Pole Fishing Floats for Commercial Fisheries: Your Complete Guide

Fishing with a pole in commercial fisheries requires precision, especially when choosing the right floats and shotting patterns. Whether you’re targeting carp, F1s, or other species, selecting the correct float is essential for successful catches. This guide will walk you through the different types of pole fishing floats, shotting patterns, and how to select the best float for various water depths and fishing conditions.

🎯 Choosing the Right Float for Commercial Fisheries

Types of Floats for Pole Fishing

The float you choose plays a vital role in your fishing success, determining how your bait behaves in the water and how visible your rig is to the fish. Here’s a breakdown of the most common float types and their best uses:

1. Carbon Stems

  • Best For: All-around use in both calm and slightly windy conditions.
  • Why: Carbon stems are lightweight and sensitive, providing excellent bite detection. They’re versatile and can be used for a wide range of commercial fishery species like carp, F1s, and tench.
  • Features: Carbon floats offer minimal wind resistance, making them great for delicate rigs in still waters or shallow swims.

2. Glass Stems

  • Best For: Delicate, slow, and controlled bites in calm waters.
  • Why: Glass stems provide superior sensitivity, allowing you to detect even the most subtle of bites. They are particularly useful for F1s or skimmers, where light bites are common.
  • Features: Glass stems are slightly heavier than carbon but are perfect for still water, providing extra stability and accuracy when fishing.

3. Wire Stems

  • Best For: Strong currents or rough conditions.
  • Why: Wire stems are durable and robust, making them ideal for fishing in stronger currents or in windswept conditions. They offer excellent stability and help the float to cut through rough water with ease.
  • Features: Their sturdiness makes them perfect for bigger fish, such as carp, where a heavier float may be required to maintain control.

🌊 Choosing the Best Float Size for Different Depths

The size of the float should correspond to the depth of water you are fishing in. Using the wrong float size for your swim can result in poor presentation and reduced bite detection.

1. Shallow Water (Up to 3ft)

  • Float Size: 0.2g to 0.4g
  • Why: Shallow swims with less than 3 feet of water need lightweight floats that will provide a delicate presentation of your bait. A float size of 0.2g to 0.4g works well, allowing for a quick response and making the bait sink slowly to the bottom, perfect for smaller fish like F1s or roach.

2. Medium Depth (3ft to 6ft)

  • Float Size: 0.6g to 1g
  • Why: When fishing in medium-depth waters, you need a float that is slightly heavier, around 0.6g to 1g. This allows the bait to sink at a natural rate without disturbing the swim too much. For pellet fishing or targeting skimmers, a medium float will offer better control over your bait presentation.

3. Deep Water (6ft and Above)

  • Float Size: 1.5g to 3g
  • Why: Deep swims require larger, heavier floats to counter the depth of the water. A float size of 1.5g to 3g ensures that your rig remains stable and responsive while presenting the bait where it needs to be. These sizes work well when fishing for carp in deeper swims or targeting fish in the lower layers of the water.

🧲 Shotting Patterns: Bulk vs. Strung Out

How you arrange your shot on the line can affect the way your bait falls through the water. Two popular shotting patterns are bulk shotting and strung out shotting. Each pattern has its unique benefits, depending on the fishing conditions.

1. Bulk Shotting

  • What It Is: A group of shots placed close together, usually near the hook length.
  • Why It Works: Bulk shotting provides a quick sink rate, which is ideal when you want the bait to hit the bottom quickly and settle in the swim. It is especially effective in stronger currents or deep waters.
  • Best For: Carp, pellets, and corn fishing in deeper swims, or when fishing near the bottom where you want the bait to settle quickly.

2. Strung Out Shotting

  • What It Is: Shots placed evenly along the length of the line, with more space between them.
  • Why It Works: Strung out shotting provides a more natural fall of the bait through the water column, making it perfect for sensitive bites or when fishing shallow water. The bait will hover more naturally, presenting the bait to fish that are suspended at different depths.
  • Best For: F1s, maggots, casters, and meat fishing, especially in shallower water or where fish are feeding on smaller, lighter baits.

🎣 Best Floats for Summer vs. Winter Fishing

The type of float you use can also change depending on whether you’re fishing in summer or winter, as the water temperature affects fish behavior.

Summer Fishing

  • Best Floats: Lighter floats (0.2g to 1g) with carbon or glass stems are ideal in the summer. In warm water, fish are more likely to be active and feeding aggressively.
  • Bait: Maggots, casters, and pellets are great in summer as the fish are feeding on smaller baits. These floats allow for the delicate presentation needed for the light bites that often occur.
  • Shotting: Strung out shotting works well in the summer as it allows the bait to fall slowly and naturally, mimicking how the fish expect food to behave in the water.

Winter Fishing

  • Best Floats: Heavier floats (1g to 3g) with wire or carbon stems are ideal for winter fishing when the fish tend to be more sluggish and in deeper waters.
  • Bait: Corn, meat, and larger pellets are popular choices in the winter. Larger baits attract bigger fish, and the more robust float ensures you can fish in colder, deeper swims effectively.
  • Shotting: Bulk shotting is favored in winter, as it helps the bait reach the bottom quickly, where fish tend to be less active and more likely to feed off the bottom.

🥇 Best Floats for Various Baits

Choosing the right float is essential for presenting different types of bait. Here’s how to pair your float with specific baits for maximum effectiveness:

1. Maggots

  • Float Size: 0.2g to 0.6g
  • Shotting Pattern: Strung out for natural fall.
  • Best Floats: Glass or carbon stem floats for sensitivity and precise presentation.

2. Casters

  • Float Size: 0.3g to 1g
  • Shotting Pattern: Strung out for a natural descent.
  • Best Floats: Carbon or glass stem floats to detect the lighter bites.

3. Pellets

  • Float Size: 0.6g to 2g
  • Shotting Pattern: Bulk shotting for quick sinking.
  • Best Floats: Carbon or wire stem floats for durability and stability in deeper waters.

4. Corn

  • Float Size: 1g to 3g
  • Shotting Pattern: Bulk shotting to quickly sink the heavier bait.
  • Best Floats: Wire stem floats for strength and stability in deeper margins.

5. Meat

  • Float Size: 1g to 3g
  • Shotting Pattern: Bulk shotting to allow meat to hit the bottom quickly.
  • Best Floats: Carbon or wire stem floats for heavier baits and more control.

🚀 Conclusion

Understanding the various types of pole fishing floats and how they relate to different depths, shotting patterns, and fishing conditions is essential for commercial fishery success. Whether you’re targeting F1s with a light rig and strung out shotting or chasing big carp with bulk shotting in deep water, selecting the right float and bait combination is key.

Experimenting with the right float, shotting patterns, and bait will increase your success and help you land more fish throughout the year—whether it’s the light bites of summer or the stronger runs of winter.