Just a Twitch of the Tip
Category: article
Aug 16th, 2021 by Keith Worrall
Modified Aug 16th, 2021 at 8:47 PM
Just a Twitch of the Tip
Northland® Fishing Tackle’s new Lite-Bite Spring Float signals the mere kiss of a fish.
BEMIDJI, Minn. (August 16, 2021) – Floats don’t always flush. In fact, the preponderance of panfish bites are transmitted as pops, pings and pulls. Run-of-the-mill floats – as seen in the bargain bins – aren’t designed for precision, finesse fishing, but rather to sell at the cheapest possible price. They’re not perfectly balanced. They’re constructed of inferior materials. They twist into a bird’s nest on the cast.
Northland dismisses all those foibles with its new Lite-Bite Spring Float. Built from premium balsawood, the remarkably sensitive floats are equally as buoyant. Balsa is exceptionally lightweight, able to manage even seemingly oversized bait without being massive in size.
Lite-Bite Spring Float (Oval)
Each is meticulously painted and then coated with a clear lacquer finish to mitigate chipping. You’ll also appreciate the color spectrum. The stems are painted fluorescent orange, the brilliant brightness continuing onto the top of the body. At that point, florescent yellow takes over, greeting a white stripe and finishing into a rich and natural stained wood. The vibrant colors yield extreme visibility at distances and during low-light conditions, while also serving as metering to determine how sensitive the bobber is set, as determined by the mass of sinkers, size of the bait and or weight of the jig. The lower it floats on the surface, the more sensitive the setting.
A well-anchored, sturdy plastic stem cuts through the center of each Lite-Bite Spring Float and finishes into an easy switch spring clip. Anglers can quickly upsize or downsize float size, and without damaging the fishing line.
Northland pro Brian “Bro” Brosdahl is a proponent of floats, especially for springtime panfish and whenever fish are hunkered shallow. “Floats get a bad rap sometimes for being too amateurish,” quipped Bro. “The opposite is true. Floats let you fish at precise depths and in tight places you can’t cast and retrieve a jig without fouling. You can fish super slow with a float, too. Where a naked jig keeps falling, a float holds the bait right in the target zone.”
Lite-Bite Spring Float Pencil
“Northland’s new Lite-Bite Spring Float is versatile, too,” continued Bro. “For spring crappies and bluegills, I cast and slowly drag it back, sometimes pausing along the way. Curious panfish will swim up and eat it on the stop. Sometimes, popping with pauses gets them going. Just experiment until you find what’s doing the trick.”
On the business end, for panfish, Bro has a squadron of go-to baits. He opens with pre-rigged jigs, preferring to slam slabs without live bait. His top producers for crappies, bluegills and perch are Northland’s IMPULSE® Rigged Bloodworm, Rigged Mayfly and Rigged Mini Smelt. They track perfectly on a straight retrieve, and seductively pendulum swing when you pop the float. The feathery plumes of Northland’s Fire-Fly Jig and Gypsi Jig® also get the nod. And when a meat additive – waxies, maggots or tiny minnow – are in order, he’s a fan of the Gill-Getter.
Northland’s new Lite-Bite Spring Float is available in six sizes: 3/8 in. Pencil, 1/2 in. Pencil, 3/4 in. Oval, 7/8 in. Oval, 1 in. Oval and 1-1/4 in. Oval. MSRP $4.99-5.99 (2 per card).
Northland’s new Lite-Bite Spring Float will be available Spring 2022.