I switched over to float fishing about 5 years ago and I find it so much easier to fish iwth a float vs. drift fishing. Also I think it is perfect for the ocassional fisherman or that friend who is just learning. We all remember how hard it was the first few years trying to tell a bite from a rock. How many fish did we miss, not to mention how much gear we donated to the river. As for floats, I prefer Thill turbo master #3 for 1/4 oz jigs. No extra weight needed to either cast or cock the float properly and I don't need a spinning reel to cast the set up. For most float fishing, be it bait or artificials, I would recommend a dink style float. You can find them from 2" long to 8" by 3" that will raise the titanic. Really a couple of different size floats will get yuo buy for most water. I carry 2 sizes of dinks and the Thills. I think most people rig with the fixed system. It is just as fast to adjust the float depth with a fixed as a slider. The exception being when you want to run very deep, say over 12 feet. Ofcourse, you need a longer rod to cast that much leader.


Tight lines,

MJ