ISO float fishing

[Kracka]

Gday raiders,

Just wondering if anyone has used the japanese ISO floats for blackfish/luderick. And if so, how do they compare with a quill/pencil float?

I would imagine the pencil floats offer less resistance to a down given that both are weighted properly BUT I've seen quite a few blokes off the stones using these ISO set ups and they swear by them.

The long ISO rods and reels cost an arm and a leg... Plus I just love my good old alvey rod and reel blackfish setup. So just keen to know about the floats if anyone's had experience with them. 

[SickWolf]

I know quite a few people who only use iso and i have to say it is very effective. The ranges of floats differ in sensitivity depending on where you are fishing and the finesse element allows you to fish light gear for bigger fish. The rods are thin but very shock absorbent and their special reels have a reverse switch which absorbs big dashes from drummer and groper as they dive for cover. You can get cheaper rods and its really fun because you get to catch kingfish drummer etc on light tackle.

[Volitan]

As I understand it, the preferred way for advanced ISO types is to use no stopper on the float. The line has unimpeded travel through the float. This is combined with floating line. You just watch the line, if you see it run then it’s probably a fish so you react.

If the bait goes too deep then you can pull it back a bit - because the float sits low in the water it isn’t pulled across the surface as you retrieve line, but rather the line is pulled more or less vertically.

if you think about it, the float is functioning more as an anchor point on the surface then a bite-signalling mechanism.

i can’t help but think that would be deadly on blackfish - especially the wary ones.

[SickWolf]

For that method, people use the zeroed float, which doesnt require any weight, only the weight of the bait, long rods are especially helpful for this technique

[connico]

ISO can be fished with stopper and no stopper. I fish both methods and both are very effective. if the wash is rough though I wouldn't use no stopper as the current will take the bait way to fair off the intended target zone.

For luderick I still use either a fixed or a running pencil float as its much easier to see the downs from far away. I find iso floats get lost in the current to easy esp if there is alot of glare on the water.

 

 

[Kracka]

Thank you all for the insight guys. Will invest in a few floats and see how they do with my long blackfish alvey rod.

If I end up buying an ISO rod and reel it will most likely be when I'm over in Tokyo next year ?

12 minutes ago, connico said:

ISO can be fished with stopper and no stopper. I fish both methods and both are very effective. if the wash is rough though I wouldn't use no stopper as the current will take the bait way to fair off the intended target zone.

For luderick I still use either a fixed or a running pencil float as its much easier to see the downs from far away. I find iso floats get lost in the current to easy esp if there is alot of glare on the water.

 

 

That was one of my worries as the ISO floats I saw being used sat low in the water so they're hard to see over long drifts and heavy wash. Might use the ISO floats in the harbour.

40 minutes ago, Volitan said:

As I understand it, the preferred way for advanced ISO types is to use no stopper on the float. The line has unimpeded travel through the float. This is combined with floating line. You just watch the line, if you see it run then it’s probably a fish so you react.

If the bait goes too deep then you can pull it back a bit - because the float sits low in the water it isn’t pulled across the surface as you retrieve line, but rather the line is pulled more or less vertically.

if you think about it, the float is functioning more as an anchor point on the surface then a bite-signalling mechanism.

i can’t help but think that would be deadly on blackfish - especially the wary ones.

That's an interesting set up. Have never seen that before.

[wazatherfisherman]

Do you guys get eye strain from looking at these iso corks? I used to fish a rock spot that had a "lake" that the Luderick would come into from about half tide up. On big tides you fished the shallow end about 45 cm deep so you had to use cork not float- couldn't see it 75% of the time