Back to Basics...Fluted Floats

I started off this years floats with going back to some basics, I often see floats that are being passed off as handmade fluted floats but really all they have done is gouge out an indent with a router....nothing handmade about them and no effort has gone into them.

I was first shown how to hand carve fluted floats several years ago by Mike Wilson, a name synonymous with fluted floats.

Mike has done a lot of research on the origin of the fluted float and passed his findings onto a lot of people, I myself are thankful for that. Some anglers like fluted floats other loathe them, I tend to sit on the fence when it comes to using them as I have had some very good results when all else failed.

Armed with nothing more than a ruler, pencil, craft knife and some sandpaper I made the first floats of 2015. These floats are not designed to be made in bulk but small one offs as no two floats will ever be the same being hand carved.

One is carved from balsa dowel, the other balsa block, both fluted yet different in appearance

The larger of the 2 made from dowel has a wire stem which offers some cocking weight and the floats sits nice in the water due to this.

The second and smaller painted float made from balsa block has a birch wood stem throughout.