Use Floats & Jigs for Creek Fishing Success

Drifting jigs in moving water is a highly productive and vastly overlooked technique that produces many different fish species. Learn the details of this easy and effective angling approach.

Steelhead fishermen know. Floats allow an angler to precisely control jig depth and to utilize current for very natural presentations. Somehow, this truth continues to elude many creek and river fishermen, and the highly productive and easy-to-fish float/jig combination remains vastly underutilized in flowing water.

The approach isn’t species specific. It works well for trout, bluegill, rock bass, redbreasts, white bass walleyes, black bass and many other kinds of fish, with species caught largely dependent on jig selection and the specific waters fished. Often, the multi-species appeal is one of the technique’s top virtues. With smaller jigs in creek settings, especially, it is common to catch several kinds of fish in a day, often without one type even being notably prevalent.

We’ll focus primarily on smaller jigs and creeks and a multi-species presentation. However, the overall approach is the same if you want to target larger species like bass or walleyes. Just upsize the jigs to match likely forage and the floats to balance well with heavier offerings.

Drifting Float-Jig Rigs

At its core the technique is very simple, which of course is one of the appeals. Cast upstream, then let the rig drift downstream in the current, watching for the float to dart out of sight or behave unusually and being ready to set the hook. That said, success is in the details, including as jig and float selection, depth settings, cast placement, strike detection and line management.

The default presentation is truly a drift, with the current doing the delivery work and the jig doing its natural dance as it drifts beneath the float. Sometimes in slower currents, occasional pulls that cause the jig to rise briefly or rod tip twitches that make the offering dance beneath the float will prompt more strikes. Typically, though, a dead drift is tough to top.

If the strike zone allows you angle casts upstream and a little bit out from your position, you can usually get about twice the distance of your casts out of most drifts by allowing the float to drift past your position and a continue a cast’s length or so downstream before reeling it back to make another cast.

While you can use a slip float for deeper drifts if the current is modest and your jig is heavy enough to get the jig down to the zone fairly quickly, we’re mostly talking about suspending offerings less than about 3 1/2 feet deep, which is manageable with a set float.

Float Drifting Gear

Jighead weight is dependent on current strength and depth, but a 1/16-ounce is a good size for a broad range of situations. If you want an extra small jig but need more weight for achieving good drifts through the zone, options include adding split shot to the line or rigging a pair of small jigs a foot or so apart on the line.

Because the jig rig moves at the same pace as the current, soft-plastic bodies that have wavering or quivering type tails like a Bobby Garland Baby Shad, Mayfly or Slab Slay’R tend to work better than swimming baits like grubs or paddle tails. Hair jigs, like a Lindy Little Nipper or Road Runner Original Marabou also work well.

Where the bottom isn’t too snaggy to allow for tandem rigs, adding a micro jig, like an Itty Bit Slab Slay’R on an Itty Bits Jig Head, beneath a more standard sized jig is an outstanding way to add variety and numbers to catches.

In terms of floats, pear or oval shaped floats work better than pencil or cigar shapes because they handle current better. Small sizes work well unless you’re using a jig that’s notably heavier than 1/16-ounce. The float needs to keep the bait suspended without going under with added resistance from current, but not by a lot because you want to see even the lightest bites and recognize when your bait is dragging bottom.

Other gear considerations include line and rods. Light line works best, with 6-pound-test being ideal, for making longs casts and getting the most action out of jigs. Monofilament or braid with a mono leader works better than fluorocarbon because fluoro sinks, making it harder to manage line in current. A long, light rod with moderate action is ideal for casting float rigs and for keeping line out of the water to avoid drag from currents of different speeds.

Drifting Strategy Refinements

The depth where your bait should drift is a critical consideration, and finding the right depth often requires experimentation. Stream fish commonly relate to bottom features, but will feed up, so the ideal depth is often a foot or so above the median depth. Ideally, your bait should bump some rocks and other high features as it drifts but not drag.

Of course, many streams vary dramatically in depth between shoal areas and pools, and fish ambushing from cover along edges or along on the sides of bars feed at different depth than fish holding in deep runs. Don’t be shy about moving your float up down your line as you work up a creek and evaluate different runs.

As you work a stream, watch for key ambush points along edges and out in the stream. Often disturbances on the surface reveal a boulder below or a ledge. Visually follow current lines up from ambush points and aim casts well up-current so the bait can drop and be drifting naturally when it crosses that spot. Don’t hesitate to make multiple drifts through key areas, altering landing points just a bit and setting the bait deeper if nothing bites and the bait is not dragging.

Also look for current seams. Anytime you can drift a bait close to an edge between a current and an eddy or two currents of different speeds, your bait is likely to be in a high-percentage area.

Watch your float constantly as you fish, and don’t hesitate to set the hook if anything looks different. Stream fish often don’t yank a float under. They might hit it the jig on the go, moving the same way as the current, so the float just rocks, speeds up or move an unusual direction. And if they feel the drag of the flow, they’ll let go quickly. It’s far better to set the hook when your jig bumps a rock and to come up empty than to not set the hook on a light bite and completely miss an opportunity.

Drifting Tips

• At the end of a downstream drift, flip the bail and tighten the line so the rig swings and the bait rises before reeling the rig back. Sometimes the swing will trigger a strike.
• Retrieve line as your bait drifts toward you and feed line as it drifts away to keep the line mostly tight but not dragging.
• Use short, targeted drifts when necessary to keep the line above the float out of dragging currents and to make accurate presentations through key areas.
• Repeat any cast that produces a fish. That fish was there for a reason.
• When your jig snags, getting upstream often will make it pop right out. At times, you might need to remove your float to reel down to the jig.