HillBilly : Pikey Pastes
Designed with the help of and named after top Southern paste angler Dave (Pikey) Pearson this is the float to use for fishing paste in those 18” to 3 feet deep margin swims. Dave wanted a strong stable float of reasonable length that did not have a wire stem as they are easily bent by large carp thrashing about in the landing net. After trying out lots of ideas I came up with the Pikey Mk4 which Dave and I consider spot on for the job.
The float is built on a 1mm glass stem for strength and flexibility and is fitted with a dumpy egg shaped body made from selected hard grade balsa. A 1.7 diameter x 45mm long high viz hollow tip is fitted and supported for the first 20mm by the floats stem which passes right through the body.
A stainless steel spring eye fitted to the base of the tip finishes this very durable float which is available in one size only (approx 4 x no8 stotz) and with an overall length of about 150mm but with a choice of red or yellow tip. I find the best way to use this float is to put one no8 at the base of the float with the rest going on as a bulk at mid depth......... Priced at £2-20p each.
HillBilly : Rednecks
This float is similar to the Shindig but is built on a 190 mm long 1mm diameter flexible glass stem which passes right through the high grade balsa oval shaped body and supports the base of the 1.7 mm hollow high visibility tip. The float is fitted with a stainless steel spring eye securely glued to the neck of the float making the Redneck a very strong animal indeed. Having a tip length of around 50 mm makes this model very suitable for the paste fishing it was designed for but it also works well for larger baits such as corn when there is a need to bury the line beneath the surface. It is best fished with a spread bulk for paste or a spread bulk and droppers for corn etc.
Available in FOUR sizes 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 AND 0.6 with red or yellow tips. Price £2-20p each.
HB Pikey Paste TOP TIP
Most lakes have sloping margins and carp tend to be fussy about the depth they want to feed in. They like to suck feed off the slope without having to upend themselves to do so. To take full advantage of this set a couple of Pikey rigs at different depths so that two areas of the slope can be fished. Drop the baited rig in the swim so that the paste pulls the float under then carefully ease the rig up the slope until about half the tip of the float is showing.
HB - REDNECK
HB Rednecks TOP TIP
People often shy away from fishing paste if there is a strong undertow in their swim. However if you position just enough shot a couple of inches from the hook to hold the unbaited rig still and then adjust the remaining shot so that when the undertow takes full effect there is half the tip showing you will stop the water movement pulling the hook out of the paste. Bites will be big lifts of the float or savage dips sometimes pulling the elastic out of the pole before you can strike.