Hi All: Lots of different ideas lots of changes.
When I fish the Vedder I see most of the guys using float rods of 11 1/2 ' with their floats set at rod length,in water about 6 feet deep. They arnt float fishing they are bottom bouncing with a float,but some seem to catch fish. It seems to depend more on knowing the current paths than method of fishing.
When you talk to the old time float fishers they want their weight and bait drifting in the lower foot of water, and their float leaning downstream at 30 degrees throughout the drift. They free spool all the way down the slot. They say that in any water more than 4'deep the current at the surface is moving at twice the speed of the water at the bottom. To get a good presentation your bait needs to be a foot off the bottom to travel at the right speed in relation to the float speed. Holding back on the float only serves to pull it out of the slot and ruin your drift.
The more I watch the less I learn.
coot