Floats or No Floats in Spreader Bars?

[CanyonGear]

I see this question all the time. Float or No Float?

Before we get to that, let's go back to what a spreader bar really is and why it is the preferred method of trolling for many bluewater pro's, tournament teams and anglers' alike.

A spreader bar is not a Daisy Chain, let's get that straight right off the bat. The word "SPREAD" means just that, to spread out several lines of teasers over an area "WIDE" enough to act as a school of bait fish. Hence, the reason spreader bars came into existence, to create the illusion of a bait school or pod swimming as they do naturally, be it squid, or other finfish. The wider the spreader bar the greater the mass and number of teaser lines and potential baits attached to give the appearance of a bait school or pod. The bigger the spread the larger the illusion usually attracts LARGER fish.

The ONLY way to accomplish this is by using a bar that allows the teaser lines to stay SPREAD out. A bar that collapses on itself as it's being trolled is nothing more than a high priced daisy chain. Think about it, a bar that is too flexible will collapse and bunch the baits together in jumbled pod, baitfish don't swim all tangled up and on top of one another it's just an un-natural presentation to the target.

Daisy Chains: you might as well pull a couple of well rigged daisy chains on the same side of the trolling spread, why? They look more natural, and now you have two hooks instead of a jumbled bunch of teasers and one hook, instantly your % doubles. We never troll one chain, always two and staggered to maximize the presentation.

I have yet to find anything that can SPREAD the teasers to resemble swimming school other than a stiff spring bar adjusted to the weight of the teasers to give them a nice PULSE as they are trolled, always springing and re-spreading to give the natural look of swimming school of bait.

A properly rigged stiffer spring bar is simple to use and deploy, takes a little getting used to but the end results are well worth a bit of practice. Fishing is learning and tweeking, if you don't have the patience to deploy a spreader bar, you probably are never going to be a good fisherman, they are a neccessity and you need to learn to use them. The tangle angle as I call it..is just utter crapola used by pitchmen to cast a nasty shadow on one of the most product fishing tools ever invented.

Stiffer Bar Myths debunked:

They Tangle: Absolute BS, once deployed they will straighten out just like any other spreader bar does once the boat is moving forward.

They Rust because they are metal: BS again, the superior stainless or titanium bar stock does not rust, neither do the zinc plated brass branch swivel sleeves.

They Poke You in the Face: LOL, BS just move your head, have the angler back up in the cockpit and leader the fish like a normal lure, this ain't rocket science.

They fight you when fighting a fish: some do, some don't. Our bars are built to turn in plain with the fish while fighting it, so all your fighting is the weight, about a half a pound..you can handle it. We use a tag system to attach the bar to the mainline, NO fixed hubs they keep the bar open during a fight.

They are too heavy: BS again, You want something that is going to STAY in the water in many sea conditions, not get blown out of the spread with a bit of wind or chop. These super light metal or composite bars that collapse into a daisy chain can blow out during some windy or rough conditions if you notice the videos are always flat or very calm days.

Most of these undermines were created by the other guys, not fishermen.


Look it's pretty simple, a SPREADER BAR, is just that for a damn good reason that's why they work and the reason they still exist and catch tons of bigger fish.

You want a SPREADER bar, then get a good one built to actually SPREAD.

You want a collapsable hybrid daisy chain that is unrealistic looking as a school of bait..I'd think twice, I AM NOT SAYING THEY WON'T OR DON'T WORK. I prefer a real daisy chain that's all.

You want a DAISY chain then get several good ones and run them together as stated, you will find a great diffrence in your hook up's with either of these trolling methods.

We make both floating and sinking bars..it's preference and many times the type and size of the tuna your targeting.

Our ZMAN squids float we use them exclusively for our floating bars. Sizes are 5" 7" or 12" multitude of colors. They also work perfectly for Daisy Chains.

Our Canyon Machine bars are non floating and have worked for years with catch success in either 9" or 12" multitude of colors and our own rigged Stingers of your choice for either bar. They also work perfectly for Daisy Chains.

We prefer non floating bars as we work the bars during a bite, moving them as needed and usually trolled from the riggers so they can be reeled right up and out of the way..just our style.

Just some thoughts, we weighed heavily going into super flexible metal and composite bars, the answer to that always came back the same. WHY? We sell Daisy Chains just for that reason.

This our opinion, not a competitor gaffing.