KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER

1Always use good quality silicone rubber with a thin wall to attach your float to the line. This will stop any surface tension and give you perfect float control.

2Always use a good floating line. Coat with silicone if required.

3Always cast in so that the line lands in a straight line with the hook end furthest downstream.

4Experiment with depth. An inch or two on a difficult day can mean the difference between catching and not.

5Experiment with how the float runs through the swim. Stop it, hold it back, let it go – all these things can induce bites so keep trying them.

6For roach fishing close in, dot the float well down.

7For barbel and chub in fast flow, leave plenty of float tip above the surface. This will help you to see it and they’ll still pull it under.

8Make spare rigs up n winders. If you’re unsure of length, put them on 3m of line and cut down to suit the swim. Always attach the lines loop to loop and slide your float up past the loops and on to the mainline.

9Once the float is attached loop-to-loop, you can set about plumbing the depth and shortening the line to suit. Then you can attach a hooklength.

10Experiment with distance out in the river. Quite often during the colder months, the better fish are to be found close to the bank, at the bottom of the ledge or slope.