How to use a marker float set up

One of the most important aspects of carp fishing is knowing what type of lakebed you are fishing on, how deep it is, and what sort of features are present in your swim.

Whilst it is true that you might catch a few carp simply by casting rigs to where you see activity, you will catch far more overall by knowing what they are landing on, and that your hookbait is actually presented in a way that it can be eaten, and you have a chance of hooking the fish.

Spending time feature finding – also known as plumbing – and knowing exactly what is in front of you, so you can hopefully work out where the carp are most likely to patrol and feed, is definitely worth the effort and in most instances is the difference between success and failure.

You can fairly quickly build up a mental picture of the topography of the lakebed in front of you, and where features such as bars, plateaus, deeper gullies, gravel patches, silty areas, and weed beds are. How long this takes will depend on how weedy the lake is – in the absence of weed even after just a few casts you can start to get an idea of where you want to fish, based on what you are feeling when you pull your lead back across the bottom.

Some fisheries, such as Embryo Angling Norton Disney, even provide depth and contour maps for all their lakes, to give a you a head start and a rough idea of what is in front of each swim, and what you are looking to find.

Basically, when plumbing, your lead is what tells you the type of bottom that you are pulling it over, and the marker float is there to allow you to check the depth, and for depth variations, as well as being a visual indicator or exactly where the spot is.

What tackle do you need to use with a marker float

You don’t need anything special when it comes to tackle for a marker set up, but there are a few things which will help to make the process as effective as possible and allow you to find the more subtle spots – a very obvious gravel bar or massive weedbed is easy to find; a small sandy spot amongst gravel, less so.

Whilst any spare rod in theory will do the job, it really needs to have a fairly stiff tip as this will actually allow you to feel more of what is going on – a softer tip will absorb more and stop you feeling as much through the rod, such as lead bumping across gravel.

At the same time though you don’t want it to be a broomstick, as this will prevent you from easing the lead through things such as silt and feeling for areas that have a thinner silt layer, and where the lead will glide more easily.

You also need a rod that is able to cast as far as your fishing rods can, assuming that sometimes you will need to fish at longer range, and will allow you to comfortably feature find that far out.

A spod rod such as the Korda Kaizen Green, in 12ft or 13ft, is a great choice for a marker rod that won’t break the bank, as it still has a sensitive enough tip to allow you to feel everything – whatever you choose, that is an essential feature that the rod needs if it is going to be any good for feature finding.

In terms of reels, any big pit style reel which will allow you to cast as far as your fishing rods is fine, and you don’t need to be spending a fortune on something that has an amazing drag system, as you are never going to use it. If you don’t already have a spare reel, then something like the Daiwa Super Spod is ideal and has a very fast retrieve as well, which will make feature finding even quicker.

The most important thing that you need is braided line, as this has no stretch and will accurately transmit whatever the lead is being pulled across – such as gravel – and enhance the feeling at the rod end. Monofilament line will actually absorb much of that feeling and you will miss out on a lot.

There are special braids designed for feature finding, such as the Korda Marker Braid or Korda Basix Spod/Marker Braid, which are thin enough that they allow you to cast a marker float a long way with minimal effort. Plus they float, which helps when it comes to popping up your marker, and are subtle green in colour so won’t stand out more than necessary to any carp that are already in your swim.   

Different types of marker float

The main criteria for a marker float is that it will actually pop up to the surface once you find a good spot; it is streamlined enough to be able to cast it as far as you need to; and that once you have popped it up, you can actually see it on the surface.

There is nothing more frustrating than casting out your marker set-up, finding a spot that feels fantastic, especially if it is a small one that has taken a number of casts to find, and then your float won’t come to the surface.

Sometimes this can be as a result of your lead set up not allowing the braid to run through it freely enough, especially if there is debris or weed on the bottom, but it can also be as a result of using something that isn’t buoyant enough.

Balsa is a great choice of material for marker floats, as not only is it incredibly buoyant for its size, but it is also a lot more durable than injection moulded plastic with air inside and which are prone to cracking or breaking.

The standard Korda Marker Float is brilliant for ranges of up to 100 yards or so, as it is incredibly buoyant and casts well for its size, with a very visible bright orange flight, which is specially shaped to add stability.

If you need to cast further than that the Korda SLR Marker Float – super long range – is the one to go for as its more compact design allows it to be cast incredible distances and is very stable in flight, but it still has enough buoyancy that it will easily come up to the surface when required, and can be seen. It can even be bought as a kit, including all the other bits you need, such as a special stem to help ensures it pops up and a lead that is designed to let you feel even more.

Best leads for feature finding

When it comes to leads for a marker float set-up, they are more than just something that allows you to cast the required distance, and the right choice will enhance what you are feeling and will help you find more subtle features that other anglers might miss.

The shape of a lead will affect how it acts when it is pulled along the bottom, and how much it transmits exactly what it is being dragged across.

Even the addition of a coating can make a difference and potentially allow the lead to slide more easily, so you won’t feel as much. Uncoated leads will also show up any scratches that are caused by being pulled across gravel, or can even come back in with traces of clay still stuck to them.

You also need a lead that is heavy enough to enable you to properly feel what it is dragging across and which won’t skip over the top of interesting features, but at the same time you don’t want to be crashing around in your swim with something that is heavier than necessary. The size of lead you need will also depend on the range you are trying to find spots at.

The Korda Marker Lead Probe has been designed to enhance the feeling that it transmits when dragged across the lakebed, thanks to its unique shape and ‘lobed’ design, whilst also being uncoated. At the same time, the shape of the Marker Lead Probe also allows it to be pulled through weed, and other debris such as dead leaves, without it getting caught up too much, or picking up so much debris that you can no longer feel the bottom.

For the ultimate in feel and transmission, we have the Korda Pronged Marker Lead, which has four prongs built into it and gives a greater degree of sensitivity than anything else on the market. These prongs will allow you to feel every stone on the lakebed, and its design and weight distribution means that if you do find a spot where it glides across the bottom, almost as if it is no longer attached, then you can be sure that spot is really clean and hard. It is intended for use in situations where you aren’t going to be encountering weed, as the prongs will pick that up more easily and it will be much harder to pull it through a weedbed.

So, you want to have both styles of lead in your armoury and there will be situations where you start off using the Probe version to find a spot which feels clean, and then use the Pronged lead to explore that spot in more detail and check that it really is as clean as you thought it was.

How to plumb your swim

When you cast out, make sure you feel the lead down to the bottom as this will give you an idea of what it has landed on – you might just get lucky and feel a hard ‘donk’, and especially on lakes that are generally silty or weedy, that can mean that you’ve been fortunate to land on an area of interest.

Once the lead is on the bottom, slowly pull your rod tip back, either vertically if fishing further out, or to one side if fishing closer in and where you don’t want to be inadvertently lifting the lead off of the bottom and thus not properly feeling what it is going over.

As you slowly pull the lead across the bottom you will be able to feel what it is sliding across, based on how easily it moves and the sensation through the rod tip, such as juddering if it is going over gravel.

Whenever you encounter anything that feels interesting and that you want to investigate further, you should clip up and also take note of the direction – far bank markers such as trees are useful for this – as this will allow you to accurately have a few casts around that area to explore it further.

You can also measure how many ‘wraps’ it is to the spot, so that once you have the marker float popped up on the same spot again, you can then have a few casts around it with a second rod (either just with a lead or with a second marker float, as Danny Fairbrass often does) – so as to get an idea of how big a patch of gravel actually is, and to work out how many rods you can fish on it.

How to check the depth

Feature finding isn't just about what the lakebed is made from, but also how deep the water is, and changes in depth can be just as important when it comes to identifying where carp will feed.

Even small changes in depth can be crucial on some lakes, for instance where a spot is six inches deeper than the surrounding area and can denote where carp have dug up the bottom looking for natural food such as bloodworm. These areas are harder to find than more obvious depth changes such as gravel bars, but can be well worth the effort, especially if the lake in general is fairly featureless.

To check the depth, simply point your rod tip at the lead, tighten the line to take any slack out it and then carefully pull 1ft at a time off of the spool of your reel, until the float pops up to the surface, keeping count as you go. As long as you are consistently pulling the same amount of line off each time, even if it isn't exactly a foot, you will be able to see any variations in depth.

What to feel for on the lakebed

A lot of anglers are unsure about what they are really trying to feel for, and what is being transmitted back through the braid and rod, and when it comes to this there is no real substitute for experience.

In general, gravel will give a ‘bumpy’ sensation on the tip, which can be anything from very subtle taps as the lead slides across smaller stones, to real jagged thumps as it encounters larger pieces of rock.

If you’re dragging the lead through silt you will feel steady resistance on the tip, and if your lead lands in the silt, then it may take a fair amount of pull to initially get it moving, depending on how thick the silt is. How much drag you feel when pulling the lead will dictate how thick the silt is.

Hard spots made from sand or clay can give a feeling almost as if your lead has been cut off, it glides so smoothly and with such little pressure applied through the rod tip.

If the lead comes to a halt or it takes quite a bit of force to move it, then this means that either it has hit some weed, or a sudden depth change such as a bar/shelf/plateau – if it suddenly goes completely weightless and feels as though it is falling freely, then this indicates that you have pulled the lead off of the top of a bar/shelf/plateau and it has fallen down the near side of it. You can confirm this by checking the depth in that area to see if it changes.

Weed further complicates things, as once your lead has picked up some weed that will dull a lot of the feeling that is transmitted back to the rod tip. If it is a small amount of Canadian pondweed, sometimes you can get rid of it by pointing the rod tip at the lead and giving a couple of quick turns of the reel handle to jerk the lead free; but often you will need to wind in, clear the weed, and have another cast.

Whenever you’re fishing in situations with lots of weed, it pays to check your spots several times to make sure that they are actually as clear and fishable as you first thought, as sometimes the lead can skip over the top of low lying weed, making it feel like a clear spot, when really it isn’t.

A good trick when it is weedy, to check just how clear the lakebed really is, is to cast out an old rig and pull it along the bottom, and if there is more weed there than you think, it will soon become obvious as the hook will catch up in it and will stop the lead from moving easily.

When it comes to plumbing, there is no substitute for practice/experience and the more you do it the better an understanding you will have of exactly what you are feeling through your rod tip.

Marker float versus leading

You don’t always need to use a marker float, especially where the depth is of less interest than the make-up of the lake bed – such as on a lake which is pretty uniform in depth – and just casting around with a bare lead causes less disturbance and is less obvious to the fish.

As long as you make a mental note of where you are aiming each cast, you don’t actual need a visual marker on the surface, i.e. a marker float, as when you find a spot, you can simply clip up, wind in, and make a note of how many wraps it is – if it is somewhere inbetween your distance sticks, then use something like a spare bivvy peg to accurately mark the exact distance that you need to clip up at.

Casting around your marker float, once you’ve popped it up to the surface, with a bare lead on another rod is a very good way of exploring a spot in more detail.

Keep a detailed record of your spots

There is no point putting in all the effort of finding a good spot only to then forget where it was and not be able to fish it again!

Keep notes on your phone of exactly how many wraps it is to the spot; what direction it is in – far bank markers such as treetops, which can also be seen as silhouettes at night, are good for this, or even take a compass reading on your phone; and where you were standing to cast.

Not only will this avoid any confusion during the sessions, especially if fishing rods on multiple spots, but it also means that next time you fish the swim you will already have a good idea of where to cast and can do so with minimal disturbance – although it is always worth having a quick check that the spot hasn’t changed, such as new weed growth.

You can even turn up in darkness and accurately get your rods out, once you are armed with this information, and especially so on a water that you are fishing regularly and where you can build up information on spots in a number of different swims.

It even means that if you spot fish showing in another area of the lake, which you have previously plumbed, you can quickly go round there, clip your rods up to spots that you know the carp will likely feed on, and cast your rigs out with the minimum disturbance.

The more work you’ve previously put into plumbing, the more you will start to understand the lake and build up a mental image of the contours and lakebed structure changes, which is invaluable.