Float winders - anyone use them?

[Lucky Strike]

Apologies if there has already been a previous thread on this but I've been
thinking about float winders and wondered if anyone used them.
It's often necessary for me to change from ledgering to float fishing in a session
and I've often thought it would be handy to have some ready made up shotted
quill or harcork float rigs. If anyone doe use them, how do they attach them to their mainline?
Via a simple loop to loop? Or is there a neater more subtle way of attaching?

Thanks

[Bumble]

Hi use them all the time apart from Barbel and Carp fishing. Have numerous floats set up generally with 10ft of line as this normally covers every scenario even have a few link ledger rigs set up as well.
I used to use loop to loop but found it would not pass through the eye ring so well when using a light float and have now switched to a loop on the float rig with the mainline attached with a grinner knot.
Cannot explain why this works better but for me it does hope this helps.
Bumble

[Lucky Strike]

Many thanks for that, and what kind of winders do you use?
P.s I often look at your Craftversa pics...

[Bumble]

Like this

Bumble

[Nobby]

I use winders as well....as Bumble has said, the only problem is the knot from cast to main line not going through the top eye well ....long tails on the knot helps a bit, but I often end up shortening the cast to suit the swim I'm fishing.


It's a bit like pole float rigs already made up...you stick it on and you plumb up. Next thing you know you're fishing!

[Lucky Strike]

Thank-you all for your advice, I've just bought this old float winder from ebay.
It has a bar going across to put the hooks over but how would I secure
the loop end of the trace?

[Vole]

You trap it between the round "washer" and the long strip running the length of the winder - that's what the washers are for, and that's quite a nifty design of winder.
On the more common ones, there were slots to take the end of the cast, but they are too thick for modern lines, so we must revert to pole-fishermens' rubber anchors, sticky labels, or home-brewed bits of paper-clip and rubber-band technology.

[Lucky Strike]

Ah, I see. This one seems like quite a nice find then, for a fiver anyway