I first saw the Sensas Lombardia's being used in the Sensas challenge in France. The guy at the side of me was using them for fishing shallow on lake Duoy. Now just to clarify when I say shallow what I mean is he was fishing eight foot deep in a ten foot deep swim. He was catching small roach on bloodworm. When the match finished I asked if I could have a look at the floats and on closer inspection I thought that I could incorporate them into my own fishing.
The float is a pencil shaped float with a wire stem and a fine fibre bristle. Which mean that's they are extremely sensitive. So the question I asked myself was when and where could I use these floats?
Most people use pencil floats when the water is calm-ish and the fish are feeding ravenously. I on the other hand use these floats when the fishing is very difficult and bites are at a premium. I'm not to bothered about water conditions as I feel pencils offer stability just like round bodied floats. Plus you can hold back on a pencil float just like a round bodied float. Now don't get me wrong I still use pencils when the fish are "having it" and these floats are perfect for that application too.
My typical shorting pattern for these floats is a simple bulk eighteen inches too two feet away from my hook and a number of number ten droppers below to my hook length knot. Hook sizes are typically size 22's and 24's in the ever reliable Gama Green pattern. I usually use four droppers and move them about as the day unfolds. My main line for this rig has been 0.10mm Sensas Feeling Classic New and hook lengths have been 0.06-0.08mm of the same line. Elastics have been solid number 3's and 4's in the Sensas coloured latex range. Sometimes I might bulk them all on the hook length knot and sometimes they might be spread out evenly.
On a recent session I had at Bankend fishery after doing what I usually do I hadn't had a bite two hours in and a change was in order. I quickly mixed some double leam and added around 200ml of joker to the mix. I potted a ball in at thirteen meters and went straight over the top with a 0.8g Lombardia and a soft set number four elastic. I had to hold the float still over the ball of feed. After ten minutes the float moved slightly, I struck and a couple of meters of elastic streamed out of the pole tip. After five minutes a carefully playing what was clearly a good fish I put my landing net under a 2lb skimmer. I repeated the process a number of times and I ended up catching 8 or 9 fish. All on the Sensas Lombardia. I ended with around 10lb of silvers.
It is my opinion that without having an ultra sensitive float I wouldn't have caught the fish that I caught that day. I feel that it is important for every serious silverfish angler to have a sensitive float pattern in there armoury. I have a lot of confidence in the Sensas Lombardia's and I'm sure I will be using them for many years to come.
A better day at Bankend where the Lombardia was a main part of my game plan.
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