It started with a float.

Derek Gibson · Apr 1, 2017

Generally speaking that is. I don't think it would be far off the mark to suggest that most will have started their fishing employing the float. Nothing new there of course, where applicable they are efficient, and dare I say ''a joy to watch''. And it has been that way for over two hundred years.
Then along came the bite indicators, utilizing various attachments to rod and line. Sometime before the second world war dough bobbins hung from the rod tip, as well as those that employed attachment to the butt of the rod via a Terry clip and silicone tube that registered bite indication by a lift basically. All those type of indicators were developed in order to attain greater distances whilst fishing, and that they certainly did.
We then come to what could be called the electronic age, due in part to a fella named ''Richard Walker'' who after several proto types came out with what could be termed the first commercially produced electronic alarm the ''Heron'' That initial introduction has been refined and developed, resulting in some of the most effective and expensive bite registration methods.
And still the float marches on, surely a testimony when a bit of quill, cork etc can stand it's ground in such illustrious company.

theartist · Apr 1, 2017

It started with a float and it will end with a float as far as I'm concerned

Peter Jacobs · Apr 1, 2017

Like many of my peers my fishing began with the float and so began a love affair that has lasted many decades.

Back in the 50's and 60's it was mainly large quills and cork bodied floats that these days might be considered to be ill-designed for the purpose.

I well remember some of the first more purpose designed floats when they came onto the market and one innovation being the sliding body float (called Mandy?) that became my favourite for ages. In fact, I mentioned this to a long time contributor on here a few years ago and few days later little package arrived at my house with 2 of those lovely old floats.

To my mind I hope that a session on the float will be the last one I experience and if so then I'll pass on a happy man.

Keith M · Apr 1, 2017

The float will always be miles ahead of the feeder or leger for me when fishing within float casting distances and when the depth isn't going to be too much of a problem.

I will only move over to a bottom lead or feeder when the situation demands it and the float is clearly going to be out of the question.

There are exceptions like when I'm rolling a bait downstream after beards and touch legering using light leads, but for me float fishing in its many different forms is always going to be my favourite method.

Keith

Neil Maidment · Apr 1, 2017

It all started for me using a large coffin lead and reeling in my first ever fish, a 1lb+ flounder. That was above the tidal limit on the Dorset Stour (now Throop Beat 3) back in the late 1950's.

I then progressed quite quickly to using floats and by the mid 1960's I was trotting with a centrepin and fishing the waggler working my way through the range of ABU 500 series reels.

In those early days and into the 1970's I used swingtips, donkey tops and quiver tips but had pretty much gravitated to all forms of float fishing with trotting various top & bottom floats my much preferred favourite. I had a huge collection of floats in many hand made float boxes all neatly laid out in nice rows of foam. Biggest question was always which boxes I should take to the river bank for any session.

mikench · Apr 1, 2017

Likewise! After a 40 odd year absence I have a lot to catch up on and whilst I still love the float and the child like thrill I still get when it begins to move and slip below the surface, I do like tip fishing . I am slowly catching up on some techniques and tackle I missed out on! My attempts at swing tipping and using an Abu 501 are good examples .

I do wish I had kept the floats I had as a boy. I did buy some but most were given to me and I remember them as being brightly coloured. I suspect that many were perch bobbers like the beauties Binka makes!

I always wanted to fish the Great Ouse and to a child it conjured up images of a Zambezi type river teeming with fish! Probably best kept as an unfulfilled fantasy

sam vimes · Apr 1, 2017

It started with a coffin lead and a dead minnow threaded on a size 4 long shank hook for me. However, it wasn't long before that got fairly boring and I progressed to floats. It's always going to be a case of horses for courses, but I tend to choose times and courses where floats will be the right horse. I'm at the point now where the vast majority of my fishing will employ a float of some description. Leads and feeders might be more effective at times, but they just don't hold my interest the way a float does.

no-one in particular · Apr 1, 2017

Picture my old man, siting with a big red float on (he was blind as a bat) watching it go round and round in a eddy (he didn't like to do much in the way of exercise) smoking his pipe; just about the most content he ever was . Wouldn't be the same with a bite alarm would it, so yep, the float just about does it for me.
I even stick one on in the sea whenever possible and even when its not possible.

thecrow · Apr 1, 2017

Float, swing/quiver tip, electronic, watching the tip or touch legering along with numerous other ways of detecting a bite all have their day and all have different ways of mesmerising an angler. Whether its any of these methods its the bite that gets me going never knowing what or how big the fish responsible is.

My first fish (a perch) was caught on a porcupine quill float and I still like doing a bit of float fishing although all my bigger fish have come to other methods of bite detection that could just be down to the waters I fished though requiring a none float approach.

rayner · Apr 1, 2017

Most of my generation and before started with float fishing.
How things change, these days I see more younger anglers with rod pods and a couple of rods set ups. The only thing that floats are ducks to new generation anglers.
There are a couple of young lads that I see occasionally on the commercial I fish. All bivvied up with their rods sat on alarms, they sit there reading or tying rigs waiting for the buzzer to tell of a bite.
It wouldn't do for me but my style of fishing wouldn't do for most.
Whatever gets us on the bank is OK with me, being a more proactive angler suits me far better. Sitting waiting for fish goes totally against the grain for me, if I can't get relatively instant action I soon loose concentration and head off home. Catch and I will be there all day.

Sooner or later the float will once again be the king.

Jeff Woodhouse · Apr 1, 2017

I literally have loads of different kinds of floats, whatever comes along as new idea, I (like a stupid idiot) will probably buy one. However, I do have to say that these do give me a lot of pleasure in the summer when carp are mooching on the surface. The site of the entire lot diving beneath the water is electrifying. https://youtu.be/_av4U54gTa8

nottskev · Apr 1, 2017

Of course, there are all kinds of situations where floats aren't the method, but their versatility is amazing and I agree you can't beat the pleasure of floatfishing.
As to starting, some older kids took me along to the local canal: a dawn start in June , the water flat calm and a red tipped float poised in the surface film.
It started a lifelong absorption with fishing.

While we're on about floats, how about a tribute to the peacock quill? Is there anything better to make your own wagglers from? Cheap. Practically weightless. Follows the lead perfectly when casting. Smaller ones land on water like a feather, which is what they are, I suppose. Incredibly buoyant, so great shot capacity for size. Can't absorb water. Doesn't even need paint or varnish unless you want to lose the white colour. Tough and practically impossible to snap. I have home-mades from 2BB canal wagglers, dating from pre-pole days, to 3 and 4 swan sliders. They're not especially pretty but they are a treat to fish with.

tigger · Apr 1, 2017

nottskev said:
While we're on about floats, how about a tribute to the peacock quill? Is there anything better to make your own wagglers from? Cheap. Practically weightless. Follows the lead perfectly when casting. Smaller ones land on water like a feather, which is what they are, I suppose. Incredibly buoyant, so great shot capacity for size. Can't absorb water. Doesn't even need paint or varnish unless you want to lose the white colour. Tough and practically impossible to snap. I have home-mades from 2BB canal wagglers, dating from pre-pole days, to 3 and 4 swan sliders. They're not especially pretty but they are a treat to fish with.

I like to use a plain piece of peacock quill cut to whatever size I want and attach it via a a single rubber bottom end. I don't paint them or varnish them and prefer to use them as they are, striped of filaments obviously. I particularly like using them for tench fishing in shallow waters when float legering or using the lift method...same thing really.

thames mudlarker · Apr 1, 2017

Keith M said:
The float will always be miles ahead of the feeder or leger for me when fishing within float casting distances and when the depth isn't going to be too much of a problem.

I will only move over to a bottom lead or feeder when the situation demands it and the float is clearly going to be out of the question.

There are exceptions like when I'm rolling a bait downstream after beards and touch legering using light leads, but for me float fishing in its many different forms is always going to be my favourite method.

Keith

I completely agree Keith, I'm exactly the same :thumbs:

---------- Post added at 14:37 ---------- Previous post was at 14:24 ----------

rayner said:
Most of my generation and before started with float fishing.
How things change, these days I see more younger anglers with rod pods and a couple of rods set ups. The only thing that floats are ducks to new generation anglers.
There are a couple of young lads that I see occasionally on the commercial I fish. All bivvied up with their rods sat on alarms, they sit there reading or tying rigs waiting for the buzzer to tell of a bite.
It wouldn't do for me but my style of fishing wouldn't do for most.
Whatever gets us on the bank is OK with me, being a more proactive angler suits me far better. Sitting waiting for fish goes totally against the grain for me, if I can't get relatively instant action I soon loose concentration and head off home. Catch and I will be there all day.

Sooner or later the float will once again be the king.

I see this all of the time at the water where young anglers of this generation are really missing out on the art of float fishing,

Youngsters new to fishing naturally wanna catch big fish and so opt for the Carp scene and are not interested in other coarse fish, show em a 1 lb roach and they'd probably turn there nose up

If only many youngsters learnt how to catch silver fish and using delicate rigs where finesse is everything in the presentation they'd understand different fish and techniques a lot more and perhaps respect all coarse fish as a whole but sadly this has rapidly changed the view on fishing for many of our younger anglers,

I always try to educate and help juveniles whenever I can :thumbs:

dorsetandchub · Apr 1, 2017

A Drennan stillwater blue or a Makin canal grey and I'm a happy camper. Although it's mostly the pole for me nowadays, one of those floats next to lily pads, a warm Spring day and a sense of anticipation - what could be better?

thames mudlarker · Apr 1, 2017

tigger said:
I like to use a plain piece of peacock quill cut to whatever size I want and attach it via a a single rubber bottom end. I don't paint them or varnish them and prefer to use them as they are, striped of filaments obviously. I particularly like using them for tench fishing in shallow waters when float legering or using the lift method...same thing really.

True John Wilson style

Love yer avatar pic Ian :thumbs:

---------- Post added at 14:47 ---------- Previous post was at 14:43 ----------

For me there can be nothing better than trotting a stick float down a chalk stream using a quality float rod and me Abu 501, proper nostalgia fishing

rayner · Apr 1, 2017

I was a real fan of Drennan still water blues the equivalent now is the Drennan glow tip.
A favourite whip float of mine is an Ultra rippler, it's a similar shape to the still water blue but is all balsa. I doubt these are available now either luckily I have a fair selection.

dorsetandchub · Apr 1, 2017

I was so crazy about Makin canal greys that, when the tackle shop owner told he had just had one delivered with a green tip (the only one he'd ever seen), I ran home about a mile and a half, grabbed my pocket money and ran back.

It was only when I got home (again!) with the float that I asked myself how practical a green tip might actually be.

Not to worry though, caught plenty on it - and many others

tigger · Apr 1, 2017

thames mudlarker said:
True John Wilson style

Love yer avatar pic Ian :thumbs:

Those where the second clutch off a pair of blue and golds last year....still got one of them left. Sick of plonkers phoning up wanting to clip 'em and have them as ornaments on a effin perch in the corner of the room, it can stay with me until someone with a brain cell gets in touch.
The parents are down on three eggs now.

mikench · Apr 1, 2017

I like your avatar Ian. I forgot you liked parrots ! I was interested once and came close but played safe and bought a cockatiel

it was called Colin until it layed an egg!!

your birds are stunningly beautiful!

Derek are you a Hot Chocolate fan by any chance? I look at the title and burst into song; you know the one!

It started with a float.

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