Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Chum Slayer on September 14, 2022, 03:39:30 PM
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What floats do you guys prefer for drift fishing for salmon, I usually use the grey foam ones from Freds or cleardrifts however this year I am going to dry dink floats instead since I have so many of them. What Floats do you guys Prefer?
Chum Slaya
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My selection depends on the situation. If I have a run to my own I do prefer the foam floats. However if I am fishing in a run thats shoulder to shoulder with fisherman I prefer a plastic round bobber. You know the ones you get at cdn tire that are red and white. That way I get a few extra feet of room to enjoy nature ;)
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Personal choice. They both will catch fish. I use Cleardrift simply because I have them.
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DNE style foam floats and cork only. plastic Cleardrift type floats crack easily especially in cold weather from my experience and are not worth the added cost.
remember one time was fishing steelhead in the winter taking a break to try and warm up my fingers only to realised i stepped on my cleardrift float smashing it into a hundred pieces. never fished one again.
both will work to catch fish as fish assassin said.
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For many years I stuck to Drennan Zepplers (11g for coho, 20g for chinook and steelhead). The last few years, DNE 20g foam floats have worked pretty darn well, caught just as many fish as the Drennans, and the cost is 1/4 of a Drennan lol.
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I've fished them all and caught fish on all of them. Foam floats give an ugly drift IMO. I have a bunch of cleardrift and DNE floats. usually just use the DNE floats
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For many years I stuck to Drennan Zepplers (11g for coho, 20g for chinook and steelhead). The last few years, DNE 20g foam floats have worked pretty darn well, caught just as many fish as the Drennans, and the cost is 1/4 of a Drennan lol.
I just fish below Rod and use whatever he breaks off.
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I just fish below Rod and use whatever he breaks off.
I don't know, that'd be a pretty long wait... ;D
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I just fish below Rod and use whatever he breaks off.
You too ? ;)
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I like using the DNE ones with the extended stem at the top! Gives you a little more of a buffer when trying to keep your line out of the water but difference is negligible.
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DNE style foam floats and cork only. plastic Cleardrift type floats crack easily especially in cold weather from my experience and are not worth the added cost.
I used cleardrift for a couple seasons and had terrible luck with them leaking. Even when they were brand new, or after they take a bit of abuse. I was going through average 1-2 floats per day from leaking. I've heard that their quality has gotten better now.
Tried some Top Shelf floats last year. Some nice designs but the hard foam also seems to crack and break sooner than one would prefer.
I eventually always just go back to DNE. Virtually indestructible and fairly priced.
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I used cleardrift for a couple seasons and had terrible luck with them leaking. Even when they were brand new, or after they take a bit of abuse. I was going through average 1-2 floats per day from leaking. I've heard that their quality has gotten better now.
Tried some Top Shelf floats last year. Some nice designs but the hard foam also seems to crack and break sooner than one would prefer.
I eventually always just go back to DNE. Virtually indestructible and fairly priced.
This.
I experienced the same thing with cleardrift floats. I like the big water series, but found that after a trip or two they would start leaking...particularly at the wrong time! I.e. when the coho bite would turn on. Even brand new the odd one would leak. Lately I've been using Fred's clear floats and find them to be much more durable.
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What about the float stops? How many to use? been told 4, by guys fishing the rapids...
I have found a lot of floats with toothpicks stuck in them as if others, like me, find the float stop a huge pain...trying to figure out which system to use...
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I like fish below the big groups. In no fish days, I often collect a lot of floats drift down. Keep the DNE float and give away the clear floats. Strange there are always more clear floats in the river
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With the exception of when it first came out, I've had no problem with the Cleardrift leaking.
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.......type is less Important than matching color and size to conditions.....clear/green water with open surroundings and clear sky's go clear cleargreen white or light blue.....same water with trees crowding more clouds/less light you can go green foam ....heavy cloud open surroundings go gray......colored water player's choice......balsa/brown good in most conditions....... my 2 cents
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The fish don't care what float you use. There is always stuff floating down the river and they just ignore it. Most of the clear floats are too heavy and cause the bobber stops to slip with a long cast so I just stick to DNE style. Mind you I haven't actually bought a float in years so...
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.......when conditions are tough and fish are pressured every little thing you can do helps......a 35 gram black float and 15 lb leader ain't gonna cut it.....also found Bobber stops a pain ......dedicated toothpicker....
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.......when conditions are tough and fish are pressured every little thing you can do helps......a 35 gram black float and 15 lb leader ain't gonna cut it.....also found Bobber stops a pain ......dedicated toothpicker....
lmao I feel called out because thats exactly what I use XD except 25 g float. My mono leader line is from dollar store ;D, strong but not much else
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.....nothing wrong with budget gear .....work towards having a selection......some things are worth paying up for when you can ......
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.....nothing wrong with budget gear .....work towards having a selection......some things are worth paying up for when you can ......
Maybe budget gear isn’t something to brag about after dumping a reel of line behind a spring? He might have been better off having appropriate gear.
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Maybe budget gear isn’t something to brag about after dumping a reel of line behind a spring? He might have been better off having appropriate gear.
I'm 17... 30$+ plus for a spool of braid and 20$+ for 25m of fluoro leader is a luxury..
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And a spool of braid in the river is priceless. In my opinion it is irresponsible to pollute the river with indestructible garbage and then brag about how cheap your gear is. If you can’t afford gear that doesn’t kill wildlife or plug up the environment don’t go fishing.
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Gosh, how many of you own top line equipment when you were seventeen ?
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Gosh, how many of you own top line equipment when you were seventeen ?
My equipment has always met the target. And I have never come close to losing all the line on a reel. Isn’t that why we have opposable thumbs? And if I did I sure as hell wouldn’t brag about it and then follow up with posts about how cheap my gear is.
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My equipment has always met the target. And I have never come close to losing all the line on a reel. Isn’t that why we have opposable thumbs? And if I did I sure as hell wouldn’t brag about it and then follow up with posts about how cheap my gear is.
Look man there's no need to be an a** hole. I admitted my mistake because I share my experience because I learned something from it and maybe somebody else can too. I commented on having cheap leader and braid, in no way was I bragging. spoonmans post related to me so I commented, thats it. I do my best to learn everything i can online and from reading. Some things are inevitable. I know what happened is bad which is why is mentioned it in the forum. It wouldve been easy for me to not say anything and hide that but I'd rather have somebody help me learn new techniques to prevent the same thing happening again. Which people did. Ken and John two asian fellows taught me about fighting big fish and how to land them. They also told me to hold the spool in order to not let out any more line and for the leader to snap to reduce pollution. I now know for the future what to do. From your comments I have learned nothing at all. Just how not to act
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Look man there's no need to be an a** hole. I admitted my mistake because I share my experience because I learned something from it and maybe somebody else can too. I commented on having cheap leader and braid, in no way was I bragging. spoonmans post related to me so I commented, thats it. I do my best to learn everything i can online and from reading. Some things are inevitable. I know what happened is bad which is why is mentioned it in the forum. It wouldve been easy for me to not say anything and hide that but I'd rather have somebody help me learn new techniques to prevent the same thing happening again. Which people did. Ken and John two asian fellows taught me about fighting big fish and how to land them. They also told me to hold the spool in order to not let out any more line and for the leader to snap to reduce pollution. I now know for the future what to do. From your comments I have learned nothing at all. Just how not to act
Good points, I apologize.
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I've noticed Darko asking a number of questions on this forum, including whether a certain (more sensitive albeit not secret) system is holding fish. What I didn't know until recently is that Darko is only 17.
Nothing wrong with asking questions, and admitting to mistakes - we've all done that at some time or another. What impresses me is the fact that this 17 year old can own up to mistakes, and appears eager to learn. Darko - keep it up, and you will end up being one of those top rods that everybody talks about knowing!
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.......type is less Important than matching color and size to conditions.....clear/green water with open surroundings and clear sky's go clear cleargreen white or light blue.....same water with trees crowding more clouds/less light you can go green foam ....heavy cloud open surroundings go gray......colored water player's choice......balsa/brown good in most conditions....... my 2 cents
IMO it does not matter what type/color of float you use. Fish whatever you have confidence in. A lot of anglers I know like the Cleardrift floats or similar brand. They feel it is more stealthy esp in clear water. I don't like that they crack easily and fill with water. If I find them on the river I give away to buddies that fish them.
I like the shape of D&E or similar brand floats. I find they ride nicer in the water than the the non-tapered foam floats.
Not really a fan of the wrap around foam floats as they do not slide very well when adjusting float depth, and the line cuts into them when breaking off a snag or with a big fish on.
Personally I like cork floats as they look cool IMO and they have a bit more weight which is nice for casting.
End of he day, don't worry that the color or size of your float is affecting the # of fish you catch. Your lead and swivel is hanging below that float and, IMO, is more likely to spook fish than your float up on the surface. Now your leader length, leader material, breaking strength, hook size and presentation will affect if you catch fish or not, but that is a another discussion for another day.
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I've noticed Darko asking a number of questions on this forum, including whether a certain (more sensitive albeit not secret) system is holding fish. What I didn't know until recently is that Darko is only 17.
Nothing wrong with asking questions, and admitting to mistakes - we've all done that at some time or another. What impresses me is the fact that this 17 year old can own up to mistakes, and appears eager to learn. Darko - keep it up, and you will end up being one of those top rods that everybody talks about knowing!
thank you for your kind words! My passion for fishing is immense and I love absorbing as much information as possible about it. Hopefully your predictions come true ;)