Ian Lewis handmade predator floats

I've never previously penned any product reviews on my blog, largely because I've never claimed to be anything other than a very average angler; passionate, addicted, mad keen, but in terms of ability only ordinary. However two things have caused me to change my mind: (1) If Matt Hayes or John Wilson write a product review the product is being endorsed by an angler with the watercraft, experience and intuitive fish catching ability that would enable them to empty a river or lake using a cane pole and a bent pin. If, on the other hand, I write a review there's every chance that the reader is- at the very least- as proficient as me, and quite probably better. If I can achieve good results with a product anyone can. (2) I'm such a fan of Ian's floats that they deserve to be commended to others. One last thing that needs saying- I am not a sponsored angler, and have no commercial link up with Ian; I write merely as a keen purchaser and user of the floats that he painstakingly makes in the traditional way. The photo above shows some of my collection of his predator floats, but I will limit this review to the two styles that I most commonly use for my piking.

 

 

The photo above shows three of Ian's standard pike slider floats. A style of float known by all predator anglers these are simplicity itself to fish. A stop knot and bead (or its modern equivalent the plastic float stop) sets the depth, a Fox sinker or heavy shot adds weight and a wire trace completes the set up. The line slides through the centre of the float, and the whole thing can be set up and fishing in minutes. Ian's floats utilise balsa, come in a range of sizes, and are available either in plain varnished balsa style or painted in a British Racing Green colour. I have both, and can confirm that they look equally stunning. More importantly, the float does exactly what you'd expect it to do when a livebait is bobbing away beneath it, and when a pike runs with the bait.

The other float from Ian's predator range that I have used is his newly offered "American style" pike slider, which is basically a refinement of the original. Attractively presented in a two tone balsa and Racing Green colour scheme, this float has the central hole as an insert that protrudes at both the tip and the base of the float. In every other way it is identical to the original pike slider, and this has become my pike float of choice.

I have also recently taken delivery of a float described as a cork Zander slider (although it would be equally good for pike if used with a small bait), which I have not yet had an opportunity to put to the test. However, it, along with Ian's other pike floats which include traditional bung-shaped offerings and an exquisite  looking copy of a vintage pike float, appears to be lovingly made, and I'm confident it would do everything asked of it.

Predator floats are only a small part of what Ian makes. As one of the country's few fulltime, professional floatmakers he has an extensive range of river and lake floats, avons, wagglers, perch bobs and the like, all made to traditional styles using reed, quill, cork and balsa. I almost exclusively use his floats for my general coarse fishing, and a 3BB scorched waggler has been my "go to" float for most of this season and has accounted for personal best perch and golden orfe this year. Check out his full range of floats at www.handmadefishingfloats.co.uk

In summary, Ian's predator range are functional and effective in use, and have far more character than any float from a mass produced plastic range. I've used them and caught on them, and would recommend them to any angler, as well as suggesting that any fisherman could do a lot worse than to peruse  Ian's website for their general float fishing needs, too- however, be warned: you may end up with a "wish list" of alarming proportions!

 

Party crashing perch

Pardon my foray into the world of poetry, but here's my summary of this month's fishing in verse;

No sun,
No warmth,
No fish,
November.

My fishing year, which began with a bang in January with a run of pike culminating in a river caught 14 pounder, is ending with a decided whimper.

Technically I didn't blank today (as I had on my previous trip this month), but with pike as my intended quarry I only succeeded in catching live baits ..... and even that was a struggle.

 

In fairness, things could have been worse. The day, though cold, was sunny and dry, with Britain only just recovering from the tale end of Hurricane Barnaby, and with snow forecast for the weekend and water temperatures low, perhaps we should count ourselves fortunate to have caught anything at all.

 

With tackle for live baiting and spinning, as well as the tiddler snatching gear to catch aforementioned bait, Pete and I felt that we had most eventualities covered as we set up our stall in the early morning chill. Forty minutes in and our float-fished maggots remained untouched, then Pete's float danced a little jig before submerging. His strike met with slightly more spirited resistance than we would have wished for, and a nice perch, too large to serve as bait, was netted and immediately returned. A welcome distraction, but no answer to the pike bait dilemma.

 

 

We persevered a while longer with the float before deciding that spinning might prove a more effective way of garnering small perch to use as live bait. I immediately caught a small perch on a silver and blue spotted spinner, and within minutes it had been transferred from the bait bucket, had been lip hooked with a single treble on a wire trace and was bobbing around underneath a small cigar shaped pike slider.

 

Pete caught another perch on the spinner before switching back to pole and maggot, and had a succession of small perch, as well as this bigger fish, presenting a bait near to a bridge, always a good spot from which to target perch.

 

 

My fishing companion seemed to be enjoying catching perch, and was happy to be diverted for slightly longer than planned, but eventually he set up his pike rod, also presenting a free running livebait. And "that was pretty much that." No pike mauled our baits, the sun rose in the sky and the only action was provided by two stunning kingfishers who treated us to a pleasant aerial display, and a middle aged drug user with little understanding of "personal space" who made friends with both of us, talked nonsense, and then after treating me to a brief dancing demonstration disappeared with a cheery wave.

After our chemically-altered acquaintance had left the scene we spent the last half hour spinning before calling it a day.

It's as well that fishing is about far more than merely catching fish, as  my two pike sessions since October have resulted in just one solitary pike of about half a pound, and November has seen me blank on our club trip and come mighty close to repeating that feat today.

The only member of our circle of fishing friends who has caught a pike this month is David, but he had to travel to Norfolk to catch it, and it was hardly of a size that was going to trouble the record books; however, a pike is a pike, and it's currently Dave 1, Jon 1, Pete 0, Greg 0 from our October and November piking sorties, which- by my calculations, particularly in view of the meagre size of the two we have caught- means that the pike are soundly winning this particular battle of wits.

 

However, such is our addiction that, despite today's underachievement, Pete and I have already planned our next trip. A December "multi-species challenge", floatfishing for whatever comes along at a nearby small stillwater ..... some of us are very slow to learn!



Wet and wild, with no method in my madness ...

Every cloud has a silver lining. Yesterday I blanked, but if you have to blank (and on occasion we all do), then it's much more amenable to blank in excellent company (even if they all catch, as yesterday they did!) than to blank on one's own. I love the image of the lonely, taciturn figure who choses to fish on his own, happy with his own company and putting distance between his troubles by stepping out into the countryside with just a rod, reel and meagre provisions for company, but the reality is that my preference is always to fish with good friends, and I rarely set out alone. Perhaps all of that is why my blanking at yesterday's final Thurnby Church Anglers club outing of 2015 didn't leave me bitter, but, rather, able to reflect on the mistakes that I made in a sanguine state of mind while remembering the whole experience as a "good day".

 

We fished the lake that I had done a recce of last month, and, strangely, my thoroughness in having an exploratory session proved to be a major part of my undoing. Last month, on a much hotter, sunnier day, the carp had only responded to method-fished pellets (which I had switched to in the last hour after a day of only catching small "bits" on  float-fished maggot and caught three carp), and my compatriots had also fared best on method and pellets. The wind was swirling and the rain falling as I packed my gear into Greg's van, and in an effort to leave as much of my tackle clean and not in need of drying out I decided only to take a quivertip rod, small baitrunner reel and all the necessaries for fishing the method (big mistake ....... huge).

 

 

The first indication that I was possibly heading down a blind alley was when Greg, fishing light and float-fishing maggots first lost, and then landed two carp (including this leather). I chose to ignore whatever lessons I should have deduced from that, convinced that my method ball of feed and the drilled pellet hair rigged and hidden inside the groundbait would prove as irresistible to the carp as it had three week's previously. It didn't.

 

 

Roger was the next into a carp, again on maggot, and again float-fishing in the margins. He was using a new centre pin for the first time, and so the fight (which lasted several minutes) was an extra pleasure for him. Eventual pressure saw the fish succumb, and another wet and windswept angler had beaten the appalling conditions and had a smile on his face.

 

 

It would be wrong to give the impression that the fishing was easy. Carp were being caught, but only very sporadically and not in numbers. The rain at times beat down, the wind didn't make watching a float (or quivertip) easy, and with the exception of Mick (who managed seven carp on swimfed maggot and a 1.5 pound hooklink!) no-one was catching prolifically and long spells of inactivity punctuated the morale raising sight of one of our number connected to a fish.

 

 

Once again our friend Roy, an angler from Yorkshire who we've got to know through the Christian Anglers UK website, had joined us, and he was the second most successful fisherman on the day, with four carp to show for his efforts, and the rain, slow fishing and long car journey hasn't deterred him, as he's already e-mailed me to say how much he's looking forward to next year's program of outings. A mad keen angler, it's always a pleasure when we see him arrive at the fishery and greet us in his archetypally White Rose county accent.

 

 

Wayne was the last angler to join the fun in terms of carp, landing a really attractive almost fully scaled mirror on- you've guessed it- float-fished maggot. By now, I really should have taken the hint and begged, borrowed and stolen tackle from the others and set up a float rig, but stubbornly I persisted, hoping against hope that an odd carp would turn up, take the bait and vindicate my decision. It didn't- I read the water wrong, had made the mistake of pre-judging what would be the best approach, was too slow to adapt and paid the price. It's happened before, but I remain slow to learn!

 

 

As the afternoon wore on, and other responsibilities called, tackle was packed up and goodbyes said. Mick had managed seven carp, Roy four, Greg two, and Roger and Wayne one apiece. Carl and Pete had failed to catch carp, but Carl had landed one tench and Pete a succession of perch, while my bait, regularly recast, had remained untouched all day.  Despite being a grueller, the day was universally enjoyed by all the club members, and the formation and success of the club has been the highlight of my angling year (even coming above the captures this year of my personal best perch and largest ever river pike ). Since inception in March we've had seven trips and plans are already being drawn up for 2016.

I guess the conclusion is that while I may not be a particularly good angler I am a sociable one, and the epithet pleasure angler fits as a description of what I derive from fishing as well as my tribal affiliation within it. Rainsoaked, windswept and a blanker, but unbroken and unbowed and already planning my next session.