The story of the Fluted Float

[Lea Dweller]

I have been reading with great interest, the comments on this subject, as I do seem to recall using a 'Belgow?' green fluted float on the Hampshire Avon many years ago. To be honest, it didn't seem to behave much differently to a normal float, perhaps holding it's line a little better maybe. I had a rummage through my collection of more unusual floats and found the four examples shown. They are all unused as I have not fished a running water where I thought they may be an advantage. I believe that the white one had not had it's 'top coat' yet. The floats are around six inches long and should carry several swan shot, although I haven't tested them!

[Nobby]

Those are very reminiscent of the left hand drawing in the patent Ted. Yes the Belglows were a dark 'Brunswick' green with a black line below the vanes at the top of the lower shaft. Sometimes named in silver paint they were catalogue number 63 and the bigger 64. Not made of balsa, perhaps that would have been too bouyant.

Allcock sold them too, but I don't know if they bought from Belglow or made their own.


Some of the nicest...and rarest...fluted floats came from Tom Watsons Nottingham shop where the they were made, a ccording to Tom's catalogues, by Jim Sharp. I have two of one example and just one each of the other two designs and they are the only ones I have seen in all these years

Tom's floats are Nos. 5, 6, and 7 from the left in this image...I now after years of searching have a second No 6, both of which have had eyes whipped to them for fear of losing them surely:


The others I can name only a few of...the cork one is by an uknown maker, the next three I think are Belglows, but are unwritten...after the Tom Watson trio is one by an English chap who no longer makes floats, I was told he had emigrated...and I can't recall his name...Colin?, the next is by Colin Falconer who had the flutes cut by a laser printer in pairs so they slot together like a balsa model 'plane and the last three are my own to a similar design.

I also have a complete set of No 6 replicas in a case by Richard Cleaver and fished one all day on the Bridge Pool on the Avon in Hampshire and it behaved impeccably.

[Lea Dweller]

Thanks for sharing that information Nobby, what a great collection you have! As I said in my post, I have never used the four that I have, but they are worth keeping just in case!

[Nobby]

They are a bit of an enigma......both Peter Drennan and Richard Walker wrote magazine articles in their praise......but Peter never made any for sale that I am aware of and inside about five years they were gone again...until revived yet again by a few modern makers recenly.

This image is reputed to be Peter's own floats for his use and does contain a couple:





And this image is apparently the floats with which he joint-won the "Angling" competition in 1964...judged by Billy Lane ( who thought they were a rubbish idea) and one Richard Walker:




Interesting to note that one of those floats looks like Billy's 'Trent Trotter'...........

[Barbelseeker]

Alas, ken is no longer with us, great angler with his shrimps.

[Nobby]

Here are some images of a page on fluted floats from Tom Watson's 1969-1970 'annual'...you see the page claims that Jim Sharp invented the fluted float, but that Maj. Smalley first made them. In fact Jim is credited with making many of the floats in other catalogues so maybe he made some of those illustrated here.



Close ups:



The adjoining page:


Here are what I have found so far:




So it seems I have a balsa topped 'Avon B', a new 'Fluted Trentman', and two 'Fluted Stickfloats'.


Incidentally, the Avons B and C are illustrated with line eyes, but there was none on mine when I got it.


In all these years these are all I have seen or found.

[Liphook]

Fascinating collection and info there Nobby

[Tengisgol]

I’ve been making and using these now for thirty years, mainly out of elder pith. One or two of those could actually have come out if my garage they’re so reminiscent!

I’ll dig out some old photos later.

[Tengisgol]

Not my best efforts over the years, and includes some made of insulating board, but hopefully of interest to view.