How To Float Fish For Trout: Full Article

This is the full and complete article on how to catch trout when float fishing. There are many of my tips and tactics that I use to get my clients into more large trout. If you follow the same tactics, you too can catch more large trout.

5 Fundamentals Of Good Float Fishing For Trout

There are five fundamentals to good float fishing techniques for trout. If you can master these, you will catch a lot more trout.

1. Control your speed – This means the speed of your bait once it’s in the strike zone.
2. Find the bottom – Learning how to determine how deep your bait is so you can keep your bait in the strike zone is key.
3. Cover the water effectively – Effectively covering the water through the entire post and from surface to bottom will mean more trout landed
4. Use the right float fishing setup – Your setup enables you to fish well and present your bait more effectively.
5. Use the right baits – Last but not least is learning how to determine which bait the trout wants.

There are some other things that I do as a guide to ensure that my clients catch the maximum amount of trout. Some of these things are so effective that if done well, you could catch ten times more trout.

I will also discuss:

• The best floats
• My proven leader setups
• Types of rivers for float fishing
• How to significantly increase how many trout you catch
• Rods, reels, and lines

1. Control Your Speed: The Number 1 Fundamental Of Float Fishing

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of presenting your bait is speed control. In fact, speed trumps even a good bait.

When float fishing for trout in a river, speed control is why one guy catches ten trout, and the other guy catches none. It’s rarely the bait!

Using the right float is extremely important to control your speed, and only certain float work well!

To control your speed effectively, you need to understand leader and float angles, and you need to know how to hold your float back (some call it trotting or checking the float), and you need to do it properly and all the time.

For more in-depth details on why and how to do this effectively, see my page on Controlling Your Speed When Float Fishing.

Find The Bottom

The closer your bait is to those trout, the more likely they are to bite it.

When float fishing, you set the depth of the float and then cast and see how the float or the fish react to that setting

The depth of your float should be about the same length as the depth of the spot you are fishing. That’s easy to do if you can see the bottom and if you know exactly how deep the spot is.

What if you can’t see how deep it is?

I set my float and make a drift, and if I start hitting bottom, I will shorten up the leader, and if I don’t hit the bottom, I will make the leader twelve inches deeper. A good river float will help you detect the bottom and do this right.

The mistake most guys make is that when they finally detect the bottom, they fish the whole spot with that length of leader. Unfortunately, many spots won’t be the same depth all the way through the spot, and often fish will sit in deep holes and trenches.

You need to find the bottom to find the fish. The further your bait is from the trout, the less likely they are to bite it.

See How To Know How Deep To Set Your Float.

The Best Baits When Float Fishing For Trout

The fifth fundamental to good float fishing is to use the right bait. Despite what most anglers think, the reason I put this at number 5 is that my experience has proven time and again that the bait is the least important factor when presenting a bait below a float for trout.

There is a saying that I believe is 100% true, “A bad bait fished good, is better than a good bait fished bad.”

What this means is that even if you have the best bait on your line, but you fish it poorly, or you use the wrong hook, or the wrong sized leader you won’t be able to get the most out of that bait. It simply won’t work very well.

I have seen it over and over and over again when one client catches 90% of the fish simply because he presents his bait better, even when they are both using the exact same bait, with the same hooks, the same leader, and the same set-up. I will cover the presentation more below.

Smaller Baits Are Better When Float Fishing For Trout

Going with smaller baits is often a better choice than using bigger baits unless the water is dirty or off-colored, or is fast. Even big fish will eat a well-presented small bait.

Most of a trout’s food source is small. Small insects, single eggs, small baitfish. Three-inch worms will almost always work as well as an 8-inch dew worm, even on large trout and steelhead.

It’s also important to use baits that look natural and are already part of the trout’s diet. This can greatly improve your chances of catching more trout.

The Best Baits For Float Fishing For Trout Are:

• Nymphs – Flies that sink – See Best Flies For Trout.
• Worms – Both live and plastic worms – See Fishing With Worms.
• Eggs – This includes spawn sacs, or single salmon eggs. – Tactics For Fishing Spawn.
• Beads – Egg imitation beads can be very effective – See Fishing With Beads.

These are not in order of “best to worst” because there are times when one bait will work much better than another.

There are plenty of great baits for trout and steelhead, it’s a good idea to have an assortment of baits so that you are prepared for all situations.

If I were to hit the river right now, I would have 100% confidence that I would catch a trout on any of my top five baits. I list my top five baits on my page Best Trout Bait – The Only 5 Baits You Will Ever Need

Use The Right Gear When Float Fishing For Trout

Mainline For Float Fishing

Someone asked a question about lines for float fishing, so here it is. You can use any line for the mainline for float fishing, but some lines are much better than others.

The mainline is the line that is on the actual reel. I mostly use Raven Monofilament because it floats, it comes off the reel easily and it has been proven effective by thousands of river anglers.

I never use fluorocarbon as the mainline because it sinks and that makes line mending (line above the float) and hooks set tough to do.

I personally do not use braided lines when float fishing for two main reasons, however, I am not against braided lines if you know how to fix these two issues and braided lines can work quite well.

There are advantages and disadvantages to braided lines when float fishing.

The primary advantage of braided lines when float fishing is that they are usually light and strong for their diameter. Light lines do not sag, and they float which is great for float fishing presentation, mending, and hooksets.

Braided line also has near zero stretch which can be both a disadvantage and an advantage when setting the hook on a fish that is 200 feet down the river.

The disadvantage for me as a guide is that because the braided line has no stretch, guys will set so hard that they break fish off on the hookset especially when the float goes down close to us.

They will also set so hard that the float, and bait come flying back at them and making a huge tangled-up mess.

Until you know how to “dumb down” (soften) your hookset down a bit, this is often a problem for new anglers to float fishing.

Another issue with braids is line wrapping around the rod tip more often. This can be frustrating for new anglers. Some lines are better than others, but as a guide with lots of new anglers, this is more than enough reason not to use braid when float fishing.

The other disadvantage to the braided line is that it can freeze and become problematic in below-freezing temperatures and as a guide, I spend many days on the water in below-freezing temps. The entire mass of line can freeze into a solid block if you dunk your reel.

Another big issue for both Centrepin and spin guys is that braided line can expand and shrink after it gets wet and if you do not use a backing of mono first or you secure it with tape after you tie it on the spool the entire mass of braided line can spin around the spool preventing you from reeling in.

I have seen this a few times so make sure you look up how to put a braided line on a reel before you try a braided line.

I will discuss and tell you what lines river guides use when float fishing. See Best Float Fishing Lines.

Using the right line will improve your presentation. Some lines sink, some lines float, some are stiff, and some are supple. Heavy lines are not good for float fishing and honestly, I think too many anglers use lines that are way to heavy for float fishing.

I have seen first-hand on how bad lines can affect your presentation.

These lines in 4-pound or 6-pounds are ideal for most trout streams. Fishing larger trout streams or when also using lures, a 6 to 8-pound line might be better.

• 6lb Raven Mainline
• Sufix Elite Premium Monofilament Line
• Sunline Line Fine Float ll

Spinning Reels For Float Fishing For Trout

When it comes to spinning reels, get one that is proven to work well for float fishing. You want one that lets the line come off the reel smoothly so your float drifts naturally without getting hung up and giving a jerky presentation.

The three things to consider when looking for a good float reel for trout:

• A smooth Drag.
• A smooth spool lip so the line comes off easy.
• The right size.

You want a spinning reel that matches the smaller trout streams. I like a size 15 to size 20 reel. (1500 to 2000 for some brands). Some anglers will go as small as a size 10 which is probably OK on tiny streams.

If you want full details on the best reels and best sizes, and sizing charts, go to my page 4 Best Spinning Reels For Float Fishing.

Spinning Rods For Float Fishing For Trout

When float fishing trout rivers you want to use a lightweight rod with a sensitive tip and one with good flex in the midsection. Longer rods are preferred when float fishing and the bigger the river the longer the rod.

The long rod allows you to keep the main line up and off the water longer for a better drift, and the longer rod is a good shock absorber that protects light leaders on the hookset and when fighting the fish.

I like 8 to 11-foot rods when float fishing trout rivers. One of my favorites is the 8-foot ultra-light Okuma Guide Select Pro Trout Spinning Rod. I use this rod with clients.

These are the best float fishing rods for trout: Prices may change

• Best Under $110.00 – 8 foot Okuma Guide Select Pro Trout Spinning Rod – Approx. $104.99 – Get it At FishUSA
• Guides Choice – 8’6″ Light St. Croix Premier Spinning Rod – Approx. $199.99 – See it at FishUSA
• Best Economy Rod – 8′ Ultra-light Berkley Lightning Spinning Rod – See it at FishUSA
• Best Big River Rod – 10’6″ light, or 12’6 Ultralight Fenwick HMX Steelhead Spinning Rod – Best Price I have seen is at FishUSA – HERE. Also, check it out at Bass Pro Shops.

See these rods and more – Best River Fishing Rods

Best Floats For Float Fishing For Trout

They are also very sensitive floats for subtle bites and they come in a variety of sizes. They are my go-to float when trout fishing and guiding for trout.

I mostly use the size #2 and 3 floats for trout fishing on most normal trout sizes rivers, but for bigger rivers, I will go up to the #4 and #5. Get Drennan Loafer floats at www.FishUSA.com

Don’t forget to get yourself the Drennan float caps to secure these floats to the line.

For more information on the best floats and why and how to improve the use of them check out my page 5 Best Floats For 2021

Best Leader For Your Trout Float Fishing Setup

You should know that not all leader brands rate their leaders properly. I catch all kinds of steelhead on a 3-pound and 4-pound Drennan leader, not because it’s just a super-strong leader, but because a 4-pound Drennan is actually closer to a true 8-pound test. An 8-pound leader is usually too thick for trout and they will see the line and not bite.

Other 4-pound leaders might be closer to a 3-pound test and that means they might break too much, especially if it’s a cheap brand.

I will use different leader sizes in different types of situations to make sure I am being as effective as possible. That’s why you should read What Pound Test Leader For Trout and see what I recommend.

If you just want me to tell you which one to get, I like to use 3-pound and 4-pound Rio FluoroFlex + Tippet for most of my trout fishing.

Best Weight For Float Leader Setup For Trout

Always use split shots for float fishing for trout and use the right ones. The right ones will be:

• Black, grey, or neutral colors – DO NOT use shiny split shots
• Round. Do not use the ones with the removable wings. These can twist and cause problems.
• Soft – soft shots do not damage light leaders
• Legal – Lead or Tin Shots – In some areas, lead split shots or any type of lead on the line is now illegal. Check the regulations for your area.

I use the same split shots for float fishing as I do when fly fishing and when using bottom bouncing methods. See Best Weights For River Fishing.

Best Hooks For Trout

I still see many anglers using the old-school cheap bait hooks that you can get at the local tackle store, but let me tell you that expert rivers guides and all the top river anglers do not use these.

For more about my favorite hooks and why, and also which ones I use with different baits check out my page Best Hook Size For Trout: A Guides Advice On Trout Hook Size.

The Float Fishing Leader Setup

The above illustration is my go-to trout float leader setup in water from 3 feet to 8 feet deep. Below is what I would use when fishing less than 3 feet.

Shallow Water Trout Float Fishing

Presentation Is the Key

You might think the most important part of float fishing for trout is the bait but I have witnessed hundreds of guys fish with great baits and still catch very few fish.

Presentation is the key to catching more trout and float fishing allows you to present your bait better. When it comes to float fishing for trout you need to understand 3 things. These are 3 things I mentioned before and are part of the 5 fundamentals of good float fishing for trout and for steelhead and salmon.

Just like the gear, doing one thing wrong is your weak link and it will affect your ability to catch a lot of trout.

Cover The Water Effectively

I use a very systematic approach to cover the water. I believe, based on 35 years of experience fishing for trout that trout can be anywhere in the river and are often where you least expect.

Therefore, if I’m going to fish a spot, I’m going to fish all of it, and not just that nice seam, or that deep pocket, or the most obvious spot that everyone else fish.

Many of the biggest trout that I and my clients catch are in water less than 2 feet deep when there is water closer by that is 4 feet or deeper. Why is that? Well, that’s a whole other story, but for now let me just say, start fishing everywhere.

The picture above shows the obvious spots that are circled in red. Most anglers will fish these spots and move on, but the lines indicate where I would fish, and as you can see I would run my bait through almost every foot or two of water on a spot like this and it often pays off with big trout from unsuspected places.

How To Catch More Trout When Float Fishing?

The right gear, combined with covering the water well, combined with finding the bottom, combined with using the right bait, and then topping it all off with speed control equals a lot more trout.

If any of these are off, you will be like those other guys that will struggle to catch fish. This is true when using a float for trout, steelhead, or salmon in a river.

Rivers Suitable For Float Fishing For Trout

I have float-fished rivers that were over 300 feet wide and in creeks so small I could jump across them. Basically, any river can be fished with a float and baits but there are spots within the river where you should NOT float fish and these area are where other methods will work better.

In the above image, my client is fishing to the deeper darker water which is great for float fishing, but the water behind him is too shallow to float fishing well.

In the below image, this type of pocket water has lots of trout in it, but it’s not good water for float fishing because the pockets are short and shallow.

Mastering bottom bouncing for the shallow water and small pockets and also mastering float fishing for the deeper longer spots will allow you to catch fish anywhere in the river.

As a guide, and as other guides will tell you, being versatile and being able to change methods quickly will greatly improve your chances.

I have surprised many clients by making them fish in small and shallow spots.

However, these small spots are not good for float fishing! Not only will your float land on top of them and spook them in such small and shallow spots, but there is usually not enough time for the bait to get down.

Instead, focus on the bigger spots, and while fishing in those spots, work hard on improving your skills. This means mastering the five fundamentals of float fishing for trout.

If you have a question or comment or advice about float fishing for trout, let me know in the comments below.

Tight Lines,

Graham