It seems like an eternity since the last time I wet a line. It’s not in fact; I did have a Saturday trip last weekend. Both ‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’ (SWMBO) and the lad joined me for a spot of tench fishing. We had the camera with us to take not only some stills but some video footage. I did catch a tench, as well as a large slab of a bream, but the less said about the day, the better. My attempts to stop smoking were thwarted that day, as I was sorely tempted to rip the nicotine patch from my arm and stick it across SWMBO’s cakehole! My attempts to make up for the lack of fishing by going this week have also been thwarted by the evil machinations of the divvy bint at the car dealership who has had me running back and forth and reorganising arrangements all week. So no fishing until next week, but that’s not stopped me indulging in a spot of reading, preparation and ‘float making’.
Like most anglers, deep down, I have to admit to being a bit of a tackle tart. Money, or the lack of it, has always been a bit of a draw back when it comes to indulging in the next best thing to fishing - the purchase of fishing tackle. As a kid I made up for the lack of pocket money by making my own floats. These would be heavy, totally unusable constructions, made from drinking straws and bits of fuse wire. These days my efforts are a little more refined and totally useable. In fact I prefer my home made floats to anything I can buy in the shops. There is something totally satisfying in catching fish on gear you made yourself. Not only do I have to admit to being a tackle tart, I’m also a bit of a dinosaur. Mr Crabtree will always be with me, and so will his techniques. Even though I’m open to new techniques I much prefer to relearn the old methods of catching fish. So with this in mind I started preparations for my next sortie with the ‘tinca tinca’, the Dr Fish.
I’ve tried the margin pole and the waggler but this time I’m going to have a go using a method I’ve not fished for a long while and that is the ‘lift’ method. The recent passing of Fred Taylor brought a lot of mention of this technique as Fred made it famous in his writings in the 1950’s. My Grandfather would fish no other technique for catching large tench, as the lift was supposed to be the most sensitive and selective method available to the float fisherman. The lift uses a peacock quill or a waggler fixed at the bottom end with a float rubber, and all of the shot used placed about four or so inches from the hook. The lift can be used close into the margins and should a fish take you into the reeds your quill or float will ‘pop off’ your line giving you a better chance of not snagging. Now being a ‘tight bugger’ even the possibility of losing a float sends shudders through my wallet, so I will make some quills to use with the lift method and this is how I do it.
I source most of my float making bits and pieces through the interweb or I can be often seen on my hands and knees at barbeques. This is usually through drink, an attempt to make things up to SWMBO after opening my big gob (through drink again) or scavenging the skewers that everyone throws away. The major benefit of making my own floats is that for the price of one float from the tackle shop I can buy a pack of quills, inserts and balsa bodies that will make me about forty floats. It also gives me something to do of an evening, especially if SWMBO is still not talking to me after my antics at the barbeque. The tools and materials I use are very simple and consist of sharp scissors, two part epoxy glue, wet and dry paper, white acrylic undercoat and fluorescent yellow spray paint. I use yellow as I can’t see oranges or reds very well. I will show you all the steps I use for both wagglers and the quills I use for the lift method.
The first job is to select a quill and cut it to the desired length with sharp scissors. Don’t be tempted to use a craft knife for this as all the pressure coming from one side will crush the tip of the quill.
Now its time top get a little sticky. I need to insert a plastic stem with an eye so that I can attach my float to my line. I also need to seal my quills or after a while immersed in the water the float will become waterlogged and start to sink. In the case of the quills for the lift method buoyancy is a very important factor. The quill needs to support the weight of the shot so that the fish is not spooked and eject the hook when it lifts the bait.
To glue all my components and to seal my quills I use a two-part epoxy glue that I buy from the pound shop. Simply squeeze out equal quantities of resin and hardener and mix the two together well.
Inserts are bought with my quills and fitting them is simply a case of pushing them into the thinner end of my quill. Push them into the quill before gluing them into place to ensure a sound and straight fit. Once I’m happy with the fit of the stem I dip the stem into my epoxy and making sure it’s thoroughly coated with glue push it into the quill.
I now use my fingers to wipe away any residue of glue but make sure there is a thin coating on the surface of the quill. I now upend the quill and dip the top into the glue so that I have a small even blob of glue on top of my float. I now stand the float on the insert and allow it to dry. With my quills for the lift method, I simply place a blob of glue on each end of the quill to seal the float and leave it to dry.
Once everything is dry I now gently sand the whole thing down with some wet and dry paper, making sure to round off the top of the float, and to sand down the ridge that runs vertically down one side of the quill. Once everything is nice and smooth, its time to paint your float or quill. I keep this nice and simple and have invested in a number of cans of spray paint from Halfords. I have a white undercoat, a black undercoat, fluorescent yellow and a shiny clear lacquer. Painting is very simple with plenty of time given to allow each different coat to dry; first an even coat of white is applied. Then on my floats I spray black onto the base section of the float. Yellow is sprayed onto the tips and then once the whole thing is dry I give it two coats of lacquer. Because I’m a finicky old bugger and an artist with my final coat of lacquer I gently rub the white layer into the black so it gives me the effect of the old fashioned porcupine quills. That’s it, jobs a good one! Here are the finished floats!
Right I had better hit the hay as I will be using them tomorrow!
