RT's Secret Trick Dual Depth Float - (adjustable without reeling in)
Here's one of my secret tricks I was saving for my book, but I will post it on the 3 fishing sites now so you can use it for summer steelhead and fall salmon river fishing. ...
Most of the salmon and steelhead river holes you fish rarely have a uniform depth - to the contrary; they vary in depth, usually shallower toward the upper end and deeper in the middle area. That creates a problem for float fishing such as jigs or eggs in common holes that have good shallow holding water followed immediately by a drop off to more good holding water that's much deeper. When you prefer to keep your offering close to bottom thru more the drift it is advantageous to be able to adjust the depth as the hole deepens during your float drift. ...
To enable you to fish 2 depths with one cast I suggest this: use a high density round raw cork float and large strong paper clip. Pull out one end of the paper clip and imbed it snugly into the underside of the float, a little off to the side of the lower hole (no peg in the lower hole). Preset a 'bobber stop' up your mainline for the deeper of the 2 depths. Put a tiny bead then cork float with a hollow orange peg in the top hole onto the the main line. Tie your feathered jig or worm jig onto the end of the main line; or for eggs and other baits tie on a small barrel swivel, lead, and 30+ inch hooked leader. For the shallower depth to be fished toward the upper end of holes, barely clip a small piece of mainline into the lower part of the paper clip with the depth of line below that you want for the shallower water. Put just enough line into the clip so that it won't come out during a smooth cast or from the weight of the jig or lead suspended below it. Cast and fish the upper riffles and shallower runs and as it approaches the deeper water give your rodtip a quick sharp jerk to free the line from the clip (as a tugged line would come off a downrigger clip). This will allow the float on up the mainline to the upper bobber stop while the jig or bait will drop deeper into the deep parts of the hole. It also will have the added affect of a dropping jig where fish often lay below drop offs, and they like the enticement of a descending jig. Set the 2 depths properly - such as at 3 ft./7 ft. or 4 ft./10ft. or whatever the hole calls for. This will definitely increase your float fishing effectiveness. ... If you don't have a good line holding paper clip, a good alternative that works well is to use the same type cork float, but have a black hollow peg in the lower hole. Instead of using a clipped float, try pulling about a 1/4" loop of mainline out of the bottom of the upper orange peg (that has the mainline running thur it and the float) and re-incert it into the upper float hole while pinching the small line loop in place. Practice to find how firm to snug the peg in so as to keep the line loop immobile during smooth casts and drifts, but not so snug so as to allow a quick rod jerk to yank the peg and line loop out, which will enable the float on up the mainline with the free peg ahead of it stopped by the bobber stop, for the deep part of the hole. If you practice the correct clip or peg tension and use smooth casts, both of these ways will work. Other type floats may work also. ...
Another variant method is to not have an upper bobber stop and use the clipping of the line to float to fish over a real snaggy parts of a hole and and jerk the float free to drift fish less snaggy &/or deeper water downriver from the snaggy area. The float will pop up to the surface over toward you and only mildly affect the feel of the rest of the drift fished hole; and even acts somewhat like a strike indicator too. This saves having to put on and take off clip on type floats, such as the Thill Steelheader Float, in some situations. Fish on!
RT
Edit: I forgot to mention, this is a good thing to use for tidewater egg fishing for fall 'nooks in holes that deepen as your cork floats with the tidal flow.
[ 06-30-2001: Message edited by: RT ]
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