Premier Loaded Missile Slider Fishing Float. Set of 3. (Sizes 1, 2 & 3)

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Whilst purist anglers on the pole are concerned with placing a bait with pinpoint accuracy, and to precise depths, fishing with the slider doesn’t require the same level of attention. But don’t think that you are going to miss bite after bite because, though appearing to be very crude, a slider will surprise you with the frequency that you get unmissable bites, very often showing lift bites as opposed to the float going under. The fish takes the bait, lifts the line off bottom, and then lifts the lowest dropper shot. At this point your float starts to rise as the weight of the lowest shot is removed. I will remind you of what was stated earlier, “every shot must have a discernible effect on the float”. It took a while, but I eventually managed to try out the tube system!So why did it take so long, since I first tried Pierre Francois' sliding tube, until I got round to writing about it in October 2011? Nicolas Beroud will tell you that I had been talking about this type of article for a year or more, but encountered three unforeseen delays: Floats such as the Rive Scotthorne patterns, with brass inserts are ideal and should be connected to the mainline via a Drennan float adaptor. This adaptor is very important because the swivel is squashed slightly, creating an oval which helps the float and adaptor trap on the sliding stop knot. I began swapping rods over and comparing how both systems coped with the drift and wind and came to these conclusions:

To plumb up I undershot my float by removing one of my main bulk shots and then attach a ¾oz plummet to the hook and cast out. This is why I use Anchor shot as I can remove it easily without damage. Undershotting the float like this helps to give a really positive plummet reading. The plummet is heavy enough to sink the float but if the float is too far overdepth half of it will stand proud of the water. By steadily reducing the depth I can then fine-tune things so that only the very tip of the float is visible, meaning the depth is now plumbed perfectly. The skill is in understanding the purpose of each of your dropper shot and ‘reading’ the movement of the float. I realise that this may not be easy for some anglers, and practice and experience helps enormously. Indeed, for me, getting a big, crude looking, slider float to show me beautifully exaggerated bites in tough conditions is one of the pinnacles of the art. Compare this image to the previous one. The lower yellow section of the antenna has disappeared because the first dropper shot has registered on the float. It is not important to make a whole section of float disappear with each dropper but it is important to ensure that each dropper makes a discernible change to the way the float sits, and remember that you may be looking at this float at a distance of thirty metres, with a chop on the water, with eyes that have seen better days. This is why I try to shot my float so that the droppers will effect discernible sections of my antenna. Every dropper should have an effect. Now add your main bulk. I used Cralusso bullets for my bulks, but any drilled bullet will do the job and one 10 grammer is all you need on a 20g +10g float, plus droppers. You might need to add a small shot or two below the main bullet but, as a guide, try and shot the float down to just below the red or yellow tip because you will add three No.6 droppers later The German/Belgian combo proved equally effective for the bream!Casting: I was not able to cast this float as far, or as easily, as the larger Italian model. Which was not surprising as it was 12 grams lighter! But this is nearly the heaviest English style float you can get and it does show that in these extreme winds there is a place for very big floats.

The English slider method has undergone a change since that initial victory, when Ian used a No.4 shot above the bulk to sit the float on. This had proved to be the source of countless tangles and much frustration, but today things are quite different! So let’s take a look at the latest set-up of English slider rigs with Stuart Conroy: Having float and bulk separated makes casting a bit weird, till you get used to casting the bulk instead of the float. I gave my rod to a friend who joined me to watch for a bit. He's been fishing as long as me, but not with that set-up, and he cast it everywhere except where he wanted it. To feather the line this is where your finger should be placed immediately after releasing the line whilst casting. By removing and replacing your finger from the lip of the spool you can control the way the line leaves the spool, slowing it up as you reach your target. By applying this light resistance to the line you can straighten everything out and cause the shotting to settle neatly away from you in a lovely tangle-free straight line. Practice makes perfect so go to it. Don’t be put off. This is a difficult lake at the best of times as the water is crystal clear with heavy weed growth in bands, usually 15 – 20 metres from the bank, with deeper water beyond. Depths vary from 3.5 to about 4.5 metres at casting range. Target fish were roach, bleak, with the odd rogue bream and some elusive tench.

Once all the line is threaded through the rod, I slide on a small-bore bead first and then a float. I like red or yellow, so I know where it is. Next, I slide on my “bulk” which in my set up is an inline olivette, fat end first, so it’s like an inverted teardrop. This is size-dependent on which weight float I’m using. For example, if I’m using a 10g waggler, then I will use an 8g olivette. The reason being will become apparent shortly. England and Italy may be the two classic homes of slider fishing, but it's great to see how other nations are taking the style forward. I mentioned at the start that Pierre Francois originally renewed my interest in slider fishing with his simple tube system. Here is how his system works:Lastly, the all-important slider stop knot completes the set up. Try to prevent the use of beads and other unnecessary objects on your line. They are NOT NECESSARY, according to Stuart.

There are few anglers better than Alan Scotthorne on the slider float, so here’s a masterclass at Chesterfield’s Poolsbrook Reservoir with the five-time world champ! It’s been great to flex the slider gear once again and really helped me prepare for the busy international schedule I’ve got this year. Get out there and give it a go yourself – you’ll soon realise that it’s a lot more fun than the feeder! I fish the slider quite a lot and I use 2 rods mainly both 14 footers, they are the 14 foot Drennan Match Pro Ultralite and the 14 foot Cadence #1. Last year I spent several days working with Belgian international Pierre Francois Deschipper, who asked whether I had tried slider fishing with bulk shot on an anti-tangle tube, which was featured in an InfoPeche article some months earlier. No, I replied, but said I would make a point of trying it as soon as possible. That was in May 2010. So, true to my word, I tried them shortly after and they worked extremely well. So well in fact, that they sparked a sort of slider re-birth within my own personal fishing style.The same float as above (Silverlite Pro Light Straight Slider) but with a sensitive tip. Can also be fitted with one of the many alternative Silverlite float tips. This presents a huge challenge to the float angler, as the amount of water movement from a body of water this size, is truly immense! To make matters even more challenging, the wind today was left to right and slightly facing me. It was the sort of wind that holds groundbait balls up in the air and makes them land a little short of the target... such is its power! So with this in mind I decided on two rigs that were specifically designed to cope with such windy conditions.

The slider is also useful when casting into small holes in the weed, where a normal rig might not fit, and when fishing a deep island margin or up against far bank trees. In each of these situations having the float much closer to the hook during the cast makes fishing very much easier than with a fixed float. YOU WILL NEED… A slider knot is dead simple. Nothing to worry about here. It is just a short piece of line that is tied onto the main line but tied in a way that enables the angler to slide it up and down the main line. Take a look at the accompanying illustration and if you practice tying a slider knot half a dozen times you will never forget it. It really is that simple.

The reel’s line clip is also vital for the way I like to feed. I actually cast beyond the feed and hit my line clip so it is around three to five reel turns further out. This allows me to reel in three, four or five turns to sink the line adequately. Once the float is in position I often open the bail arm of my reel and pay out some line, just to let the bulk reach the bottom and settle everything properly. However, in shallower swims like today that is not always so necessary.