More grayling, and musings on tip colour

Out again on the same stretch as last time, but I thought I'd try something that could carry a little more weight to cast over the other side of the creases I'd previously fished, rather than trotting off the rod tip with a low weight-carrying Righyni style float.

The fish were no less keen once I'd got into a rhythm, first off using a cork-bodied alloy-stemmed Avon I'd made some time ago (slightly obscured under the caudal fin)...

However, the orange tip for me was still a problem. Admittedly I started with the float slightly over-shotted which obviously isn't going to help, but again even with a much-preferred dull-overcast outlook (as per the photo below)

...the orange tip was just getting too difficult to see further downstream, in what was a relatively minor surface disturbance.

Out with another float made a while ago, this time cork on a simple tapered hardwood stem, which has a luminous red tip, although it doesn't look like it in the following photo, it appears in the photo there's greater contrast against the dark red on the cork body...

This particular shot was the nice but out-of-season wild brownie that careered all over that particular swim, disturbing any resident grayling and rendering it seemingly devoid of any fish forcing me to move on. Here are the two floats in question...

Not that different in colour one would have thought, although it did go unnoticed by me at the time whilst re-rigging with the red-tipped float that the tip is a little larger too. 

Anyways, enough rambling. Off to talk about a new club's waters tomorrow as the current club is relinquishing the rights to this particular stretch at the end of this season. I shan't be leaving the club as there are other fantastic stretches of river and some stillwater concessions that I'd like to retain, but unfortunately no other grayling stretches so I need to look at what other options are available locally for grayling, hopefully there'll be at least a day ticket to report on after tomorrow...

 

Not all work and no play

The floats have been coming out of the workshop at a slow and steady pace, but the weather had been awful recently, with my local river bursting its banks regularly and the colour of strong tea for what seemed like an age. Eventually a break in the weather for a few days coincided with a little time off and I was able to head out with a pint of reds to see what was about.

The river was finally looking in fine fettle, along with ample raw materials for float making available for collection..

After a recent conversation with a chap regarding the merits of Reg Righyni's design, I had rigged up with one of the first attempts I had turned out, and it was performing admirably, although this was after a swap from a yellow-tipped version to a darker red which showed up a lot better against the bright reflections coming off the water, even with polaroids on.

There were fish about, although without waders one observation which had brought to mind the recent conversation was Righyni's suggestion that with his pattern of float "the stem acts as a keel and the float is self-cocking. With one or two shot on the cast, it floats with the antenna only above the surface." Now obviously Righyni doesn't specify the size of shot, but with a short Nottingham cast on the centrepin and a desire to feather the landing in short succession the float was not the easiest to cast in an awkward wind. And that was with about 1.5 g of olivette and dropper, likely more than Righyni's "one or two shot". 

I don't think it's a great leap of imagination to see Reg Righyni's design a forerunner, albeit with a much smaller shot-carrying capacity, of a thick-tipped and steel or alloy-stemmed Bolo float, and that may be the next step if a further cast to get the trot where you want is required. Something for the workshop should the weather turn perhaps.

Righyni also extolls the value of braid in his 1968 publication of "Grayling", whilst pragmatically recognising it does have shortcomings, particularly on windy days. His conclusion was that mono on a fixed spool reel and braid on a centrepin were the inevitable conclusion for "dedicated long-trotters", it may be something I'll try but not until it's time to replace the mono on the 'pin.

Incidentally, the reel I was using and in the above photo is a Vectra SST-3 from Canadian tackle company Raven, in case it's not instantly recognisable for European readers. Made for steelhead float fishing in Canada and the US, what little I have read about it did suggest it was more popular on shorter float rods, it's light weight apparently making it less desired for 13 foot rods or longer. I picked it up cheaply on a well-known auction site some years ago probably due to it being little known on this side of the Atlantic, and personally I found it suited the 13ft Acolyte Plus perfectly, maybe down to the very light weight of the rod. The reel weighs just under 190g loaded with 100 yards of 4lb mono, compared to, say, a J W Young Purist II at 290g weighing half as much again. Combined with one of the lightest 13ft float rods available it was a pleasure to use all day. (Yes I know there are a couple of lighter rods out there, I have at least one, but not at the price or with Drennan's availability in almost every tackle emporium you venture into).

Besides, if a rod is tip heavy adding weight at the fulcrum or pivot-point of the lever is not the best way to balance the rod, weight at the butt is going to be more effective.

Hopefully the weather will hold out for a couple more trips before the end of the season, whereupon a short break will hopefully be followed by a campaign chasing the local Crucian populations.

New set of Avons

One cannot fail to be impressed by the standard of work and attention to detail exhibited by some of the better known names of float making in the UK, irrespective of whether the design or style in question is to your liking, as such things are somewhat subjective.

It struck the other day however, amongst the feathers and multi-coloured whippings (even those can be in a multitude of thread types/materials) that the classic floats which surely provide at least a modicum of inspiration had no such extravagance.

Looking at a previous post entitled 'Genuine vintage floats' with some samples from the better known commercial makers, such as those shown below from Auger, any small lines used to delineate between different colours or possibly just for the ability to see a sensitive bite more clearly were painted on.

...albeit neither straight nor consistent in width in some cases. The only whipping on these and others of the time were to secure the eye at the end of the stem.

So I thought I'd see what i could do to replicate the design and feel without the plethora of whipping, and to be honest I don't think they came out too bad (straighter than some of the vintage examples at least)...

Not 100% sure about the choice of colours, and they're as yet untested, but I thought the lack of luminous tips was a bit more in keeping with what I was trying to do, and recreating the classic Harcock red bands on yellow is a bit cliche nowadays...

True to form, the only whipping on each float is to secure the stainless eye, albeit diverging from the plan slightly by being subtly tipped with a little gold.

So, they'll be up for sale shortly in the Etsy shop in case anyone wants them, with more to come soon as I think it suits some of the more functional designs. No doubt there'll still be a selection with fancy whippings, incorporating porcupine quill sections and so on to cater for all tastes. Surprisingly these don't seem to take any less time to make, except for maybe less time taking decisions on the design...

A bit of a hiatus from the blog for a short while...

I finished some grayling floats, admittedly a while ago, for the same recipient as the crowquill Avons...

In addition there's a modern take on a sensitive Avon float for roach on the river, slim 3 mm tip for sensitivity, carbon stem to help with detecting bites on the drop, I've made some up previously for myself to test them out and they work a treat if you're not trying to cast to the other side of the river...

In other news, single floats, pairs and the odd set of three have made their way onto a new Etsy shop. I'm making far too many to use, but still enjoy making them, so hopefully selling a few will cover the cost of materials and give me an excuse to keep on making them...

If you want to see what's there here's a link, the stock will be updated as and when completed....

Set of avons

Something else from the workshop this week, a group member on one of the Facebook groups I belong too saw a post from the friend whom I made some floats for previously which he had reposted, and got in touch to request something similar.

Here's the results, although the request was for quill for all the stems rather than cane as in the previous batch, so there's one pheasant and two crow...

Dorset flag colours on the left again, and a bit of jasper thread for some of the whipping on the other two

The recipient was very pleased, so much so that he immediately requested some Reg Righyni-style grayling floats, which will be next on the cards...

Crucian hybrid (float, that is)

I started playing with a float just to see if something would work, namely using a cut-down pole float tip for the tip on a bodied waggler. The stem is pheasant tail quill, and I got carried away and used an off cut of porcupine quill for the stem and ended up giving it the full stain, paint and whipping treatment. Came out quite well I thought....

the finished float

the pole float tip in place

close-up

Would I do it again? Yeah, probably, I don't dislike the look of the pole float tip, it's hollow and is quite bright in direct sunlight. I also quite like, in this case at least, the increase in diameter from the quill to the pole float tip. So, more to come maybe....

Brace of pairs

After a bit of a tangent as described in the previous post, and a brood lull in proceedings, a couple more pairs have reached the final stage of the production line. Two pairs of floats, each pair consisting of a bodied waggler and matching Avon

I played a bit with some different silks for the whipping...

I'm happy with the wood dye used to colour the balsa bodies, but I have got some new dyes to try, after the next batch on cork, and the batch after that that had already been dyed with the teak dye you can see here. More to follow shortly...