A few more Avons

Another 3 pairs ready to go.

All balsa body on crow quill, with a slightly longer tip for long-trotting, and with and without wire eyes.

A minor development using another quill type is on the cards, which will give a straighter stem. Pics will be posted as soon as they're ready

Perch bobs completed

Final coats of varnish applied...

The focus seems to favour the 2nd from the right in this photo, oddly. Must try harder

Available for sale shortly, link to be added when after the Christmas break... the reason being apparently there is such a thing as too many floats (I still don't believe it), but I enjoy making them as much as using them. So those that don't go to friends are sold to cover the cost of the next lot of raw materials, paint, silk thread for whipping etc...

If there are any special requests, by all means contact me via the gadget in the toolbar on the right.

Some background

So, why the repeated mention of Reg Righyni? For those who are already aware ignore this post... R V Righyni was a published salmon, trout and grayling fisherman who's book 'Grayling' was first published in 1968.

The book spends equal time discussing fly fishing and fishing bait for grayling, along with discussion on bait, tackle and fish behaviour. In the appendices and also in his anthology of articles published as 'Fishing Reflections' in 1998, including the September 1963 article published in Creel magazone, Reg had published his design for a perfect trotting float for grayling.

The book discusses the use of traditional grayling floats, the need for a float to turn over once and once only during the cast to avoid tangles, to be able to 'ride fairly rough water' and be visible at distance. He was fairly dismissive of the traditional cob floats, although they suffice for fishing small pools. Otherwise he notes a bite rarely pulls the float under, more frequently there's a sideways movement or the float simply stops in it's tracks, and one has to get used to stirking at any action 'that does not seem to be in conformity with unrestricted movement along with the current'. A typical bob float is too difficult to see at distance and insensitive unless over-shotted, which makes it even more difficult to see, and creates a lot of disturbance on the retreive.

 So after some experimentation Righyni came up with a basis of a design, which was as follows:

• An elongated bulb merging into an antenna mounted on a long fine wire stem 
• balsa body, 3 1/2" approx in length made from 3/8" square strip balsa (that's approximately 90 mm in length and turned/whittled from 9.5mm square strip)
• a stem of equal length (plus an inch set into the body) of 20 swg piano wire
• visible at distance
• streamlined shape for a minimum of disturbance on the retreive

Hopefully those I've produced will fit the bill, they're slightly shorter in the body and the 20 gauge swg (about 0.91 mm) piano wire has been replaced by 1mm stainless steel. I've also omitted the nylon loop at the base of them stem, preferring to use silicon caps to make possible.swapping floats without dismantling the entire rig. I've seen on some forums mention of the design being 'just about' cocking to better show a lift bite, but the photos in 'Grayling' and 'Reflections' appear to show a fully-cocked float before shot is added, albeit reproduced in fairly low quality....

Some of the samples shown in the previous post are now wending their way to Glamorgan, Wales for testing on the Wye, hopefully by someone who can get out on a river more often than I can.

Finished grayling floats

First batch awaiting the final coat of varnish

Some in Harcork-inspired colours (despite no cork being used)

Self-cocking test complete, might make an adjustment to that paint line although they still need shotting obviously, just got to get out with them now

Perch bobbers

A couple from a batch of 5, awaiting many coats of varnish...

More grayling floats

Recent finds acquired to add to the collection of commercial offerings...

Not heard of this one before, more research required methinks

and confirmation the logo is Ultra... this one might even stay in the packaging for prosperity's sake.