When anglers think of traditional float fishing, they often picture delicately presenting baits like maggots and casters to catch smaller fish like roach and tench. However, Jason Clabon turned that idea on its head during a recent trip to Domaine de la Ribière fishery in France after a switch from sitting behind rods and bite alarms to picking up a float rod changed his fortune.
Having visited the fishery once before, a trip that unfortunately ended in a blank, Jason wasn’t faring much better this time around. As the session was drawing to a close and with no fish in the net, he knew he needed to do something different.
While walking the lake, Jason noticed some fish feeding in a quiet corner and rather than cast heavy leads into the area and risk spooking the already wary carp, he chose to do what many carp anglers wouldn’t, he set up a float. This tactical change culminated in the capture of a huge 70lb 4oz mirror, making it potentially the biggest-ever banked on a float.
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"The float is something I love to use for big carp, and while sitting behind rods is equally enjoyable, sometimes a bit of finesse is required and with so few people using it, it can often catch carp off guard," Jason told us.
"I’ve used the float in the UK and banked fish up to 40lb, and I won’t hesitate to cast one out if needed. I definitely think more people should use it," he added.
The fishing had been tough during his session as the fish had spawned before he arrived, but unusually they didn’t seem too interested in feeding. However, as is often the case with carp fishing, there’s always an opportunity somewhere and rather than sit watching lifeless bobbins, he decided to go and see if he could track some fish down.
"I got to a quiet area of the lake that had seen very little pressure, and sure enough, there were a few fish present. The water there was cloudy, and I saw the odd swirl with it only around three feet deep," he said.
"I knew it was perfect to try the float and not wanting to spook them, opted for a stret-pegging presentation which helps keep the line out of the way of the fish," Jason explained.
"I had five AAA shot about three feet away from my boilie hookbait, to keep everything pinned down and reduce the chance of a big fish giving me a false indication."
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Jason carefully lowered his float into the swim and sat back, poised to strike at any moment. Despite expecting a quick bite, the activity had died down, with the only fish in the swim seemingly the small roach attacking his float as it sat motionless on the surface. All that changed though, when a huge swirl appeared on the water as a big carp tipped up and began feeding near his rig.
“When I saw the swirl, my heart was beating out of my chest, I knew it must be close to the hookbait. Sure enough, the float lifted up and began to slide away, and I struck into a fish that shot out of the shallow water,” he recalled.
“After a prolonged battle, the fish popped up and I thought it was a decent one, then it surfaced again and it looked bigger. It wasn’t until I got it in the net that I could truly appreciate its size and depth, it was massive!”
“When we got the fish on the scales, it read 70lb 4oz and although I’ve caught bigger carp, this one will stick with me forever because of the way I caught it!”
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