How do you fish off the surface?

Braid is ideal for surface fishing as it enables you to strike with more speed as a fish takes the bait. Because there is no stretch in braid, the minute you strike, the float moves, which over time will hook you a few bonus fish. Not all venues will allow braid, and some fish may even find it too obtrusive.

How far should the float be from the hook?

about 18 inches
At the moment you should have a float on the line, fixed at about 18 inches (45 cm) up the line from the hook. If you swing the line out into the water now, the float will either lay flat on the surface or perhaps poke out of the water several inches.

What is the best bait for float fishing?

Bread will make at least five forms of bait to assist the angler when fishing,

  • The crust on an uncut loaf is perfect for floating on the top of the water for Carp.
  • The inside of a fresh loaf is ideal for pinching onto the hook as flake.
  • The inside can also be soaked and made into a paste.

Can you surface fish with a pop up?

Companies like Nash and dynamite baits also provide floating pellets which are often flavoured and don’t require any preparation these can also be used as free offerings and as a hook bait. If you only had a bag of mixers and some pop-up boilies, you can still fish for carp to great effect on the surface.

How deep should I float fish?

You want to set the depth of your float so that the bait is 8 to 16 inches off the bottom of the river because that puts the bait right in the fish’s face. The closer the bait is to the fish the more likely it will eat it. You can use your float and bait to detect the bottom.

Should you float fish on the bottom?

Bait presentation Fish do not always feed on the bottom. For different reasons at different times of the year, fish can be near the surface or in mid-water. A float can be used to set the bait at a particular depth, not just on the bottom.

How far off the bottom should you fish?

Keep your bait in the fish zone. When deeper than 8 to 10 feet, always fish on the bottom, not close, but on the bottom whenever possible.