Fishing The Slider

SLIDER

First of all let me state that the majority of articles you will read regarding slider fishing are wrote by anglers who fish the slider occasionally and not on a regular basis. When it comes to fishing the waggler slider the majority of the articles are wrong. I realise that this is a very controversial statement, however this is based on fact and years of fishing and perfecting this method on rivers such as the Yorkshire Ouse, the Tees and the Yorkshire Derwent, all of which I have won on or framed on in big matches fishing this method.

The Bodied waggler First of all you want the correct type of float which is a bodied peacock waggler as shown below, however the float must be modified by adding lead wire as you can see in the pictures below.

Note the floats are not self cocking, there is a minimal amount of lead wrapped around the base of the waggler slider. This is there to simply keep the float against the ollivette/bulk when casting. The float will cock when the ollivette/bulk reaches the depth set by the slider knot.

The lead wire is there to add sufficient weight to the float that will in effect keep the float and ollivette together when you cast, thereby giving you one casting weight avoiding the dreaded float/weight cartwheel that will cause tangles. If you have read any articles that tell you to place a shot above your main bulk or ollivette to rest the float on when fishing the waggler, in my opinion wrong.

It is important to use an ollivette of 4 grams or more. This is very important and helps to avoid tangles and achieve the correct presentation as well as allowing a nice smooth cast, which is essential when fishing this method. Line wise you can’t beat 3lb Maxima. Tie your slider knot with the same line, four turns are more than sufficient but ensure that you leave the ends at least two inches long which allows the line to pass through the rod rings smoothly.

Shotting wise keep it simple with three No. 8’s or 10’s spread evenly between the ollivette and the hook. This should give you a nice drop of about three foot, which in theory lets your bait fall slowly through the last six ft. of water.

Stick Float Slider

These are all home made and I use an eyed hook at the top and a piece of whipped on pole section, (the bit you normally throw out when you cut back your top kits), on the bottom. I always use an insert normally thin peacock, (if you’ve seen the size of the Ouse you will know why). Unlike the waggler you do need to place a shot above the bulk. I normally use a four and place it about four foot above the bulk/ollivette. All of my stick sliders are above 3.5 grams. Its surprising how well you can present a bait with 6 gram ollivette and with an adequately thick top you can drag a fair bit of line on the bottom. The shotting is the same as the waggler.

General rules and traps not to fall into

Don’t feed above you. This is one of the most common mistakes made. Generally the waters on which the slider is most successful, are deep and relatively slow flowing. In truth you will find that the water on the top flows faster than the water underneath, (try chucking a lead out and see what I mean). Always start by feeding at eleven or one o-clock feeding downstream.Keep the shotting simple, once you become more competent you can play with the shotting a bit more however I generally never fish more than four droppers.