Blackfish Floats

[luderick -angler]

Cool,

the braid helps there! still in NZ chasing trout off to the Taranaki this weekend chasing browns and bows!

Hows those saw tails been this year?

[gretsch]

Cool,

the braid helps there! still in NZ chasing trout off to the Taranaki this weekend chasing browns and bows!

Hows those saw tails been this year?

Getting bigger every time!! They are prolific and omniverous I have come to find.

I am in NZ next February for some BIG Snapper in the Manakau and a few trout out of the Tongariro..

Edited October 25, 2009 by Cephalopod

[luderick -angler]

Ceph,

the snapper are out already some good early season fish and you should target a few blackfish over here they are twice the size plenty in manukau harbour and the rivers in the Rodney district, february on the Tonga is big brown time on the dry's and the rainbows well thats another story evening rises on the Tonga are legendary a lot of aussie anglers specifically come over for that reason!

[Cameron]

Just wondering if anyone out there makes there own floats for catching Blackfish ? If so could you give me some ideas etc etc or show a step by step guide on making them . i thought it would be nice to make them while the weather isn't so good .

I make my own floats for fishing off the rocks, which tend to be larger than the ones you use in the river. You can buy the canes that you use for the shaft of the float in some tackle stores. I use champagne corks for the main body section of the float, which I reduce in diameter by impaling them on a drill bit in my electric drill clamped in the vice on the bench, then set it going and use various grades of sandpaper to sand them down to size. You use the drill like a lathe. After making the cork the right size, I stick the cane through it and glue it in place with araldite, leaving a short section sticking out of the top so I can fit a drilled out short piece of thin dowel. Taper the top of the dowel down a bit as it makes it easier to push a piece of plastic tube on it (see further on). I fit appropriate sized ball sinkers to the bottom of the float shaft using araldite, after boring a hole in the sinker using a drill. You need to test float them to get the sinker size right. You can then fine tune the float by wrapping bits of sheet lead around the shaft above the sinker to get the floatation right. Too much float above the water is not good and will deter fish that might bite if the flooat cannot be readily pulled under.

I then give the whole thing an oil based paint job. Strange as it might seem, dark colours seem to stand out well! I use these as fixed floats, using an appropriate diameter piece of plastic tubing from the hardware store on top and a short piece of flyscreen tubing ( the stuff that keeps the gauze in place) on the bottom. Put the line through the top tubing, jam it on the top dowel section nice and tight and then wrap the line several times around the shaft of the float below the cork before securing it with the flyscreen tubing on the bottom. You can then vary the depth at which you fish by pulling the bits of tube off the float and moving the float up or down as required. Sharpening the bottom of the float shaft makes it easier to fit the flyscreen tube. There is a certain amount of trial and error involved in getting everything the right size. The less weight that you need to use on the line the better; one small ball lead is fine. Don't weight the line to get the floatation right. Keep a few bits of sheet lead in your pocket to wrap around the float shaft if you need to adjust things while fishing. This system has worked for me over many years; my blackfish rod is a home made job from the early 1970's! If you need some help, send me a PM and I can give you a demo. My floats are no oil paintings, but they work!