How many times have i purchased floats from a shop only to see them destroyed as the body comes away from the stem or the eye is mercilessly plucked out from its body !!.......how many commercial waters have you seen body parts of floats hopelessly broken up over the surface of the water . I'm so glad i changed to a Customer specific float........its saved me pounds !!!!
That was ten years ago but now the main tackle companies compliment of float ranges have learned a thing or two from the Mick Wilkinsons of this world and those eyes are getting tied better and the bristles are straighter and the bodies more robust, but can they keep up their standards and quality ??
In this article i will not state any prices ,types or comments on what is good or indifferent. I will just list the names of known float makers (customer-specific) and allow anyone to contact them for purchase.
http://www.floatman.co.uk/store/index.php
MICK WILKINSON FLOATS
Mick Wilkinson floats were the floats i can remember being the first available for 'heavy-duty carping' , but off course there are many float makers who have been producing customer-specific and fishing-type-specific floats for years. Some will say that the birth of float makers in the last decade was born out of the well-known suppliers negativeness towards their non admittance that they were producing floats not upto the grade of what the anglers of today sought. Since the arrival of such floatmakers as MW i think we have seen a vast improvement in design ,durability and lasting strength in the major manufacturers , but can they maintain their quality ?
I met Mick at a Whiteacres festival , i think it was 2004 , and there i had an opportunity to purchase floats off him for the first time after hearing of their quality via Steve Ringer and Sean Huggins. The floats i purchased were the 'Diamond' variety from 0.2gr o 0.7 gr , i think there was 15 in total and i believe i have 8 of them left . I sold 4 to an angler from Liverpool who was desperate for some and i lost the rest on fish except for one which broke. That is not bad for 6 years use , and considering the floats have seen a serious amount of carp fishing in the margins and up in the water . The short rigs are normally the ones that suffer either thro the reeds when fishing margins or in the landing net when sometimes the float gets wrapped into the net material.
Since then i have replenished my stocks with more margin ,pellet and diamond floats.....I WOULD'NT GO CARPING WITHOUT THEM !!
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HillBilly floats i have noticed have come to promenance in the last few years and have heard good reports about them thro' various members of the Glebe fishery. ...............................The favourite float i like is the aptly named : Guzzunder.
http://www.hillbillyfloats.co.uk/
HILLBILLY FLOATS
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Benwick Sports supports one of the largest collection of floats in the U.K. and they also make their own :
http://www.benwick-sports.co.uk/indexmatch.htm
DRAKE FLOATS are also sold at Benwick Sports and i'm not sure that the ones above are made by Drakes but here are some more to ponder:
Have seen these before at Whiteacres as i know Clint Elliot stocks them in the shop , i may have some in a float box somewhere.
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Mick Bassett is my local man as he lives in the next village to me , when i'm back in England. Mick i believe has been making floats for many years and i have seen him regularly around the local lakes in the midlands. He's always out delivering angler-specific floats for the known anglers but also selling many to the commercial carp boys and canal anglers on the circuit.
MICK BASSETT FLOATS
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Malman floats i heard of about 3 years ago when my local tackle shop in Leicester : All Season Angling , proprieter ; John Hall had purchased a certain amount of them after hearing good reports. I can see from the fishing website forums that they are highly thought of.
MALMAN FLOATS
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Another float maker just recently appeared on the theatre of float making is Nick Gilbert of the Float Store. I have read many good reports on the TF about them and again they are bringing a good quality brand to the fishing stage. Note: , i say just appeared , yes appeared for me but hes been making floats for years.
FLOAT STORE - NICK GILBERT
The quality of the finish looks top draw !
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What can you say about this guy ? his front end advertising looks really , well .........crazy !!......but i hear he makes brilliant floats. First time i heard of him was a month ago on the forum but from all accounts he's a top float builder.
The float range certainly looks WELLHARDZ !.......definately a good quality build .
IAN TOPLIS FLOATS
My favourite float name out of this range : WELLARDZ (WELL HARD) HA-HA love it !!
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JON WALKER FLOATS is another man delivering quality floats in todays market.
......unfortunately i dont have any further pictures but i hope to update soon.
JON WALKER FLOATS
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ACKOOS floats have also come on the scene recently , to me anyway but probably they have been producing floats for a while ..........they certainly seem a good quality and very specific for the demands of the commercial fishing.
http://ackoos--floats.webs.com/
ACKOOS FLOATS
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BILLY DEAKIN FLOATS
But i am waiting for some information and pictures.
I know he is in the area of Stalybridge ,Tipton and Bilston
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THERE COULD BE MORE FLOAT COMPANIES (MOSTLY COMMERCIAL WATERS BASED)OTHER THAN WHAT I HAVE LISTED.........BUT IF YOU SOME MORE THEN PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
