bag up on the speci waggler

The first few weeks of a new river season will always see me taking in a few chub and barbel sessions on shallow stretches with plenty of pace and oxygenated water. 

Most anglers who fish such swims tend to go for static baits in conjunction with a swimfeeder or straight lead. This is fine if the river is carrying colour, but when it’s running clear there’s a much better way to catch a big weight. 

I developed Speci Wagglers 18 years ago and three different float patterns have equally important parts to play over the course of a river season. The key factor to float selection is depth and pace, so this week we’re looking at how you should use them. 

No1 SPECI WAGGLER

This float is available in sizes from 2AAA up to 6AAA. It’s constructed from carefully graded balsa a bit thicker than the thickest peacock quill. It’s more buoyant than peacock and perfect for swiftly flowing, smooth water swims where you might want to trip your hookbait along the riverbed as well as off bottom. 

I normally use 4lb or 5lb Pro Float mainlines and 0.12mm (4.2lb) or 0.14mm (5.3lb) Pro Rig hooklengths tied to size 18, 16 or 14 medium wire hooks. Most of the shot capacity is used to lock the float on to the line, then I position a No8 shot down the line for every 2ft of depth. A typical 6ft-deep swim would therefore only require three No8s, with the bottom one around 1ft up from the hook. 

No2 SPECI WAGGLER

This pattern is available in sizes from 2AAA to 5SSG and, as you can see from the picture, it’s the next step up from the No1 model in terms of thickness. It comes into its own in faster water where you want more buoyancy.  

For this one, I use 5lb or 6lb Pro Float mainlines and 0.14mm (5.3lb) or 0.16mm (6.4lb) Pro Rig hooklengths tied to strong size 16 or 14 hooks.  

No3 SPECI WAGGLER

This is the thickest of the Speci Waggler family and is available in sizes from 2SSG to 6SSG. I use this one in very fast, boily water and it’s not uncommon to run it between 20 and 40 yards down the river. 

Main lines for this float are 7lb or 8lb Pro Float, used in conjunction with 0.18mm (7.0lb) or 0.20mm (8.4lb) Pro Rig hooklengths tied to strong size 12 or 10 hooks. 

CASTING AND CONTROL

Always cast downstream before running the float through the swim. If you’re face on to the river, imagine a clockface and cast to the two o’clock position. This will ensure that the line is at the right angle to start with and easy to mend, to stop any drag pulling the float which affects presentation. I can’t stress enough how important a naturally floating line is for this. 

BAIT AND FEEDING

My bait bag for these early-season swims would contain two or three pints of casters, the same of hemp and the same of maggots.

I would also have a selection of 4mm and 6mm Bait-Tech Carp Pellets. Over a five-hour competition I would normally feed all baits, little and often to start with, increasing the amount if fish were responding well. 

Try different feed routines. A good starting routine would be to feed first then cast, feed again halfway down the run and then again at the end of the run.

Experiment with measures until you’re getting bites on a regular basis, but be prepared to wait a while until the fish find and switch on to the bait trail.  

Hookbait is two to five maggots or a banded 8mm carp pellet.