Fishing the Waggler

Fishing the Waggler

Waggler fishing is basically where I started my fishing journey as a youngster. Still to this day I love watching a waggler set before it slowly sinks away, hopefully with a nice Tench or Bream as my reward.

So Where to Start

Wagglers come in all shapes and sizes but the one thing they have in common is that they're attached at the bottom, through an eye or a waggler adaptor.

We're going to keep this nice and simple as we could disappear down a rabbit hole with the whole subject — why make things complicated!

So first off, the waggler itself. There are effectively two types: straight and bodied. Both are generally made from Sarkandas reed, or plastic — if bodied, this section is normally balsa. You'll also have straight wagglers which are the same thickness top to bottom, and inserts which have a finer tip. Of course both could have a body as well. Yes, there are stepped wagglers but let's keep this simple.

When and Where to Use a Waggler

The humble waggler is something you can use almost everywhere you'd want to fish. There are limitations, but on the whole a trusty waggler will help you catch fish on most waters.

With today's modern fisheries a waggler is the perfect choice. Correctly shotted, you can cast to fish that may have backed right off from a busy bank, or a simple flick down the inside margin for monster carp.

You may have heard the term pellet waggler — generally this is fishing shallow for fish that are up in the water. Casting to those fish and firing a few pellets or maggots over the top of your float can be fantastic fun. Bites and runs can be fierce!

Another classic way is to fish the waggler slightly over depth over a bed of feed for Tench, Bream, and Carp. This is my favourite way to fish the wag on a warm summer's evening or first light on a summer's day. You generally get a lift bite as the fish picks up the hook bait, lifting the bottom shot so the float goes light before it sails away. Now that's fishing!

If it's windy on the lake or pond, a waggler can cope happily — don't just reach for the feeder rod. The line between the float and rod tip can be sunk, which is a big help. Fishing the waggler over depth can also help with drift or undertow. High winds is often the time to reach for the bodied waggler as they carry a lot more weight and are more stable.

The limitations for a waggler are with flowing water — well, I say limitations, you just have to fish it differently. The problem is that with the waggler connected at the bottom, as soon as you try to slow the float down by holding back, the float will tip forward and pull under. The same happens when trying to run the float through over weed. That said, shallow or up-in-the-water fishing on the river can be a deadly approach. On a slow-flowing summer river when fish are darting through the upper layers after insect life, a waggler will allow you to search the river running it at the pace of the flow, firing out pouches of maggots. This is busy fishing — and a great way to get youngsters involved as it keeps them occupied and you're more likely to be catching smaller fish up in the water.

Setting a Waggler Up

This is where I see most mistakes made. Picture the waggler as a dart — the bulk of the loading capacity should be around the base of the float. This allows you to punch the float out with ease. The lighter shot down the line will follow the float in flight and as it lands this will help to stop any tangles or wrap-overs.

The bulk weight should be around the base of the float. I like to work on ¾ of the float's shotting capacity. You may have come across unloaded wagglers — these are effectively for fishing really shallow on lakes and ponds when you don't need any shot down the line. The float is locked into position by simple waggler stops, and you may only be fishing a foot deep, often with a pellet hook bait where the weight of the pellet itself will sink the hook. Yes — pellet waggler fishing.

Anyway, back to more traditional style wagglers. Unloaded, we'll add ¾ of the shotting to the base of the float. Part-shotted floats will roughly have this weight already added — you're best off using waggler stops with part-shotted versions as this will allow you to get the rest of the shot down the line and balanced correctly.

Being versatile, you can make adjustments throughout the day to suit conditions or how the fish are behaving by simply sliding the shots around to change the shotting pattern. The bulk has done its job in casting and should set the float to around ¾ of its length in the water. Now the mechanics kick in — you can set this up with a strung-out shotting pattern or a small bulk and a couple of droppers, depending on what you're after or how the fish are behaving.

• Strung out gives you a nice slow fall — perfect for fishing up in the water or to full depth on shallow waters, whether canals, ponds, or lakes. You can adjust this pattern to achieve different fall rates by simply changing the spacing of the shot.
• Small bulk and droppers is how I do most of my waggler fishing. The main bulk sets the float so much in the water. The small bulk is set around ¾ depth of the rig — as this weight drops, the float sets again bringing the bristle nearly set. The final droppers (No. 10 or 11 shot) bring the bristle fully set, leaving just enough showing to see the float. This is a great way to read the float — if a fish intercepts the hook bait on the way down, the float won't set, resulting in what we call a hold-up bite. With a little practice you'll spot these instantly, catching fish that others miss waiting for the float to go under.

The Stepped Lift Method

To fish the rig as a stepped lift method, plumb up so that the last dropper shot is just touching bottom. I then have the small bulk around an inch above this. I tend to use slightly bigger shot with this method depending on conditions — let's say a few No. 9s just above the hook length loop and 3 or 4 as my bulk.

On a stepped waggler, the main bulk sets the float to the first step, the small bulk to the second step, and that final shot fully sets the float to just the tip. The idea is that the fish picks up your hook bait, lifting that bottom shot, and the float raises. I'd normally pick up into this bite — but you may have to leave it for the fish to lift the small bulk, or the float may raise and sail away. It's all about reading the bite.

Wrapping Up

Below I've added a few pictures for you to follow. I hope this has inspired you to get the waggler floats out and gives you some guidance into setting them up.

For a full breakdown of shot sizes and weights, take a look at my Guide to Float Shotting & Weights.

Prefer to see it in action? Check out my YouTube video on setting up a waggler float.

But if you'd like to know more then feel free to get in touch.