Does my bung look big in this..?

Dead simple gravel pit rig for deadbaiting - cross-lock to attach trace, buffer bead, ET "river float" (no idea why they're called that, as they're just as good on drains and stillwaters...), bead and stop knot. Four or five swan shot on the trace, which cock the float as the wind blows a bow into the line.

Time for bigger floats and heavier rigs

One thing that's become obvious over the last couple of days is that the rigs I've been using just aren't heavy enough to cope with the flows I've been trying to fish in.

So I've broke a couple of rods down and tackled them up with the biggest through-the-middle sliders I've got, eight-inch polystyrene sea floats. I reckon these will stay up in any flow the drains can throw at them.

This all looks mighty crude, compared to my usual way of fishing, but I can't see me catching much until I can at least cope with the conditions. So its out with the big sliders, two or three ounce running leads and a trace with the hooks stepped up to size twos for good measure.

Bung us one of them old pike floats

I found this during my annual pre-season clear-out, nestling amid the boxes of junk I refuse to throw out just in case it ever comes in useful. I bought it for nostalgia's sake ages ago, because the first pike I ever caught was on an old bung someone gave me when I was but a lad.

One useful thing about bungs was they were easy to change if the one you selected wasn't the right size. Admittedly this wasn't often a problem in my bung days, as I only owned large bungs. Imagine if someone came up with something similar - either blow-moulded plastic, or even cork, with a hollow central tube so you could fish it as a slider.

End result, a through-the-middle float you could change to suit conditions, without having to break your rig down.

Eddie Turner's Hi-Viz Floats

Hats off to Mr T for discovering these a few years back. After a couple of seasons, I rarely use anything else when deadbaiting on rivers, drains and stillwaters.

What's great about these floats - apart from the fact even I can see them - is they're bouyant enough to fish bottom-end-only in wind or a moderate flow.

Set them slightly over-depth, cast and allow the current or wind to drag a slight bow in the braid. As it tightens, the line cocks the float.

They come in four or five sizes, the size 10 being most popular according to ET's website. The next size up will ride the flow in the Ouse with a 2oz lead to anchor it.

You can't really fault them for £1.50 a throw. Get rid of the silly swivel bead thing they come with and use a cross-lock to attach them to a swivel. To avoid casting tangles, have another stop and bead below the float, and slide this up a couple of feet above the lead to keep them apart in the air.

Click here for ordering details, price etc.

Whatever floats your boat

I used to carry several types of float - pencils for pits, dumpy through-the-middle ones for free roaming lives and big sliders for fishing deads on the rivers in winter, when you need a couple of ounces of lead to beat the flow.

Now I use just one type for most of my fishing, wherever I am. The ET Hi-Vis floats look all wrong but they're great for fishing rivers and drains at close to medium range and longer-distance stuff on pits and stillwaters.

They show up well, come in several sizes and you can fish them bottom-end-only with the rod tops up. On pits, I just use a couple of half or 3/8oz bullets on the line above the trace clip to anchor the rig and give me a bit of weight to tighten up to.

Fish a couple of feet over-depth, let it settle when you cast, then either tighten up until the float just cocks, or let the wind do the job as it blows a slight blow in the line.

Ditto drains and rivers. although you may need to use one of the bigger floats and more lead - I'll happily use up to two ounces in the form of a lead on a run ring stopped by the trace clip.

Crude..? Maybe. But it catches fish, so who cares. I modify them slightly, removing the swivel bead from the floats as they come out of the packet, substituting a strong snap swivel and cross-lock.

I usually have a stop below the float and push this a couple of feet up the line above the lead as this stops casting tangles. For £1.50 a throw, you can't beat these. The largest couple of sizes are most useful if you fish flowing or wind-swept waters.

The tiny ones are great for fishing small drains or close-in stuff on pits.

Click here to order them from Eddie Turner.