I used to use a 4×10 maver margin for pellet shallow up to 1ft but have just taken deliver of some Nick Gilbert dibbers and the 0.2 look sock on for pellt at 1ft deep or less.

J

korum blobs!

Polyball, no shot.

Malman Slapper.
Had 2 firsts & a second in my last three match’s using these floats ~clap

hillbilly ratcatcher

As John W says my 0.2g Dibber is spot on for pellets up to 6mm 12in deep, for 8-12mm pellets the XTD Dibber is slightly more buoyant so holds up a big pellet better. Both floats are very short in length.

Also have a look at this float range

buygoodtackle.com

Excellent dibber floats.

you can’t beat BGT for floats, just got some of the 0.3g dibbers and cut the stem down. they hold an 8mm perfect.

and the price won’t be beaten and the delivery is spot on!!~clap ~clap ~clap

Some of those floats look awesome!

Hillbilly Shady Shallow – it’s like fishing with a buoyant 3” nail they’re that tough.

Drennan casters or Drennan carp dibbers.

a matchstick

Genuine question: why do you want a 0.2g/ 0.3g float? Surely it just becomes obtrusive, the shot creates a weak point and the rig is more likely to tangle?

I have never seen anything better than a polyball rig, especially for fishing very shallow (eg, < 12").

I should probably add, I am happy for people to keep using dibber type floats rather than polyballs, as I feel it gives me an advantage in a match situation.

The only probs I found with using only a poly ball is they are not very stable and can skim around on the surface in any wind. Very efective in the right conditions I agree.

J

@Jon W wrote:

The only probs I found with using only a poly ball is they are not very stable and can skim around on the surface in any wind. Very efective in the right conditions I agree.

J

You’re a legend though, you could catch out of a puddle.

1) Pollyballs are crap in the wind
2) Pollyballs are crap over 12inches
3) Some venues you dont see bites on pollyballs quick enough as the fish blows the bait out as soon as resistance is felt.
4) Pollyballs are crap for slapping, the ball doesn’t make a plop, whereas with a proper uiw float you’ll get 3 plops, the float, the weight and the pellet.
Under 12 inches they’re ok in the right conditions but even then I’d opt for a pea type float.

But then I don’t fish any venues where the elastic get ripped out.

You can make a polyball much more stable and sensitive if you adapt it and set it up in the way that I do using a small pin. As I said above, I am happy for people to disagree as it is better for me if other people’s rigs and set-ups are inferior! ~clap ~clap ~clap

Hillbilly Shady Shallow brilliant ~clap ~clap

Malman Slapper

have been up to woodlands(thirsk) today + seen “helicoptering” being used for the first time to good effect by some lads doing a feature for a magazine on the opposite bank i presume all the shot on these rigs are tightly grouped between float + hook for the “plop” factor ~think

Yes mate, it was 2 of our lads doing the feature for Pole Fishing Magazine, Josh Newton was the lad fishing up in the water and caught a good few carp in a short space of time using the “Slapping” technique. All his shot is bulked on his hooklength knot to create a slap off the surface to mimick loose feed entering the water. Carp are drawn to this noise. Keep a look out for the feature soon in Pole Fishing.

what length are the “slappers” leaving between pole tip + float ~think

Im sure lots of you do things differently but here part of what I do!

When working a shallow rig I like to leave 2ft at least between the float and pole tip. This gives you several options of flicking the rig on the water.

Fish soon wise up to float slapping particularly if everybody is doing it! But a change if technique to simulate the way your feed pellets hit the water can have you catching well again. Think about what the pellets you are feeding are doing and copy it.

The best float for this in my opinion is a carbon or glass stemmed dibber like a Drennan Carp 4 or my own XTD taking about 3 x no8, you place the shot directly below the stem when fishing 12in deep or less so the float cocks and is fishing straight away.

Self cocking/semi self cocking wire or heavy glass stemmed floats are not as good, the floats settle in the water too slowly you also get a better plop with the shot and it makes the float more stable in the wind because all the weight is at the bottom.

By carefully watching the float you can see it dip slightly when the pellet hits full depth, timing this you will know if a fish has intercepted the pellet on the drop.