John Bailey – The Kingfisher Diaries
November 2nd 2009
In Love with Floats
There was a period in my life, back in the 1970s, when friends used to pull my leg by saying I didn't even own a float anymore. That was hurtful. All my fishing apprenticeship had been brought up with float fishing and it's still the form of the sport that I probably enjoy the most. Especially when you get a real boost from a guy like Andrew Field.
Andy makes the most gorgeous floats I personally have ever clapped eyes on and, believe it or not, he was generous enough to send me a beautiful boxed set of thirty or so of his finest creations. I've been fishing with them ever since.
Friends are saying that I'm crazy and that running the risk of losing a work of art like one of Andy's floats is tantamount to insanity. I know where they're coming from but fishing is all about satisfaction and if you're going to look at a float all day, why not look at one that is absolutely gorgeous?
And which works well. Of course, we live in the age of plastic floats but don't always run away with the misconception that modern is best. Andy's creations of balsa, cork, quill and genius work absolutely fabulously for me. A mix of beauty and efficiency is hard to beat.
Winter is fast upon us, a period when float fishing really comes into its own. If it's all right for you guys out there, the next few blogs will concentrate not just on the joy of float fishing but the knowledge of floats...such as what I've got!
So, thanks Andrew for bringing floats so forcibly back into my fishing life.