Colmic Jolly Float Review
Believe it or not, there was a time before all-singing and all-dancing handmade pole floats were all the rage and it’s pleasing to see that many of the patterns that were on the go 20 years ago are still catching plenty of fish in 2018!
One of those is the Colmic Jolly, several of which adorn the winder trays in my seatbox and there’s one very good reason why – versatility.
In the smaller sizes, the Jolly makes a super float for fishing hemp or pinkies into far bank rat holes on canals and drains but up this to the 4x14 and 4x16 sizes and you’ve got a very good model for catching roach and skimmers on deeper venues. Go bigger still and the Jolly becomes a brilliant float for to hand work the whip or for running a bait down a big river.
With a classic pear-shaped body, carbon stem and thin plastic bristle, the Jolly remains surprisingly stable for such a thin pattern, the carbon stem giving the hookbait a slower fall through the water than if you were using wire. Dotting the bristle down is easy too as adding a No 11 shot doesn’t suddenly turn the float from a Belisha Beacon sticking out of the water to the proverbial lead balloon.
Available in sizes 4x8 to 8g, the only off-putting part about a Jolly is the pink colour – but who cares if it keeps going under?
RRP: £1.99
Mick Wilkinson Steady pole floats review
Mick Wilkinson Steady pole floats
Simplicity is important to me when it comes to pole rigs for commercial waters and I try to keep my float choices to a minimum.
That means you’ll find only five or six patterns among my pole rigs and of these, the Mick Wilkinson Steady is my first choice for the majority of open-water situations in anything but a gale.
With a highly-visible but thin hollow antenna of 1.25mm diameter, super-strong polystyrene body and 0.5mm wire stem, these floats sit up quickly, are unbelievably stable and can be used with confidence with baits from sweetcorn to maggots.
My Steadies have taken a right battering over the years but even stems that have bent after fish ploughed into reeds have been easily straightened. They’re consistent in shotting from float to float, and I find the 4x10, 4x12 and 4x14 sizes perfect for most of my fishing. Mind you, I’m pleased hear that larger sizes than 4x16 are soon to become available for when the wind really blows across the Fens…
Kevin Wilmot
Deputy Editor, Angling Times
Guru Waggler Adaptors
There's arguably no better way to attach a float to your mainline. These adaptors incorporate a micro-swivel, enabling them to be used with the smallest of line stops.
Intended for use with Guru’s new 10mm and 13mm Foam or Balsa Pellet Wagglers, their large rounded clasp ensures free movement of the float, which will always sit at the correct angle for straight, accurate casting and fold flat on the strike. The clasp opens easily, enabling quick float changes to be made. In packs of 10.
Price: £2.49
Guru Pellet Wagglers for carp
THESE long-awaited pellet wagglers from Guru are now in shops everywhere.
There are two main designs. The 10g, 12g and 14gbalsa-built Big Water floats promise superb casting accuracy.
The 6g, 8g and 10g foam pellet wagglers in Guru’s latest surface camo colour are intended for very shallow work. Shot them conventionally or with Guru’s new waggler conversion weights.
White knuckle carp wagglers
If you're fishing into shallow water, these wagglers from Middy should be on your shopping list. With white bodies that won’t alarm the fish, they are perfect for smaller snake lakes and pools. The fluoro tops are visible at range, and the floats come in a wide range of styles and weights.
Price £1.60-£1.80
Drennan Margin Crystal floats
PAY AROUND
£1.85
These new Drennan Margin Crystal floats look nailed on to become the best-selling patterns of the year.
They are the product of Drennan’s unique precision blow-moulding technology, and are built to the same exacting specifications as the award-winning Drennan Crystal Dibbers and In-Line Crystal Dibbers.
The 2.5mm diameter hollow Glow Tips make the antennae extremely visible, and they work exceptionally well for fishing in the margins, along the far bank of snake lakes and islands, or shallow up in the water.
Their transparent polymer bodies ensure the float is inconspicuous to wary fish. Incidentally, these bodies are produced on machines specially designed and modified to blow-mould on this miniature scale.
A thick 1mm glass stem offers strength and stability, while a double-wound spring side eye protects the line and cannot be ripped out from the body like a traditionally fitted side eye.
The floats come in four sizes from 0.2g up to 0.5g, allowing them to cover depths up to 6ft.
The highly visible Glow Tip is available in red or yellow, and is of sufficient diameter to support heavier hookbaits such as sweetcorn, pellets and worms.
VERDICT
Having used the 0.3g size last weekend on a snake lake, I can vouch for the toughness of these floats. Fished tight up against the far bank, my Drennan Margin Crystal got dragged backwards through weeds and reed stems by upwards of 40lb of hard-fighting fish. Then it was propelled forwards at ‘elastic-powered pace’ through water, grass stems and a hand- towel, before finally coming to rest nicely tangled around my pole-tip when I got a little too close into the far bank and found myself hooked up to it.
However, not a scratch or blemish could be seen when I wrapped the rig around the winder, and this was after five hours of abuse. Any reservations I may have originally had about the float flipping back over the line while shipping out proved completely unfounded too.
RW Floats
RW Floats are handmade patterns tailored to carp, F1s and silverfish on stillwaters. Pictured are five of the most popular patterns.
The Dink is the slim blue float with a 1.5mm hollow tip and a wire stem, designed for fishing pellets for small carp and F1s. A finer F1 Dink has a black body.
The Maggie (white body) has a carbon stem for fishing maggots, and the Muddie is the short float with a thick 2mm tip for fishing in shallow water in the warmer months.
The Shallow Slim is the small float with the carbon stem. Buy them at www.rwfloats.co.uk
Price: £2.20 each
Woodgrain Tackle floats
These beautiful floats are meticulously crafted by Chris Snaydon of Woodgrain Tackle, using natural materials such as bulrushes and quills. Whipping thread decorates each tip section, while a photo-luminous vinyl makes them glow in the dark once charged with an LED light. Much more than just collectors’ items, the full range covers virtually any floatfishing situation.
Info: Go to www.facebook.com/groups/woodgraintackle for more information and pricing.
Drennan AS5 pole floats
The versatile AS5 Pencil, latest in the Alan Scotthorne Signature range of pole floats, offering little resistance to shy-biting fish.
The AS5 can be used with practically any hookbait as its slim profile cuts through the water cleanly on the strike. A top-grade balsa body is protected by an acrylic shell.
The carbon stem is bonded into the body, while a 1.5mm hollow Glow Tip is reinforced with a fibreglass spigot. The blackened stainless steel spring eye is double wound to avoid line becoming trapped or pinched. In eight sizes from 0.1g up to 1g.
Maver UFO Tapered and Fluted Tip pellet wagglers
Maver UFO Tapered and Fluted Tip pellet wagglers are slightly slimmer and longer than normal, perfect for rough and windy conditions.
In three sizes – 4g, 6g and 8g – the pre-loaded floats are ready fitted with an anti-dive disc, just the job for up-in-the-water tactics.
Price: £2.99
Drennan Shorty Pellet Wagglers
These are ideal for up-in-the-water summer tactics. The floats have an 11mm body diameter and come in 4g, 5g, 6g and 7g sizes, with hi-viz flighted tips in orange or yellow.
The streamlined base weight makes for arrow straight, accurate casting while a pair of removable brass weighted discs allows for additional fine-tuning. Optional dive discs reduce deep diving on splashdown.
Matrix Impact Bagging Waggler
Ideal for warm water tactics, the cage on the base of the float can be loaded with bait to allow a trickle of free feed directly around your hookbait. This is also a very effective float to use with a Method feeder when fishing tight to islands.
If you start to get too many liners you can swap to the Impact Bagging Waggler and effectively turn the swim upside down and catch the fish as they feed in midwater.
Vespe Multi Margin Pole Floats
These virtually indestructible stubby little floats are super-stable and ideal for fishing the margins.
More than strong enough to withstand explosive takes when fishing down the edge against reeds, bushes and snags, their shallow water versatility allows them to be used with virtually any bait.
Available in sizes 0.1g, 0.2g, 0.3g and 0.4g.
Garbolino Hard Core floats
Garbolino has just launched these four Hard Core floats built from a new generation waterproof PVC material featuring a central portion that is much harder than normal.
All four patterns have eyes below and above the main body, as well as a guide eye on the body to ensure that your line sits correctly on the harder inner core without digging in.
Extremely buoyant, these floats have small bodies for their size and come with long fibreglass stems glued straight through the bodies and into highly visible plastic antennae.
Maver UFO Pellet Wagglers
Maver has unveiled these superb new mini loaded UFO Pellet Wagglers in 4g, 6g and 8g versions.
They are ideal for very shallow tactics on commercials, cast like a dream, stand up immediately and feature an anti-dive disc that’s quick and simple to fit.
The floats make a plopping sound as they hit the water, mimicking the commotion of big pellets being fed.
Price: £2.99
Drennan Carp 1 and Carp 2 Pole Floats
Drennan's latest Carp 1 and Carp 2 pole floats to their ranges are built with strength in mind, and the high grade balsa bodies will take a good loading of shot.
An ultra-tough acrylic paint finish all but does away with the likelihood of the mainline cutting into the float’s body, and black stainless spring eyes won’t pinch the line when it’s under tension.
A securely bonded carbon stem and hollow plastic Glow Tip with strengthening spigot add still more to the durability of these floats. The Carp 1 is of a slim, body-down oval shape with a medium length 1.5mm diameter hollow tip. The Carp 2’s thicker 1.7mm tip allows you to drag some line along the bottom, and is banded to help with bite detection. Eight sizes from 0.1g up to 1.0g are available with red-black-yellow or yellow-black-yellow banded tips.
Price: £1.75
ESP Marker Darts
These new Marker Darts bridge the size and range gap between the original ESP Mini Markers and Sonar Marker floats. Their blow-moulded bodies are more buoyant than balsa, and much less prone to damage. They cast straight and true, ensuring accuracy at distance even in a crosswind.
The new floats are given designated lead sizes. The small 20cm Dart is best used with 2oz-2.5oz) leads, while the medium 22cm Dart works best with 3oz-3.5oz leads. The result is perfect casting performance which is balanced against the buoyancy of the float, ensuring no loss of feeling when feature-finding.
Price: £7.95
Maver JH Series 1
The perfect pole float for fishing shallow with pellets in summer - short but durable and ideal for ‘slapping’ baits with a thick, hi-visibility bristle for suspending large hookbaits.
Rob Wootton Pole Floats
The 2014 UK Champion and World Pairs wnner Rob Wootton has tried to simplify the confusion surrounding pole floats by introducing just five patterns.
The Slim Finesse is perfect in calm conditions for small carp, F1s and skimmers, especially with pellets, and has a wire stem and 1.5mm bristle. The Slim Power is a beefed-up version for proper carp, with a stronger fibreglass stem, thick hollow bristle and stronger spring eye. Of the two fatter floats, the Chubby looks spot-on for margin fishing while the Nick is a scaled-down version with a finer bristle and stem. Finally there’s a shallow-fishing float with a small fat bristle which Rob reckons is perfect for the ‘slapping’ method.
To find your local stockist, contact the Rob Wootton Fishing page on Facebook or phone him on 07969 203985.
Price: £2 per float
Maver JH Series 5
Versatility is the key to this float, designed specifically for open water venues that are affected by the wind. An extremely stable pattern with a positive bristle and long stem for tackling deep water.
