Sliding float rig
Rig · Last reviewed 2026-10-20
A float that runs on the line and is stopped by a knot set at the depth, so a bait can be float-fished in water deeper than the rod is long and still cast easily.
- 1. On the cast the bead, float and lead lie together above the swivel, so the rig is short and casts easily.
- 2. In the water the lead sinks and pulls line through the float. Angling Times leaves the bail arm open until the float stands up and settles.
- 3. The stop knot reaches the bead and the float and stops there. The float cocks, and the bait fishes at the depth between the knot and the hook.
A sliding float: compact on the cast, stopped by the knot in the water
Float setup · Reference linked — a canonical reference is named, the check is not signed off — reference: Sea Angler: how to use a sliding float; Angling Times: how to set up and fish with a slider float
A canonical reference for this drawing has been identified, but the check against it has not been completed and signed off. Treat the drawing as an aid to the text rather than as an authority.
Describe this diagram in words
Two panels side by side. On the left, headed On the cast, the main line hangs straight down. A stop knot, shown by its two trimmed tags, sits high on the line. Far below it the bead, the float and a bullet lead have slid down together and rest on a swivel; below the swivel a trace runs on to the hook. Stage one marks this compact arrangement. On the right, headed Fishing, a dotted line marks the surface. The float now sits cocked at the surface, with the bead and the stop knot pressed against its top. An arrow beside the line, stage two, shows line running through the float as the lead sank. Stage three marks the knot meeting the float. Well below the float hang the lead, the swivel, the trace and the hook with its bait. A long arrow beside the rig runs from the knot to the hook and is labelled as the depth fished. Notes say this is Sea Angler's sea build, that Angling Times' freshwater build uses a waggler in a swivel adaptor with shot below it, and that no line strengths or float sizes are given.
How this drawing was produced
Drawn from coordinates written for this figure in the site's shared vocabulary, from two read builds: Sea Angler's (stop knot, bead, float, bullet lead, swivel, a trace of about 4 ft) and Angling Times' freshwater slider, whose differences are a note. Nothing is traced from either source's pictures. The panels are not to scale: the trace and the depth are shortened to fit, which is why only the source's trace length is printed.
What it is for
To fish a bait at a chosen depth in water deeper than a fixed float can be cast in — deep stillwaters, gravel pits and tidal rivers in Angling Times' account; harbours, rock marks and the summer sea for fish feeding off the bottom in Sea Angler's — while keeping a short, castable rig between float and hook.
Components, from rod to hook
- Main line, which runs through the float when it is in the water.
- A stop knot on the main line at the depth wanted: main line or slightly heavier mono (Angling Times), or slightly finer mono or power gum in a four-turn grinner (Sea Angler).
- A small bead below the stop knot, so it cannot jam in the float — Sea Angler's build.
- The float: a big waggler (4AAA and up) in a swivel float adaptor in fresh water; a float with a hole through its centre at sea.
- Weight below the float to cock it: shot or olivettes in fresh water; a bullet lead at sea.
- In Sea Angler's build, a swivel and a trace of about 4 ft with the hook.
How to put it together
- Tie the stop knot on the main line, above where the float will sit: main line or slightly heavier mono in Angling Times' build; slightly finer mono or power gum in a four-turn grinner in Sea Angler's.
- At sea, thread a small bead on below the knot so it cannot jam in the float (Sea Angler).
- Thread the line through the float: through a swivel float adaptor holding a big waggler in fresh water, or through the centre of a sea float.
- Add the weight below the float — enough shot or olivettes to cock it in fresh water, or a bullet lead at sea — and, in the sea build, tie the main line to a swivel with a trace of about 4 ft and the hook.
- Find the depth with a plummet, sliding the stop knot until the float cocks just right; leave about an inch of tag on the knot.
- Cast with the bail arm open, let the line run until the float stands up and settles, then close the bail and take up the slack.
Built differently
- If the adaptor's swivel eye is too big for the stop knot, Angling Times flattens it into a diamond with pliers.
- Sea Angler's fixed float rig can be made to slide down the line on an American snap link clipped above it, so one rod fishes a bottom bait and a bait near the surface.
What experienced anglers do — why, and the sources (2)
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
- Angling Times: how to set up and fish with a slider float — Angling Times, 2026 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: The freshwater slider: adaptor, stop knot, shot below the float, plumbing, casting with the bail open.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Sea Angler: how to use a sliding float — Sea Angler, 2021 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: The sea sliding float: bead, float, bullet lead, swivel and trace, the stop knot that passes the rings.States this directlyPassage read and verified
How these steps were checked: checked against documented sources — each step compared with 2 published sources on 2026-10-20, an editorial comparison rather than an expert’s certification. Drawn from Sea Angler's sea build in two panels, with the freshwater differences as a note. The drawing is reference-linked; its stage-by-stage sign-off is not done.
What it does in the water
On the cast the float lies near the weight, so the rig is compact. Once it lands, the weight sinks and pulls line through the float until the stop knot reaches it; the float then cocks and shows its tip, and the bait is at the depth set. Angling Times notes that an unloaded slider lies flat until the shot has settled, and a semi-loaded one sits high, so how the float behaves as the rig sinks says whether it is still running down or fishing.
When to use it
Whenever the water is deeper than a locked float can be cast and fished: Angling Times' example is 15 ft of water and a 12 ft rod. In fresh water it lets a float be fished hard on the bottom in deep venues and, the same source says, it often shows far more bites than a feeder. At sea it puts a bait up in the water for summer species that are not feeding on the bottom — Sea Angler names mackerel, garfish, mullet, pollack, scad and bass — and the depth can be changed as the tide rises and falls. In shallow water a fixed float is simpler and does the same job.
Common mistakes
- Closing the bail arm as the rig lands, so the line cannot run through the float to the stop knot: Angling Times leaves it open until the float stands up and settles.
- Trimming the stop knot so short that the float slips over it: Angling Times leaves about an inch of tag; if a knot still slips, it ties a second and pushes them together.
- Leaving out the bead, so the stop knot jams in the top of the float (Sea Angler).
- Sliding a dry stop knot along the line, which damages it: Sea Angler wets the knots and moves them slowly.
- Guessing the depth: a plummet finds it, and at sea the depth changes with the tide.
- Rods with tiny guides, which Angling Times says restrict line flow.
How this rig behaves, and where it goes wrong
A float locked on the line can only fish as deep as the rig can be cast: Sea Angler puts the practical limit for a fixed sea float at about 12 ft, and Angling Times reaches for a slider whenever the water is deeper than the rod is long. A sliding float solves it by letting the line run through the float. On the cast the float sits down near the weight; in the water the line runs out through it until a small stop knot, tied on the main line at the depth wanted, reaches the float and stops it. Set the knot 20 ft from the hook and the bait fishes at 20 ft.
Fresh water and sea build it from different parts. Angling Times' freshwater slider is a big waggler, 4AAA and up, in a swivel float adaptor, with all the shot below it. Sea Angler's sea float has the line through its centre, a bullet lead below it to cock it, and a swivel and trace below that. Both use a stop knot that passes through the rod rings but not the float; Sea Angler adds a small bead so the knot cannot jam in the float.
Where to go next
How it is fished
- Float fishingThe float set-up for water deeper than the rod is long, fresh or salt.
What it is made of
- FloatsA float that runs on the line: a big waggler in an adaptor, or a sea float with a hole through it.
Instead of this
- Waggler float rigAngling Times' slider is a big waggler that runs on the line to a stop knot instead of being locked at the depth.
More rigs
Not related to this page — just the rest of the section. There is little else joined to this subject yet, and a short page should still lead somewhere.
Sources and evidence
- Angling Times: how to set up and fish with a slider float — Angling Times, 2026 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: The freshwater slider: adaptor, stop knot, shot below the float, plumbing, casting with the bail open.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Sea Angler: how to use a sliding float — Sea Angler, 2021 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: The sea sliding float: bead, float, bullet lead, swivel and trace, the stop knot that passes the rings.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Why the 3 connections on this page are here, and the sources
How it is fished
What experienced anglers do — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Float fishing
Both builds read present it as a way of float fishing deep water.
- Angling Times: how to set up and fish with a slider float — Angling Times, 2026 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: A slider is a big waggler that runs on the line; a float method for deep water.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Sea Angler: how to use a sliding float — Sea Angler, 2021 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: A sliding float, line through its centre, set by a stop knot; a sea float method.States this directlyPassage read and verified
What it is made of
What experienced anglers do — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Floats
Both builds read are built around a float.
- Angling Times: how to set up and fish with a slider float — relied on for: A slider is a big waggler that runs on the line; a float method for deep water.
- Sea Angler: how to use a sliding float — relied on for: A sliding float, line through its centre, set by a stop knot; a sea float method.
Instead of this
What experienced anglers do — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Waggler float rig
That one arrangement is recognisably a development of another, offered so a reader who knows the parent can reason about the variant.
- Angling Times: how to set up and fish with a slider float — relied on for: A slider is a big waggler that runs on the line; a float method for deep water.
- Sea Angler: how to use a sliding float — relied on for: A sliding float, line through its centre, set by a stop knot; a sea float method.
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