Years ago when I started fishing for Steelhead and Salmon I used the conventional drift fishing techniques a majority of the time. Over the years I've since switched over to float fishing and have found my success ratio has increased dramatically. I still like to drift fish for Steelhead on occasion but I find myself looking forward to picking up my float rod. The first floats I used for Steelhead were the round corks with the orange pegs jammed into the top. I've tried several other floats including sliding and fixed floats and some of them worked okay while others worked marginal at best. For me I've found corks to work best for Steelhead. When I fish jigs, I like to have the most natural presentation possible. Corks allow me to mend my line without affecting the jig and also when I reach the end of my drift, I like to swing the jig through the tailout. Some Thill floats immediately submerge under water when you retrieve them. Corks have enough weight to cast long distances and for really low water conditions they don't spook the fish like some of the bright red floats do. Especially when you're retrieving the float.
When it comes to Salmon fishing I like a sliding Thill float. I'll use the large 6" balsa float with a 1 or 2-oz cannon ball lead weight. This way I can fish depths of 12 feet or deeper.
So to all you float fisherman out there, what is your choice of float and why?
Mark

www.firstcastjigs.com
_________________________
First Bite Jigs

Nobody makes a tougher jig...PERIOD!