It is quite possibly the ugliest animal on the planet, and it lives in what is easily Earth's most inhospitable habitat: the lonely, lightless bottom of the sea. As a tactic, it has received a lot of bad press over the years, as many anglers reckon it’s too difficult to bother with. The beauty of the slider is I can fish at range, but unlike a pole, which sees you missing bites very often in deep water, when the fish feel the weight of the float, the slider, although much cruder, is much more sensitive. Starting at the important part – the bulk – four to six big shot are ideal, or an olivette for neatness.

On top of that, they have an anti-slip feature that can help you walk worry-free and comfortably on wet surfaces outdoors and indoors. This prevents it from slipping over the slider knot, which is the part of the setup that sets the depth at which the float will fish. Lovingly crafted from the best, most comfortable material: Every Shark Slide is made from our unique CloudSense ™ technology, making them the squishiest, most comfy slides on the market. Once the swim is fed, I tend to re-feed after every fish, just to freshen the swim but not spook the shoal hopefully!The important thing is to use a dedicated slider float if possible, the reason being they are designed for this tactic. In addition, they are also quick to dry after getting wet because they are made with premium quality EVA that doesn’t absorb water.

Once you start to fish the slider correctly and understand how it works, you will be fishing it like a pro in no time. If I was in Ireland for example, or conditions were more favourable, I might kick off with two or three kilos of groundbait. When it comes to tackling deep water venues – 10 foot plus – beyond pole range, you only really have two options: Feeder fishing, or break out the slider float. Once the stop knot is reached, the bulk will register; cocking the float then the dropper shot will allow the hook bait to fall naturally to the lake bed, trimming the float’s bristle perfectly. I then have one small bulk of dropper shot just over the length of the float, again to prevent tangles.You can always place a small glass or plastic bead between the float and the knot to prevent this happening. Don’t use a rubber bead though, as these won’t slide along the main line very well, ruining the overall presentation.

Only highest quality materials used: We source the finest material from around the globe to make your Shark Slides. Like I said, the method involves using a semi-loaded, large, bodied float, which once cast in, slides up the main line to a stop knot tied at swim depth, enabling the angler to fish deep water easily.You can easily get rid of dust, dirt, mud or any type of stain with just soap, water and some light scrubbing. Long forgotten and rarely used these days, due to its wrongly perceived difficulty to fish well, slider float fishing is almost like feeder fishing, but with more possibilities available to the angler I reckon. The addition of Evolved Baits’ Big River helps the balls to bind and so as well as getting to the bottom intact, I can also lace them with particles to give the fish something to graze over. But it also has a weirdly clingy side - after finding a female, the male black devil angler latches on and never lets go! Below the small droppers I have a No8 swivel to prevent the hook link from spinning up, and this also acts as a final dropper shot too.

Just like ordinary waggler fishing, select a float that will get to where you need it with an effortless cast without going too heavy. The great thing about using a dedicated slider float is that the eye at the base of the float is a diamond shape. This is certainly an advantage when targeting skimmers and roach, which can give very delicate bites. But, as I’m fishing at range, I need to use a groundbait catapult to get the balls accurately into the swim as they are beyond balling in range. This is quite thick so as well as the powerful flavour and scent trail it provides in the water column, it adds to the groundbait’s stickiness without affecting its overall breakdown rate.As soon as the float hits the water, you then need to wind four or five turns of line on to the reel and then quickly open the bail arm allowing the line you’ve just wound on to peel off.