The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

For years I've used those little quick-change wire connectors - a length of wire with a curved bit in the middle where the bottom ring of the float is threaded on, held to the line with small -diameter float rubbers. They've worked fine - until last week. Three times the line snapped right by them when a carp powered off.
What do other people here use? I've thought of using a tiny link swivel but you then have to use something to stop the float sliding on the line (traditionally a split shot either side that either kept moving every time you struck or stuck solid so that you couldn't change the depth...

On still waters I use Drennan Flexible Float Links if I want to be able to change float and or depth quickly - I always use them for the lift method. If not, just a length of float tube on the bottom of the float.

Trotting, 2 or 3 rubbers.

Phil

What Phil said.

These are cheaper but delivery time is several weeks.
Guess all brands are repackaged stuff from the same factory.

Be careful with some of the cheap ones on the usual sites as they are narrow in diameter and no good for many of my floats. I do like the swivel ones for distance work.

I usually use the Drennan quick change float adaptors in conjunction with Drennan float stops.Or a float rubber fixed to the bottom of the float.Works great when fishing the lift.

I use a mini-link swivel and silcone stops I make myself, 2mm and 2.5mm o/d silicone cord, cut it into 5mm lengths, then threaded them onto loops of 8lb 'Fireline' . With a fine needle and a small pair of pliers it takes about 30 minutes to make enough for, well, 'yonks'. These are much cheaper than any I can buy and silicone does not seem to be so fierce on the line and stands multiple reuse.

Thanks, everyone, for your input. I'll check your suggestions out. Those Drennan flexible float links look like a more refined version of the wire things which I'm pretty sure were from that company.

I love the Drennan float connectors but they are a bit thin and I have had a few failures. I made some floats with a short section of fly fisherman's 'gauze' tubing on the end. The line was passed through and held in place, fully adjustable, with a short wooden peg cut down from a toothpick.

The hard part was to stop varnish from creeping up the gauze and making it stiff!

I can't find any here now, so I must have sold them all at Romsey.

I make my own Float connectors, like the simple u shaped wire ones and use thin flexible rubber rig tubing to attach them to the line, I have never had any problems with them.
I would suggest that perhaps since you have never had failures until your 3 times in one day that it is not actually the connectors at all, but maybe the line had abraded a little where you had moved the connectors when adjusting the depth ? Moving the rubber connector on the line causes friction, friction causes heat , heat will weaken the line so maybe that us what happend.
Have you changed your usual brand of line maybe , to something that is not as robust?

David.