INTRODUCING THE WAGGLER
Without doubt the one of most used rod and
reel float in my tackle box! Probably accounting
for more fish caught in one season, than any
other fishing method I use. The waggler was
developed for modern fishing quit late in the
history annuls of fishing, it was only recognised
as a truly deadly method for catching fish back in
the early 1950s.
Who discovered or developed this method, is
a debated question among angling historians,
records show that a waggler form of an antenna
float was first used in Holland, on the great
canals, before the 1900s. Although many great
names have been linked with its, modern day
developments. Benny Ashurst, Billy Lane, Johny
Moult, John Toulsant just to mention a few. The
grandfather of match fishing the late Mr.
J.H.R.Bazley won two National Championships
(1909,1927) using bottom only floats.
The waggler was once called the waddled
float, the story goes, that as the float was
retrieved in the water, anglers would say it was
waddling.
Peacock quills only came to our shores just
after the Second
World War and before the import of peacock
quills, waggler floats, came in many other
materials; swan quill, goose quill, porcupine,
condor quill, crow quill and even celluloid, which
was perhaps the inauguration of the modern
day plastic floats.
These days wagglers are produced with
high-tech precision, made out of clear plastics,
graded peacock, sarcandas reed, nylon, tapered
balsa, or a combination of each, coated in varnish
or airship polythene paint, interchangeable tips
and adaptors, with printed shot capacity on the
side. Wagglers have certainly developed
considerably and within my Gold Medal Float
Website I hope to cover most of them.
A waggler float comes in
different lengths, they are attached to the main
line by way of either an eye or by rubber adaptors,
I prefer a silicone adaptor and most of the wagglers
I market have these attached. The float is locked by
split shot on both sides, this is also where the
bulk of the shot should be, giving the float weight
and balance. Under the float on the line to the hook
length should then go the remaining shots, these
should be spaced out in such a way that they don't
tangle when casting. This is also where the
presentation of the bait begins.
Finding the right size of waggler to use on a
venue is very important and this can only come with
experience, the rule of thumb, is not to use a
bigger float than is reasonably necessary yet light
enough to cast into your swim. The float is so
versatile and adapterble it can be used on most
fishing venues and because of the locking system it
can be moved up or down the line very easily,
altering the depth to find the fish. One big
advantage over most other floats is the ease of
casting without tangling, and it can combat windy
conditions.
Casting the waggler is best done over head,
wind the float half way up the rod, sight an object
on the far bank or skyline, bring the rod back at a
45 degree angle, cast forward towards the
object up into the air, release the reel line
and as the float starts to decline then feather the
reel with an index finger so that the shots on the
line spread out in a straight line.