Fixed stem floats

Stem floats consist of a stem, usually with a pear or cigar shaped body for added buoyancy. Those stem floats without the body are referred to as pencil or quill floats. Stem floats used to be made from wooden stems with cork bodies. These days , many are made from plastic. Most have a plastic or rubber sleeve, which fits over the stem at the top to fix the float in position on the line.
Float fishing is an excellent method for kids with minimal snags to deal with and the visual aspect of watching the float keeps them interested.

Step 1 The first step in rigging with a stem float is to remove the sleeve from the stem and pass the line through it, then through the line guide at the bottom of the stem.
Step 2 When the required amount of line has been passed through  sleeve and line guide, slide the sleeve back over the the stem to fix the float in position on the line.
Step 3 Having fixed your float in position on the line, tie on your hook and weight the line with sufficient split shot to keep the float in an upright position. The split shot are clamped at intervals along the line above the hook. We use a number of small weights (Split shot) instead of one larger weight, firstly, to allow us to ballast the float more accurately, and secondly, to minimise the pendulum effect caused by a single large weight. While the pendulum effect does not seem to deter predatory fish like bonito, barracouta, tailor, and salmon, it is to be avoided when seeking shy biters like luderick. It can also cause the leader to tangle around the main line when casting out. Some stem floats (like those used for luderick) carry sufficient ballast at the bottom of the stem to keep the float upright. This feature allows the angler to use just enough weight to present the bait in respect to depth and tide.