Dave Coster How To - Use A Dibber Pole Float

This entry was posted on 3rd December, 2018

 



Tiny dibber style pole floats are designed for fishing shallow with long poles, mainly tight to features on the far bank of small rivers, canals and snake lakes. They also work well presented close to lily beds and islands on stillwaters. Short pole floats like these don’t tend to tangle as easily as longer designs when set shallow. They are also less likely to spook fish in minimal depths.



You don’t need a lot of shot with this type of float, just two or three spread micros are normally enough for good presentation. If more are needed to dot the sight tip down, extra weights can be pushed up tight to the float’s stem, giving the rig better stability. Casters are a good bait to use instead of pellets when the weather turns colder and can catch a lot of different species.



The new Advanta X5 Carp Dibbers are perfect for pole fishing at distance, tight to features. The large diameter hollow plastic sight tip stands out really well in dark, shady water. Very often all you need is a half pint of casters to catch plenty of fish in the shallows, especially in the winter when predators tend to herd shoals tight to any overhanging cover or undercut banks they can find.



Big fish tend to hang around far side features and overhanging cover, so you need strong tackle to deal with them. Hook lengths need to be in the 0.14mm to 0.16mm region, tied to strong size 16 hooks for double helpings of casters, or a size 18 for a single shell. Hollow pole elastics are good for dibber work, fitted with a puller bung system to help control and land fish faster.

In colder water pellets are less effective, while casters come into their own. This bait tends to attract a much wider span of species, particularly at a time of the year when carp feed less avidly. This gives fish like bream, big roach and chub a chance to provide plenty of action. Quite a few lakes hold chub by the way, which can be very elusive, but less so with dibber and caster tactics!