Micro Fishing Floats

Micro fishing floats, to come right down to it, are basically just seriously small bobbers. They are nothing like the red and white plastic bobbers we all used as kids, and the Japanese ones designed for tanago fishing are nothing like the bobbers (er, indicators) we use as adults. They are much more sensitive so they will show the bite of even a very small fish.

However, if you use markers under the float, which you can see on the Micro Fishing Rig, the markers are used for strike detection and the primary purpose of the float is just to suspend the markers. The markers are much more sensitive than the float because they show movement to the side rather than down. Even if a fish swims up to take the bait and then turns to go back down, when it turns, the markers will be pulled at least a little bit to one side (before the float is pulled under).

Tanago Floats

The floats used for tanago fishing in Japan are small and thin, with a relatively small stem. From the top of the float to the bottom of the stem is just over an inch. Thread your line through plastic tube and then insert the stem of the float into the tube, locking the line in place.

If you choose to use one of the extremely light tippets shown on the Micro Fishing Line page, I'd recommend putting the float on a stronger line above the light tippet so if you do happen to hook an unexpectedly large fish or get your hook snagged the light tippet will break and you'll lose only the hook, not your float.

You will need just a tiny bit of weight to get the float to sit properly, with just the tip of the float above water. Just one of the size 10 Dinsmore Micro Shot will work nicely.

I no longer sell tanago floats, and I don't know where you can buy the exact float I used to sell, but if you type in Micro Fishing Floats, Google can find some for you.

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