Fishing technique consisted of constantly casting out into the canal, letting the bait drift into the weeds and re casting. It was a pain. I eventually got the idea for a floater that would stand out in the current so I wouldn't have to constantly cast the bait back out where I wanted it.

I carved a floater from a piece of light wood, (cedar). The first one was heart shaped with a piece of coat-hanger for a connection to the line. The thing worked!

 It would pull my bait out into the current immediately. On the first trip I let it run downstream from camp and over/under the reeds on the other side of the canal, I caught a nice sized catfish right away. 

Encouraged, I tried many different shapes looking for the most efficient shape.

The only problem I had was a buildup of floating trash and moss on the floater and line. I would have to bring it in occasionally and clean the debris from the floater.

I then took it over to Blythe California and tossed it into the Colorado River. It took off out into the middle of the river and a second problem occurred, a water skier came around the bend and obviously didn't see my line. I reeled in as fast as I could and the skier just missed the floater!

 I knew I would have to figure a way to avoid the inevitable.

I tried several ratcheting devices on the floater to make it reversible. I would cobble up a device and then test it in my swimming pool.

Finally I had the proverbial light bulb go off! All I needed was a sliding ring in a V shaped slot that would reverse every time I released the tension on the line. It worked better than I ever imagined! I knew then I had a floater that could be "walked" out into a still body of water and would allow me to fish out in the middle of a lake without a boat.

The reversing feature also allows a quick run towards the near shore when a watercraft comes on the scene. 

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A few of the shapes tried

the final product