish and chips bar. There is a beach where bass can be targeted after an easterly blow, a tiny harbour with a convenient wall to sit or lean on and a small headland where you can fish from the rocks.

The disused lifeboat launch ramp.

The water is not very deep around the harbour, float fishing will get mackerel, gar and pollack, or if you fish a bit deeper, wrasse. Use mackerel strip for most species, after dark it may attract a conger or dogfish. Worm baits will pick up wrasse, and sole and red mullet are a possibility if you fish onto the sandier patches; this is a good location for a species hunt. Some of the ballan wrasse are big, don't leave the rod unattended they are powerful enough to flip it over the wall.... I talk from experience having to grab my flattie rod as it headed seawards.

The small headland viewed from the car park. ( spot the bear!)

Like all of the rocky parts of Cornwall the sea is brim full of wrasse, you will lose some tackle but you are almost certain to catch if you use worm baits. If you cannot catch four different species of wrasse in Cornwall you haven't really tried. ( they are corkwing, ballan, goldsinny and rock cook.)

The access to the harbour is steep but wheelchair access is possible, some help will be required landing fish over the wall.
There are toilets alongside the road above the harbour, the first photograph was taken across the road from them.

There are safe ways onto the rocks by the car park, best at low tide and be careful if the rocks are wet and slippery.

For bait,
Angling shops nearby, 

Last Stop Tackle Shop, Haelarcher Farmyard, Lizard Head Ln, The Lizard 

TR12 7NN Tel  07896 290869

Bait available from Lizard Rigs who are on the A3083 at Trevelyan Holiday Homes 

TR12 7AS (look for BAIT sign on rhs when heading south.)

                    Newtown Angling Centre Newtown, Penzance TR20 9AE 01736 763721

Tide Times for the next seven days

from harbour

The Purbecks, Worbarrow Bay.

Worbarrow Tout, tout is an old word for a lookout point

Worbarrow Bay is south west of Wareham and west of Swanage, it is within a military firing range area and entry times are dependent on range use. The access is usually given at weekends and bank holidays. Notices giving information are on the approach roads along with closing times for car parks. The area was requisitioned during WWII and has changed little since then so there is little or no new building and the area is farmed much as it was in the 1940s; it is a beautiful piece of countryside. Paths are marked by yellow topped posts.... stay on the paths !... if you are stupid enough to leave the paths, the metal objects looking like shells or bombs probably are and will cause you no good at all if they are poked or prodded.
There is a large car park, open from about 6am to 10pm, for which there is a charge of £2 (I think) to be paid into the honesty box. There are toilets on the left after the bridge over a small stream as you turn right to begin the long walk down to the bay. The walk down between trees and grassland is gently sloping until you reach the low cliff by the Tout where it becomes steep. The first part of the beach is sandy and you will be casting onto rough ground for wrasse bass or pollack. If spinning is you preferred method or fishing then make your way left out around the rocky area below the Tout.

Warbarrow Bay, looking west.

To the west the shingle beach becomes steeper and gives way to much deeper water and a cleaner bottom. Flatfish, rays, eels and other bottom feeding fish can be targeted here along with pollack, mackerel, gar and scad to float-fished sandeel or fish strip.. Ragworm will catch most fish here with mackerel or squid as backup or as a tipping bait.The sandy area is most crowded with other beach users so a walk out to the west is recommended to get away from the stone-chuckers, moored boats and swimmers.
The nearest tackle and bait shops are in Wareham, on the right just before the bridge over the River Frome as you leave the town towards Swanage or at Swanage.

Tide Times for the next seven days

updated 28th June 09

Cornwall, Mousehole Harbour.

Mousehole Harbour, low tide.

Mousehole is a quaint little harbour west of Penzance. Parking is very close to the harbour and there is a toilet block between the car park and the harbour wall. The harbour can be best fished for say three hours each side of high tide. Like all harbours, give way to boat traffic and try not to kill the children who will annoy you by jumping into the harbour near the signs saying that jumping is forbidden. Float fishing will get small pollock and mackerel, gar and scad in season. Bottom fishing will get the usual wrasse and small species near the rough ground, flounders are caught in the harbour entrance and on the clean ground. The sea is usually clear enough to see the snaggy and clean areas.

Mousehole Harbour, from the car park.

There is easy access onto the harbour arms for wheelchair users but space at areas without a high wall is limited. Bait can be got from the tackle shops in Penzance, you will pass one as you drive out from the town to Mousehole. There are toilets close by and several cafés within easy walking distance.

Tide times for the next 7 days

Cornwall, Godrevy Point.

Gwithian Sands and Godrevy Point, north coast.

You will find this venue off the B3301 from Hayle to Portreath, Gwithian Sands can be fished but it is usually swarming with surfers; head east from Gwithian and you will find the entrance to The National Trust property of Godrevy. If you are a member you can park here free, otherwise pay the man on the gate. The car parks are closed at night so check the closing times before heading off. The cars parked in this car park can be seen as white specks above the white building in the middle distance in the photo above. There is a cafe at the entrance and toilets at the car park.

Float fishing from the rocks at Godrevy Point.

You can fish from the beach which should be surfer-free at this point, fishing worm, sandeel or fish baits will give you a chance of bass, rays, turbot, plaice or flounders, closer to the rocks or bottom fishing from the rocks, will get wrasse or pollock. Spinning is another tactic which can work for big pollock.The ground here is sandy when clear of the rocks.

The rocks at Godrevy, looking towards Godrevy Island.

Float fishing from the rocks will get mackerel gar and scad in season, along with pollock, bass and wrasse. The rock platform is fairly easy to negotiate and is safe, in calm weather, for sensible children... but toddler type kids on the beach only. Do not fish here in rough weather, even in calm weather keep an eye out for the swells which can take you unawares especially near high tide.... retreat to a higher perch or to the beach, no fish is worth the risk of being swept away and drowned.
There are tackle shops in Hayle, one is in a market building near where the road doubles back under the railway bridge, near Foundry Square car park, the other in Fore Street as you pass through the town heading eastwards. Look for their sign on the roadside.

Cornwall, Porthleven Harbour.

Porthleven Harbour, lots of walls to fish from.

Porthleven is just west of Helston on the B3304, it is a convenient fishing spot for children and wheelchair users with easy access to many walls for fishing into the harbour. Fishing is best for three hours over high tide for the inner part of the harbour although you can fish from the long pier on the left at low tide, fishing into the harbour entrance. Parking is free alongside the harbour if you can find a spot, there is also a pay and display car park. 

The nearest tackle shop is on the road towards Penzance at Germoe, TR20 9AE, Newtown Angling Centre, which sells bait including ragworm and lugworm. 

Toilets are up a side road to your left as you walk as you walk along the village side of the harbour passing shops,a pub and cafés, others at the base of the church seen in the picture below near the start of the breakwater.

Porthleven, the inner harbour.

Float fishing along the weedy and rocky fringes of the harbour walls will get you wrasse, there are some big wrasse in here especially from the end of the long pier. Wrasse are thugs, they are strong fighters and will dive for cover when hooked, if they get into the rocks and weed you will most likely lose them.... so hold onto the rod at all times and get ready to keep the fishes head up out of the rough. If they get jammed in the rough it is worthwhile giving them a bit of slack line; they will sometimes swim out of the snag.
Small pollack are also caught, if you are prepared to lose a few weights, drop a bait straight down the wall on a simple paternoster rig, the hook length should be short and a foot or so above the weight to keep the bait up out of the weed. Keep hold of the rod ! Fish such as pout, scorpion fish and others skulk along the wall so keep your hooks small (size 2 or less) and see what is down there. Flatfish such as flounder and turbot can be caught by casting out onto the cleaner ground out in the harbour entrance. Rockling and eels, silver and conger, can be caught. Baits are ragworm for the wrasse or flounder, fish bait of any kind seems to catch anything else. Float fishing for mackerel and gar in season is popular all around the harbour. Be aware of boat traffic, they have right of way so reel in when boats need to pass. The seaward side of the long arm is very rocky and is not good for fishing, leave that area for the kids who surf the breakers that form as the swell passes over the rock table here.

The long arm of the harbour wall at low tide, note the rocky weedy fringe.

There is a long beach to the left which runs to Loe Bar, bass are the quarry along this section but fishing is only possible when the other beach users leave in the evening. Loe Bar is a fishy spot but a cliff walk/scramble is required to get there.

Angling shops nearby, 

Last Stop Tackle Shop, Haelarcher Farmyard, Lizard Head Ln, The Lizard 

TR12 7NN Tel  07896 290869

Bait available from Lizard Rigs who are on the A3083 at Trevelyan Holiday Homes 

TR12 7AS (look for BAIT sign on rhs when heading south.)

                             Newtown Angling Centre Newtown, Penzance TR20 9AE

not Loe Bar !

Pembrokeshire, Solva

Solva, rock mark.

Solva is a picturesque inlet on the A487 between Haverfordwest and St Davids. It is popular for boating and has a busy quay area. There is a free car park at the head of the inlet and coast paths lead out to rocky headlands on each side. There is a toilet block in the car park and another at the quay which is on the right hand side of the inlet along a level path, wheelchair access is as far as the Quay. Shops and cafés are a short walk away and there is a shop, Bay View Stores up the hill towards St Davids on the right, that sells fishing tackle and frozen baits and is open until 7 or 8pm.

Solva, at the seaward end of the mooring inlet.

Fishing near the moorings is difficult when there is boating activity and crabbing or fishing the fringes for flounder is about as much as is possible. Local children head out along the coast path to the right and a short way along there are paths down to rock ledges from which a few anglers can fish. There is rough ground so tackle loss may be expected. Restricted space for casting means scaling down to a spinning rod rather than a beachcaster, pollack and bass will take a spinner or plug worked along the creek edge or out into the deeper water. Float fishing can be employed for bass, wrasse, pollack, and mackerel in season.. Paths lead out to other rock marks on the headlands but this is not recommended for children or beginners.

Worms can be dug here at low tide but do not dig around the boat moorings and backfill any holes. Crabs can be found in the weed and under rocks, the small hard-backed crabs can be hooked through at the base of a leg and float fished for wrasse.

Tide times for Solva for the next 7 days.

as far as the Quay only

Pembrokeshire, Saundersfoot Harbour

Saundersfoot Harbour, Inner wall.

Saundersfoot ( pronounced Sandersfoot by the locals ) is to the north of Tenby, just off the A477/478 and the B4316.
It is a convenient spot for children and parts are accessible to wheelchair users. The harbour dries out at low tide so check tide times for fishing here. Parking is right alongside the harbour wall and toilets, shops and cafés are a short level walk away. 
The easiest fishing is from the inner wall casting onto clean sand. A long cast is not needed, fish come very close to the wall. Dogfish, flatfish, bass and other bottom feeding fish are caught along with mullet, mackerel and gar in season to float fished mackerel strip.
In the Autumn there are usually plenty of Tub Gurnard to be caught and sometimes smoothhounds although they are likely to be small pups.
Squid, mackerel or sandeel will take most fish. 

Very light tackle and size 6 or smaller hooks dropped down the wall or by the rocks will get blennies, watch out with these they have sharp teeth and they are not averse to giving a nip as you get the hook out.
There is a wall dividing off a small section at the back of the harbour, this wall is usually crowded with people catching crabs.

Saundersfoot Harbour, the outer wall.

The outer wall has a stone and concrete apron which can make fishing from here difficult when retrieving tackle or landing a fish. At the end of the wall at the round section there is a vertical drop to the water which makes that section the favoured spot. Summer fishing spells mayhem here as people will come and fish from the apron under where you are trying to fish from the top. There is access at the start of the wall onto a small beach which can be fished on a rising tide although at high you will be forced back onto the steps.

At most times light tackle and smooth leads can be used, there is not much tidal current.

Razor fish and black lug can be got from this beach at low tide on spring tides by those who know how to get them.

Bait including ragworm can be got at Tenby, Tenby Angling within the Old Market Hall which is on the High Street * ( edit. June 2015, I heard that this has now closed ) or at Pembroke Dock

updated Mar 2012 local Tackle Shop now closed, ref deleted.

Tide times for the next 7 days

Inner wall only, see top photograph.

Pembrokeshire, Newport, The Slipway

The Slipway, at the old lifeboat house.

If you take the footpath from The Parrog car park, you can walk alongside the estuary in front of the cottages; if the tide is in you may have to take the upper path which is signposted where a detour is required. Eventually you will come to the little bay and the slipway, locally this is known as Cwm. Fishing here is onto fairly clean ground. The fishing is not great but the location is. Pollack, bass, whiting, eels or mini species are possible using worm or fish baits. Children like this spot as there are rock pools to explore at low tide; a toddler friendly spot.

The Steps, past the Slipway.

Past the slipway the coast path splits, take the lower route and you will come to some rocks with concrete steps. There is very limited room here so only a few people can fish. Spinning or float fishing may intercept fish moving in or out of the estuary. Pollack and wrasse lurk along the rocks edges among the weed and mackerel can come within range in summer. Not a place for toddler type children.

Rock ledge, room for three or four to fish here.

A little way further on from the steps there is fairly easy access down to a flat rock platform. A place to try to intercept fish as they move in or out with the tide, try spinning for bass or cast a big bait into the tideway; you will need a heavy grip weight at certain periods during the tide as the current will be strong and sometimes there is a lot of weed in the water.

Approximate Tide Times for the next seven days

Bristol Channel, Porlock

Porlock Harbour, West Porlock, low tide.

Porlock Harbour is a quaint little harbour at West Porlock to the west of Minehead. Follow the brown information signs and just keep heading west until you run out of road. There is a pay and display car park with toilets and there are pubs and a shop at the harbour. To the east there is a long stone bank pushed up by the sea. This is rough ground fishing, the bottom is sand with rough patches. This venue can be fished at all states of the tide but you will need a long cast to get onto the sand at high tide. At low tide you will have to walk out onto the rocky and cobbled beach where getting a firm footing can be difficult, boots with ankle support are recommended.

looking east, the harbour entrance behind the wooden groyne.

To get to this beach walk over the footbridge that spans the harbour entrance, walk past the front of the cottages and over the stone bank onto the beach. The water here is bluer than at Minehead which indicates that the sea has deposited much of the silt it had been carrying further up the channel at Minehead and beyond. This means that fish that prefer clear water,such as mackerel and gar, are caught here by float fishing or spinning in the summer.

Porlock, looking west.

The anglers in the photographs are fishing a match and are from the Westcoast and Watchet club, they were busy catching dogfish when I was taking these photographs. Thanks to the guy, in the second pic with the yellow bag, for the local advice.
Many different species are possible here that are not often caught further up-channel, pollack and bass are regulars, bream sometimes and even trigger fish at times. The channel regulars, dogfish, thornback rays and congers are the staple species with cod and whiting in the winter.At high tide mullet find their way into the harbour and frustrating hours can be spent trying to catch one.
Bait for general beach fishing can be ragworm, lugworm, squid and fish-baits, nearest tackle shop is back in Minehead; Westcoast Tackle on the Harbour or their other shop in Watchet.

Tide Times at Porlock for the next 7 days

.

Tackle, "Haddock's Rig"

Component parts of Haddock's Rig.

If you have arrived here from a search site looking to set up a standard float rig then click here, this post concerns a cheaper home-made rig that you will no doubt try when you have lost a few shop bought rigs. I found that when float fishing near to piers and rocks, you will almost always lose floats. The cost of a float is not a lot but alternatives to a shop-bought rig cost a few pence to make and, as it turned out, are more versatile. I quite often want to change from float fishing to bottom fishing and the rig shown allows this change to be made in seconds; un-clip the float and put back in your tackle box, un-clip the weight and re-clip to the snap swivel you have taken the float from and you have a simple running ledger. The float is made some of the spongy foam packing pieces that come with many packaged items.  Use a sharp knife to cut the foam to about five inches long and about an inch octagonal cross section, round the ends and insert a nylon cable tie, clip up the tie and trim off the end. The float you have just made will take a standard one ounce weight. Obviously if you make the float longer and leave it almost square the float will take more weight, up to two ounces. If you are fishing lighter weights then you can scale down the size of the float accordingly.

 Another source of material is a foam kid's swimming aid, called, for some reason a 'noodle', 

I picked up one for a couple of pounds from Lidl, it is about 5'6" long and nearly 3" diameter so there are lots of floats in that ! update: Even cheaper.... I notice Poundland were selling them, they were smaller but priced, as you would expect, at a pound.

The sequence for tackling up is thread up a bead, snap swivel, bead and then tie on another snap swivel. The float goes on the snap swivel that is free to run up and down the line and the weight and hook length loop go on the tied snap swivel.... as easy as that.

A rig set up for float fishing a sand eel.

The depth that the bait will be fished at is determined by the elastic band stop knot; just thread one end of the elastic band around the line, back through the band; pull up very tight and snip off ends, like so..........

The float ( like a traditional a sliding float set-up) can then be set to fish at any depth. If I am fishing a regular spot I will tie a permanent knot as a stop at the known catching depth. Any minor adjustment, a foot or two, can be made simple by changing the hook length which is attached to the same snap swivel as the lead by a double overhand loop. The cunning part of this setup comes when dark falls, snap a starlight ( a small chemical light stick) to activate it and just push it firmly through the foam at the top of the float . The light will protrude at either side of the float and give plenty of light to track your float in the dark. Pollack, bass, scad and mackerel can be taken after dark.  revised June 2021