Groundbait for float fishing

In float fishing, feed is thrown by hand, and that changes the requirements for the mix completely. The ball has to arrive whole — everything else comes after that.

What limits the distance

The ball's weight and how firmly it's packed. A light, crumbly ball falls apart in the air and spreads across the surface as a patch; a heavy, tighter one flies further and more accurately. That's why a mix for a long throw is made heavier, and for short range, lighter.

Ball size matters

Small balls give a small patch and open up faster; a large ball lands more compactly but calls slower. The choice between them is a choice between accuracy and speed, and it depends on depth: the deeper it is, the more sense a tighter ball makes.

Repeatability matters more than composition

Every ball has to land in the same place as the last one. A spread of a few metres throws away any mix: it spreads the fish out over an area instead of gathering it, and the float ends up sitting somewhere other than where the fish is gathering.

How this mix differs from a feeder mix

It's looser and packs more easily. It doesn't have to survive the shock of a cast, but it does have to hold its shape in the hand and open up right after it lands. In a feeder mix it's the other way round: there the mix is protected by the feeder.

When the ball isn't thrown at all

At short range, feed is more often cupped in — that way it goes straight down and doesn't slap the water. This is the opposite approach to a ball: how firm the mix is stops mattering, and what matters instead is that it doesn't fall apart too early and comes out of the cup whole.

The splash of the ball

A falling ball is also a sound and a splash. In shallow, clear water this puts wary fish on edge, so there the throws are smaller and more frequent, or the angler moves away from the spot. At depth the splash barely matters at all.

Opening feed and topping up

The classic approach is several balls at the start, then small portions afterwards. In current the patch drifts away, and topping up becomes mandatory. Exactly how much is a matter of the rules and of feedback.