AND ALSO THIS
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Getting more technical, I usually use a 20lb hook length, and 15lb main line. Obviously, if you get snagged the mainline breaks first, and everything is lost - the lost float then frustratingly bobs around in front of you for the rest of the trip.
I had thought about building a weaker link into they system so that only the hook length would be lost (short section of 10lb line from the swivel on the end of the reel line to another swivel, onto which the hook length would be tied) but have never got around to trying this in practice.
Final tip on float fishing ....
Sliding floats are fine for lobbing in close, but as soon as you try to cast they usually get all tangled, and the hook length ends up wrapped around the line above the float. To get around this you need to use either a split shot or another stop knot to trap the float higher up the reel line from the weight than the hook is below the weight. So, if the hook length is 12 inches, then put the split shot/stop knot at least 13 inches above the weight, with the float and bead free to slide above that. The reason this works is that when you cast, the weight (being the heaviest object) tows the rest behind it - because the hook length cannot now cross over the float nothing tangles. I sometimes use this method to cast out sandeels under the float and then inch them back on a slow retrieve for catching pollack.