Over time I have changed my tactics when fishing for Redfin.

This all started when I fished a lake in Winter and got no action for 2 hours. I fished worms, yabby tail and maggots but got absolutely no bites

Then I changed tactics to something completely different.

I cut up 5 to 6 worms and mixed them with some maggots and added them to my berley. I rolled the berley into balls the size of an orange and threw them into a likely looking fish holdings spot. I walked around the lake and did the same thing in 4 different areas.

Next, I set up a float rig so I could drift a bait over the top of the berley.

The rig was simple. I used a lightweight balsa wood float, one that could easily be pulled under by even a small fish. I tied on a size 6 hook about 1.5 metres below the float. This would place the bait just above the Berley I’d thrown in earlier.

The bait I used was peeled yabby tail and this l was heavy enough to set the float nicely in the water.

By the time I set up about half an hour had passed which gave the fish time to find the berley.

I cast in at the first spot over the top of the berley. The float cocked nicely on the surface and I waited to see what would happen…

…..nothing happened and after about 10 minutes I decided to move on. As I picked up the rod it moved the float…and it suddenly went under.

I was into a fish…. and it was a good one.

Could this be the big Redfin I had been hoping for?

After a bit of a fight I reeled in and was a bit disappointed to find a 2kg carp had swallowed my bait. It wasn’t my target fish but at least I caught something.

I rebaited and cast into the same spot. There was no wind on the day so the float stayed where I had cast it.

After a few minutes I gave the reel a turn and suddenly the float went under. This time the fight was different and soon after I landed a small redfin.

The rig had worked

It wasn’t a big fish but then fact that this method worked really excited me.

I baited up and cast in again but after 15 minutes had no more action, so I moved to the next spot.

I cast in and let the float settle.

After 5 minutes I gave the reel a turn and the float took off to the side. I struck into something, but it threw the hook …so I’ll never know what it was.

Even though I lost this fish I was still excited that I got a bite, especially since I’d got no action at all before I used this float rig.

I rebaited and cast into the same spot but after 15 minutes nothing happened, so I moved on.

Unfortunately, the next spot didn’t produce anything and after about 20 minutes I moved to my last spot.

I set up, rebaited and cast in. It was a shocking cast and my float ended up a long way to the side of my target zone. I decided to quickly wind in and re-cast.

As I began winding sometime hit the bait and took off.

It was moving fast and went straight into a fallen tree branch. I thought I’d lose this fish  but after a bit of manoeuvring I managed to get it out of the snag and onto the bank.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. After getting no bites in the first  2 hours of my session  I now got some pretty solid action in less than an hour fishing with the float setup.

The fish in front of me was a solid 970gm Redfin. It was, at the time, the best I ever caught.

I felt pretty pleased with myself and continued fishing for a while but after a number of fishless casts I decided I’d had enough. I didn’t get anymore bites but that didn’t matter. I’d caught my best fish.

After that session I thought about this technique and why it worked.

 It seemed that the moving bait really triggered the bites while the static bait got no interest. Simply casting out, waiting and then giving your rig a slow wind made the bait seem like it was trying to swim off…and the redfin didn’t want to miss out on a live meal.

Since that time I have used this method on a number of fishing trips . I haven’t always caught fish but I know, on its day, this method really works. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing your float sail away with a good fish on the end.

It’s a great back up method.

If your normal running sinker set up isn’t working tie on a float, cast over the top of your Berley and test the area for those picky fish that only want a moving bait.

If there is a bit of wind it will move your bait away from the target zone. This seems to be OK.

At times I’ve caught redfin and even a small Murray cod on a bait that was up to 2 metres from my Berley.

The thing to do is slowly wind in, pause for a minute and wind again. Once you have reeled your floating bait in recast to your target spot and start the process again.

This active fishing can be a lot of fun and if you hook something big the excitement goes through the roof!

So the moral of the story is  – always take a float with you and try it when nothing else works….it could land you a trophy fish.