It's not just small floats that have become scarce in tackle shops - most offer a wider range of pole floats and a few generic running line floats.
I'm another who likes to fish close in with rod and line - even though I was a bit of an early-adopter of pole stuff, starting with a Garbolino SLV in 1978. These days fishing "off your rod end" has got a bit further away, thanks to longer rods, and I carry a bunch of little floats, many home made, for fishing long rod and pin. As to the best shape, length etc, I think it all depends...... dead depth, on the drop, shallow, well over-depth with backshots and shot on the bottom, deep swims, shallow ones, calm days, choppy water...different designs all have their uses.
you can find some nice little floats if you search "whip wagglers" on ebay.
The glow-tip type ones do look cute. But some of the peacock floats in the pic have been in use since 1980's; I don't own any old glow-tips! The tips, if I dare mention the subject, seem to be as fragile as some delicate rod tips.
It is carefully shotted low down in the water with the shot near the float. The leger is actually a single SSG shot which is on a very short link with a small bead (not a swivel or Drennan ring). The leger stop is a large size float stop which rests on the loop knot on the end of your reel line. A 6 inch hook length is attached loop to loop. A fish picks up your bait and because there is only minimal movement allowed the float goes under, minimal resistance from float and also leger. As a test put a leger weight on a link with a swivel and then a link with a bead, hold the reel line in both hands and make the leger weight slide backwards and forwards, you will find that the link with the bead slides much freer and with much less resistance.
I think that some factors are being missed here:
Now many anglers consider float legering a crude and ungainly method but it is actually very efficient. You use a small delicate float which is set up slightly over depth. It is carefully shotted low down in the water with the shot near the float. The leger is actually a single SSG shot which is on a very short link with a small bead (not a swivel or Drennan ring). The leger stop is a large size float stop which rests on the loop knot on the end of your reel line. A 6 inch hook length is attached loop to loop. A fish picks up your bait and because there is only minimal movement allowed the float goes under, minimal resistance from float and also leger. As a test put a leger weight on a link with a swivel and then a link with a bead, hold the reel line in both hands and make the leger weight slide backwards and forwards, you will find that the link with the bead slides much freer and with much less resistance.
As I started reading your flat float post the name of Kevin Ashurst popped into my head. Great minds think alike:wh
I wonder if he is still about.
I don't know if anyone has found the same problem with carbon antenna as me but I find it can prevent the float from cocking efficiency overweighting the float and in effect making it tip heavy
I write this at risk of ridicule. For very shy bites try float-legering with a SSG shot as the weight on a short sliding link. The small waggler is shotted down with shots near the float. Fish very slightly over depth with a 6 inch hooklink. I was amazed at how sensitive this rig is and how hittable the bites are!
Float-legering is old fashioned and looked upon as a bit of a crude method but all those years ago Bill Penny had it right.
I've enlarged the (to me) important bit - too many people used to just put a float on, with no weight other than the ledger, then wonder why they weren't catching, and abandon the method. Ya gotta do the physics!