freshwater-recreational-fishing-guide-2018-19

23 Bubble floats
■■Bubble floats are designed as running floats, which
is to say the line can pass through the float without
resistance. The most successful and popular bubble
floats feature a central tube through which the line
is threaded.
■■Before threading the bubble float on to the line, the
central tube is displaced, enabling the angler to
partially fill the float with water. This makes it heavier
and easy to cast out.
■■The bubble float is rigged in tandem with a much
smaller float – usually a small piece of foam fixed
securely on to the line – and from which the baited
hook is suspended. This smaller float also acts as a
stopper to prevent the bubble float sliding down to
the hook as the angler casts out.
■■When the bubble float rig has been cast out, both
floats – the bubble float and the smaller float from
which the bait is suspended – lay side by side on
the surface.
■■When a fish takes the bait and pulls the smaller float
down, the line runs freely though the heavier bubble
float, which offers no resistance as the fish takes line.
■■The most effective bait with a bubble float seems to
be Dragon Fly larvae (Mudeyes) which are usually
suspended about a metre below the smaller float.
NSW Recreational Freshwater Fishing Guide Knots and rigs
Useful rigs
1. The addition of a large
split shot a short distance
above the hook allows
baits like worms and small
Yabbies to be suspended
alongside sunken timber
and steep banks for native
fish like Golden Perch and
several others.
2. Standard running sinker
rigs are used for suspending
baits amongst timber and
for bottom fishing from the
banks of lakes and streams.