Thill fixed/slip floats w/balance splitshot

Attachment 392162Attachment 392163For use with hook/small baits. Never used floats much before except for small strike indicators/plastic floats to cast flies/poppers using ultralite spinning gear. This year was different, fished until lakes were iced over here and had to switch to Gulp alive 1" minnows and worms when the panfish bite slowed down using artificials.
Could not find alot of info on the weight needed to balance floats so purchased a few to mess with. Did not have a chance to use all of these listed, but now that lakes are iced over, I decided to make a list of weight needed to balance these properly for a quick carry reference to save time rigging. This was done with a 5 gallon bucket but should put you in the ballpark if using the listed floats. I thought this might help someone who is new to floats and eliminate some of the guesswork. My next list will be for these floats using different weighted jig heads.

All were set up with 4lb. mono. , a #8 Truturn hook w/Gulp alive minnow and Watergremlin #B tin, or #BB lead or #3/0 lead. Small redworms/pieces of nightcrawlers should substitute OK

See pics for reference. These are small panfish floats (#6 is mid size)

1A -Thill shybite 3 1/8" fixed. 2BB splitshot Water level black line on float
1B -Thill shybite 2 1/2" fixed. 1BB splitshot Water level black line on float
1C- Thill shybite 2" fixed. 1B (Tin) splitshot Water level middle of yellow
2 -Thill mini stealth 1 3/4" fixed,slip or waggler. Water 2BB Water level white line on float (cool little float!)
3 -Thill small center slider 2 1/4" slip. 1 3/0 splitshot Water level black line on float
4 -Thill pro series 1/2" slip(unweighted) 1 3/0 splitshot Water level mid yellow on float
5- Thill 3/8 pencil float slip 1BB Water level-small amount of yellow on float showing
6-Thill pro series 3/4"slip (weighted) 1 3/0 splitshot Water level mid yellow on float

I use fixed for shallow water to 5' , slips for deeper water and ease to cast. Just my preference. Different floats used for windy conditions, water depth and how far you want to cast.

1A -Thill shybite 3 1/8" fixed. 2BB splitshot Water level black line on float excellent for shallow water, not meant to be cast
1B -Thill shybite 2 1/2" fixed. 1BB splitshot Water level black line on float excellent for shallow water, not meant to be cast
1C- Thill shybite 2" fixed. 1B (Tin) splitshot Water level middle of yellow excellent for shallow water, not meant to be cast
2 -Thill mini stealth 1 3/4" fixed,slip or waggler. Water 2BB Water level white line on float (cool little float!) a very cool little float. best in shallow water with pole but can be cast, too.
3 -Thill small center slider 2 1/4" slip. 1 3/0 splitshot Water level black line on float excellent for vertical presentations (vertical jigging, ice fishing)
4 -Thill pro series 1/2" slip(unweighted) 1 3/0 splitshot Water level mid yellow on float best use is to throw in the trash
5- Thill 3/8 pencil float slip 1BB Water level-small amount of yellow on float showing best use is to throw in the trash
6-Thill pro series 3/4"slip (weighted) 1 3/0 splitshot Water level mid yellow on float best use is to throw in the trash

You left off the best one: the mighty waggler. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moonrunner

My next list will be for these floats using different weighted jig heads.

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Bare hook casts much better than jig head. Jig head plus float can give a "bolo" effect when casting. If you must use a jig head, go as light as possible.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moonrunner

... Watergremlin #B tin, or #BB lead or #3/0 lead.

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Try soft shot like Dinsmore (English) or Super Doux (French). Fly shops (and Bass Pro and Cabela's) carry both.

Soft shot does not damage line like the harder shots do.

That's some really cool information. I am guilty of keeping a small pair of side cutters in the boat to trim lead when necessary to balance a float I've been playing around with japanese carp floats. I'm also guilty of putting a bobber stop under the float incase I want to fish it fixed.


Sent from my E6810 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

1A -Thill shybite 3 1/8" fixed. 2BB splitshot Water level black line on float
1B -Thill shybite 2 1/2" fixed. 1BB splitshot Water level black line on float
1C- Thill shybite 2" fixed. 1B (Tin) splitshot Water level middle of yellow
2 -Thill mini stealth 1 3/4" fixed,slip or waggler. Water 2BB Water level white line on float (cool little float!)
3 -Thill small center slider 2 1/4" slip. 1 3/0 splitshot Water level black line on float
4 -Thill pro series 1/2" slip(unweighted) 1 3/0 splitshot Water level mid yellow on float
5- Thill 3/8 pencil float slip 1BB Water level-small amount of yellow on float showing
6-Thill pro series 3/4"slip (weighted) 1 3/0 splitshot Water level mid yellow on float

You'll get much better bite indication if you add shot so that only the red tip shows. The more of the float that sticks out of the water, the more resistance the fish feels.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by catchNgrease

I've been playing around with japanese carp floats.

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Most of these are "paste" floats. They are designed to be fished with a paste for bait. The paste is soft and will quickly dissolve away, leaving the hook bare.

The floats have a very sensitive bristle, so they will rise in the water when all the paste is gone. So, you know when to rebait your hook.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moonrunner

Attachment 392162Attachment 392163For use with hook/small baits. Never used floats much before except for small strike indicators/plastic floats to cast flies/poppers using ultralite spinning gear. This year was different, fished until lakes were iced over here and had to switch to Gulp alive 1" minnows and worms when the panfish bite slowed down using artificials.
Could not find alot of info on the weight needed to balance floats so purchased a few to mess with. Did not have a chance to use all of these listed, but now that lakes are iced over, I decided to make a list of weight needed to balance these properly for a quick carry reference to save time rigging. This was done with a 5 gallon bucket but should put you in the ballpark if using the listed floats. I thought this might help someone who is new to floats and eliminate some of the guesswork. My next list will be for these floats using different weighted jig heads.

All were set up with 4lb. mono. , a #8 Truturn hook w/Gulp alive minnow and Watergremlin #B tin, or #BB lead or #3/0 lead. Small redworms/pieces of nightcrawlers should substitute OK

See pics for reference. These are small panfish floats (#6 is mid size)

1A -Thill shybite 3 1/8" fixed. 2BB splitshot Water level black line on float
1B -Thill shybite 2 1/2" fixed. 1BB splitshot Water level black line on float
1C- Thill shybite 2" fixed. 1B (Tin) splitshot Water level middle of yellow
2 -Thill mini stealth 1 3/4" fixed,slip or waggler. Water 2BB Water level white line on float (cool little float!)
3 -Thill small center slider 2 1/4" slip. 1 3/0 splitshot Water level black line on float
4 -Thill pro series 1/2" slip(unweighted) 1 3/0 splitshot Water level mid yellow on float
5- Thill 3/8 pencil float slip 1BB Water level-small amount of yellow on float showing
6-Thill pro series 3/4"slip (weighted) 1 3/0 splitshot Water level mid yellow on float

I use fixed for shallow water to 5' , slips for deeper water and ease to cast. Just my preference. Different floats used for windy conditions, water depth and how far you want to cast.

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If one wants to use Jigs :

Thill pro series 1/2" (small) slip(unweighted) will support 1/32 oz.

Thill pro series 5/8 (medium) slip(unweighted) will support 1/16 oz.

Thanks guys! This is a terrific thread for me. I have to develop some new tactics this season for my local warm water creek, particularly low water, rocky bottom, and river snot in between storm runoff clean-sings. Floats will be an important weapon in the arsenal. I read DB4D’s link to the U.K. site that has a lot of float/shotting info. Thanks for that one as well. Real useful info!
Bob
PS I think I will put a lot of this in my stream notebook for reference.
B
:eek:

Here's a bit more info on the Thill mini shy bite floats. These are listed as 1 A,B and C in original post. I can cast these accurately to the distances listed below.
I used a 6' St.Croix Premier ultralite rated at 2-6lb.test 1/32-3/16oz. with a Quantum PTi10 using 4lb. Trilene xl mono. So, I understand others can do better, and with better suited gear. This is just how it worked out for me and is given as ballpark figures. You can tweak all floats with microshot to ride as low as you like. At my age its a little harder to see just a tip above the water line. Whatever floats your boat!:rolleyes:

I used the same amount and kind of shot, hook, and bait at listed before. Did several casts each with shot 12" above and floats 2' and 4' above hook. Around 6 casts per each. All casts were within 2' of each other.
1A. Thill mini shy bite 3 1/8"
2ft.above hook 50ft.
4ft. above hook 42ft.
1B. Thill mini shy bite 2 1/2"
2ft. above hook 42ft.
4ft. above hook 38ft.
1C. Thill mini shy bite 2"
2ft. above hook 30ft.
4ft. above hook 27ft.

These distances are fine for accurate shallow water casts in the small ponds and lakes I fish. No line issues were noted during casts. The really cool thing about these mini shy bites is you can change out the different size floats and how deep fished (with the provided rubber sleeves) and the shot very quickly without any retying.