Being able to tell when your hook has a bite can be hard, especially when you’re fishing at depth. Fishing floats are a great way to monitor your line and it doesn’t hurt that they also go hand in hand with line weights too.

Floats come in a range of shapes and sizes, but if you’re looking for a float that can alert you of a bite, then the most common are thinwaggler floats. They’ll lay on the surface when your line is fish-free and then bob frantically if you have a catch. It’s not just alerting you of a catch that floats are good for; they can also help with balancing your fishing weight system. A range of float sizes to match your weights are required for the system to work properly.

If you have a few weights attached but want to control their depth, then adding a float to counter that weight is recommended. All weights have a measurement, usually in grams. Floats have the same measurements, but where a fishing weight will weigh the amount that it says; a float will be able to hold that much weight. So if you want your 5g weight to reach a 4 meter depth for example, you’ll want to attach it to the end of the line, beyond your hook and then measure 4m along your line before adding your 5g float.

This will ensure that your weight can sink to 4m, before being held in place by the float; allowing your hook to sink deeper in the process.