I was a little reticent to relist it as this story is to appear in the forthcoming book written by Jeff Della Mura, Hooked on Floats. I have spoken to Jeff & he is quite happy that I should go ahead, so here it is!
Three gentlemen were sitting round a kitchen table in Nottingham in the late 50’s/early 60’s talking fishing, as we tend to do. These friends were well known anglers in the area and indeed further a field.
• Major Albert Smalley was once described by Dick Walker as the best float maker & designer in the world. He died suddenly in 1964.
• Jim Sharp was probably the finest angler ever to fish the Trent and was very a successful match angler. He was the manager of Tom Watson’s fishing shop in Nottingham, more of that later. Jim has since passed away.
• Ken Clower is still very much with us and still regularly fishes. He can still fish the pants of most of us mere mortals, although now in his 86th year. Ken caught the Trent best barbel at 15.02 just 3 days short of his 80th birthday. He used to fish the Hampshire Avon and indeed wrote a super little book on that famous river. He was at Mapperley Reservoir when Dick Walker and the others formed the Carp Catchers Club. It is from Ken that I obtained this information.
Ken explained that he was having problems controlling his float on a pacey river particularly with a strong upstream wind. The conversation that followed was like a brainstorming session in modern ‘management speak’.
Ken- ‘What I need is a propeller on my float’
Jim- ‘Like a vane on a pike float that enables you to drift the bait?’
Ken- ‘Yes, but underwater’
Albert said that he thought he may have the solution and went to his workshop, emerging some time later with his first fluted float. This float is the 5th one in the first photo. As you can see, it is quite crudely fashioned and the flutes are not straight but slightly spiral, though I do not suggest this was intentional.
The 1st picture shows floats hand made by Albert Smalley. As well as the fluted float he also pioneered elderberry pith in the making of floats.
From the left:-
1. A length of pith ready for float making
2. A float part made with a cane stem & sealed
3&4. Avon style floats by Albert Smalley
5. The 1st elderberry pith fluted float.
6. A development with 6 flutes that was rejected as not being successful
7. A 4 flute version with the flutes of balsa between pith ends. Again this was rejected as no being effective.
8&9. 2 floats similar to those that later were produced commercially.
It is possible that others came up with the same, or similar, design in parallel development. I would suggest that Albert Smalley was the first though I cannot be certain of the year.
The 2nd picture shows some of the commercial examples that were made available in the 60’s.
As I said earlier, Jim Sharp worked at Tom Watson’s fishing tackle shop. Here is an extract from the 1967/68 catalogue.
The fluted float was originally made to Jim Sharp’s specification (by the late Albert Smalley) as he felt the need for a float with greater stability than the conventional ‘Avon’ type (with round barrel) when fishing such fast waters as the Avon & the Test.
The fluted float was found to give the following marked advantages over conventional trotting floats:-
• Resistance to an upstream wind with the ability to swim closer to the pace of the current.
• Conform better to varying speeds of current.
• Minimum float disturbance when ‘mending’ the line.
• Resistance to line drag with less tendency for the float to be pulled across the stream.
• Far more natural presentation of the hook bait at all times.
So there we are, designed by committee made by Albert Smalley.
