Floats for those that struggle with their vision.

I'm fortunate that my eyesight isn't awful just yet, but it's getting worse. I have a nasty habit of fishing at range, especially when trotting. I much prefer a decent thick float tip to take the strain out of seeing them. However, I'm also quite aware that float sensitivity can suffer for a thicker tip.

I've mentioned these before, but I can't praise them highly enough, the Dave Harrell sensitip wagglers. The only slight negative I can give them is that occasionally the cross headed tip can catch the wind or flow. Otherwise, that cross headed tip does exactly what's intended, gives a nice wide cross section to look at whilst retaining sensitivity. It's also made from similar stuff to the Drennan day glow tips that catch the light extremely well.

In a similar vein, I tend to use fairly numb Avon, Bolo or dome headed sticks for my river fishing. The pace of the rivers and the distances I end up fishing make traditional little stick floats, with their tiny tips, pretty useless to me. However Dave Harrel has recently released some insert tip stick floats. The inserts a relatively thick and made from the day glow material. Though I haven't got to use them yet, these should enable me to fish with a greater degree of sensitivity and finesse, especially on slower swims.

Cralusso offer several different Q/C tips for their unique range of floats, one being a hollow cylindrical version which - like the above design - minimise resistance whilst maximising visibility. They're less likely to catch the wind like a fluted tip will, but the downside is that the Cralusso float designs are relatively expensive.

The tips can be bought separately and I intend to incorporate these tips into the next batch of floats I put together.

Scroll down to see the hollow tips: It's Rocket Science!

I've been diagnosed with early onset aged related cataracts which means my distance vision is not as good as it should be. Replacement lens surgery may well be required at some point in the future but as my favourite method is long trotting on the pacey D. Stour and H. Avon it could be an issue.

No big problem yet and things improved with my current prescription and ensuring I use polarised lenses and a wide brim cap/hat (glare being the big enemy).

I'm usually trotting for chub in winter and not necessarily looking for too much finesse so the DH Missile range is top quality for me. Also the not so widely available Clearwater Chubbers are my current favourites.

Rob,
I've a good number of various Cralusso floats, including the wagglers. I like them well enough, but don't find them the last word in sensitivity, regardless of the tip configuration. I tend to regard them as floats for carp filled commercials, not for finicky stillwater roach.

I've been making and using hollow tip wagglers with a hole to let the water in since the 80s after reading about them in the late 70s and also there were commercially available versions in the 80s as well. I had a cross-headed trotting float in about 1971 but lost it a long time ago although it was useful for long trotting in very poor light.

Sam have you tried overshotting a thick tipped float and holding it back just a fraction so it shows the tip with your centrepin.

I think most average sized floats are as sensitive as smaller ones if they're shotted correctly, regardless of the thickness of their stem or tip. Regarding finnicky roach etc, I think the hooklink, hook and bait are far more likely to put them off, a correctly shotted larger float should be pulled under just as easily as a fine bristled one.

sam vimes said:

Rob,
I've a good number of various Cralusso floats, including the wagglers. I like them well enough, but don't find them the last word in sensitivity, regardless of the tip configuration. I tend to regard them as floats for carp filled commercials, not for finicky stillwater roach.

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That's interesting, Sam. I've never bought one, but adding the tip itself into one of my own, reasonably sensitive designs is something I can see working well. Mark's solution - reminiscent of the tips available for the plastic-bodied Carbonites of yesteryear - works for a thicker-tipped float design, but I want something that will wed to a thinner antenna and I'm hoping that these off-the-peg designs (with a bit of adaptation) will save me having to do all the fiddly stuff.

Neil Maidment said:

I've been diagnosed with early onset aged related cataracts which means my distance vision is not as good as it should be. Replacement lens surgery may well be required at some point in the future but as my favourite method is long trotting on the pacey D. Stour and H. Avon it could be an issue.

No big problem yet and things improved with my current prescription and ensuring I use polarised lenses and a wide brim cap/hat (glare being the big enemy).

I'm usually trotting for chub in winter and not necessarily looking for too much finesse so the DH Missile range is top quality for me. Also the not so widely available Clearwater Chubbers are my current favourites.

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Same with me Neil, I was a little shocked when the optician casually dropped it into the conversation at my last eye test, as I consider myself still young at 55 and my Mum did not have cataract issues until well into her 70s I have been told to wear dark glasses whenever it is sunny and as I work in the open, I have to remember to take them with me. I tend to use home made floats for when the trees deliberately grab them as they are easily replaced and I tend to have bright yellow tips, with more showing than I used to use

I got one of those rockets but never used it. Maybe try it out soon and see if I get same results as article. I'm not so sure it will be a float I would use often anyway.

sam vimes said:

I've mentioned these before, but I can't praise them highly enough, the Dave Harrell sensitip wagglers.

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Sam I've been using and making 4 vained wagglers for years, long before DH nicked the idea of them off this site from an article wrote some years ago. I seem to remember the article on how to make them was named Bad Eyes Wagglers. It will be in the achieve still on here if you search for it. Even made some Chubber floats with vaines on the top for long distance trotting as well.

Not being able to see even most big sticks when long trotting is what got me into making my own floats in the first place and I have good eyes.

Most often I'm long trotting because there is a strong flow and that tends to mean I would be using a heavy float (4 - 8BB big sticks, Avons, chubber,......). I tend to avoid making big tips out of very buoyant materials like balsa, but beyond that I can't say I find having a good sized tip on a good sized float that much of a problem. I don't think a 4BB+ float is ever going to be super sensitive however you make the tip.

Mark Wintle said:

I've been making and using hollow tip wagglers with a hole to let the water in since the 80s after reading about them in the late 70s and also there were commercially available versions in the 80s as well. I had a cross-headed trotting float in about 1971 but lost it a long time ago although it was useful for long trotting in very poor light.

View image in gallery​

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These are the exact same floats I use and you are right they were developed in the 70s but they never caught on.
Dead simple to make and work very well.

lutra said:

Not being able to see even most big sticks when long trotting is what got me into making my own floats in the first place and I have good eyes.

Most often I'm long trotting because there is a strong flow and that tends to mean I would be using a heavy float (4 - 8BB big sticks, Avons, chubber,......). I tend to avoid making big tips out of very buoyant materials like balsa, but beyond that I can't say I find having a good sized tip on a good sized float that much of a problem. I don't think a 4BB+ float is ever going to be super sensitive however you make the tip.

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It's more of an eyesight thing, Brian. I'm having a harder job seeing fine tips at any real distance. Hopefully, I can make a set of floats that retain most of their sensitivity but are easier for me to see. Never thought my eyesight would go downhill so quickly - I blame it on the internet.

First of all, and I speak from long experience of eyesight problems which include several operations, let me say that it is asking for trouble to leave failing eyesight without doing something about it on a regular basis via eye tests. I was told in no uncertain terms by one of the best consultants in the business, that putting undue strain on an eye ( and it usually is, but not definitely one eye ) without the aid of proper glasses to help is asking for trouble over the long term.......

As one gets older, and this varies massively from person to person, eyesight can reduce at an alarming rate ( as I found out ) so leaving tests for a couple of years ' because they feel okay at the moment ' really is a bad way to go and although my eyes, with the aid of various sets of glasses, are as good as they can be I still go for eye tests every 6 months and have a scan every 12 months. Expensive yes, but at least I'm giving myself every chance for the future....
In addition, one has to remember that from 70 years a thick letter from the DVLA will drop on your mat, telling you that from now on you will need to convince them that you can still drive a car every three years and that you will need to complete a myriad of forms to prove this is the case. I have just carried out this exercise, which took place over several months, and they are very thorough - believe me !
They want your GP details and full info on any form of op including cataracts and if not satisfied they will ask you to attend a test. You will not get away with anything if thinking that pulling the wool will save you..........

Sounds fine, but in the worst case scenario you could be banned from driving at 70, so think about all that entails and how it would affect your life, let alone your fishing...

Please don't leave it, get 'em tested today and on a regular basis !!!

Seeing floats ? Well due to the above I have spent time in trying to give the eyes the best chance so I do experiment with colours and the necessity to see fine tips. To give myself every chance and reduce strain to a minimum I have moved away from very fine tips at distance and to be honest it hasn't made the slightest difference to catches, but if I want to use a long thin antenna for sensitivity than I glue on a 5mm long polystyrene tip painted glo orange and it does the job just fine, as the actual antenna is NOT affected.

In addition, and in using the Drennan Glo tip range of floats with the yellow glo tip and finding them very good to see in most lighting conditions, I have used this same colour combination on sets of wagglers etc as it really does improve the ability to see floats - I don't know why, but having a glo orange tipped float with a band of yellow just below it helps tremendously - for me anyway !
As I say I have moved away from dotted down stuff unless in clear open water, and generally have 5mm of orange and 5mm of yellow ABOVE the water which will probably sound massive to some, but even fishing hemp with very fast bites has not made one iota of difference. More importantly I am helping my eyes as much as possible for the future ( and this is critical ) and I'm catching good fish....

Much of the time I fish in tree shadow and very broken backgrounds so I needed to make changes by experimentation with what I can control - namely colour and tip diameter - and it has worked for me.......

All of this is great for my eyes and my fishing, BUT keeping on top of eyesight changes is still the most critical factor, so if you are 50 / 70 years old with annoying rapid blinking or having to move you head to try to se the float a little better, you really must not ignore the signs as ' nothing to worry about ' as you are asking for trouble over the coming years as age inevitability creeps on................

' If only ' ( in hindsight ) is something that could be applied to me, but at least I'm on top of all my eye issues and much the better for it !!


Go get them tested and scanned ( for about £50 ) for a complete picture of where you are NOW !!




ps Apologies if this sounds like preaching and teaching grandmother etc BUT I just need to get the point across....................

I do have annual sight checks, and my biggest problem is the close-up stuff, although overall acuity has suffered to some extent. I now wear prescription bifocal polaroids for my fishing, which has helped a fair bit. I read a piece about failing eyesight - it's on the rise, and they blame television, phones and computer screens for most of it. Watching something for hours at a fixed distance means that your eye muscles aren't exercised in the correct manner. It sensibly recommends a break every so often, but offers a selection of exercises involving "rolling" your eyes and swapping focus around to a range of fixed points at various distances. Turns out your eyes need a workout just as much as the rest of your body. I'm not expecting miracles, but, despite moaning on here about my deteriorating eyesight, have seen a small change for the better, so I'm going to keep it up and do less at the computer, with more breaks.

Edit: Those hollow tips work in the same way as a glow tip, which is another reason to consider their use.

Agree with you Tee Cee. I know someone who is losing his sight. He bought supermarket specs and did not have his eyes checked. He has been told that the condition could have been treated if he had had it checked years previously.

As to tips on floats. I have mentioned this previously, I glue a long nylon bristle from a yard broom into some wagglers. paint them black as I fish a lot where the sky reflects on the surface and this shows up better than any colour.

It only adds a no.10 or no.8 to the waggler and does not affect sensitivity at all but the ability to see it without straining is something marvelous.

PS you can then dot the float right down to the surface film with only the bristle visible for two inches and the float will sail under very sensitively.