‘Having read sometime in the past that the best time to harvest the reed is after the stems have died down, and the best reed for colour was that which had grown beneath the surface of the water’
Norfolk, what a glorious county…and that’s coming from a Yorkshireman…! Some years ago I was contacted by our esteemed editor Peter regarding the construction of a landing net. As a result of that first contact, a visit to Norfolk was arranged: Peter was a great host and that particular visit triggered a string of similar trips to Norfolk for my wife and me. The countryside is wonderful, the fishing is wonderful and the wildlife is something to behold.
We were on our annual visit and we were touring the coast one day when something clicked in my mind and we stopped: around us were acres and acres of Norfolk Reed. I had made quite a number of reed floats in the past from some reed that Peter had collected for me. Now it was time for me to collect a few stems of my own to expand my float collection.
I had, after using the first few reed stems, looked around for alternatives and discovered that pampas grass was a good substitute but it had a tendency to being oval as opposed to round in the stem. This was not really a problem as the shape did not affect the usability. However, now I was able to collect some ‘proper’ Norfolk Reed for myself.
Having read sometime in the past that the best time to harvest the reed is after the stems have died down, and the best reed for colour was that which had grown beneath the surface of the water. We were there at the wrong time of year and I had no wellingtons. Anyway, nothing ventured and all that. I gathered a great armful of reed and stashed it in the car.
Let me say now that I am no expert in this matter, I cannot hope to equal the acknowledged masters of the art of float-making but, as an enthusiastic amateur, my fumblings do work, maybe not as finely finished as some, and the finer decorations will never much improve upon what I can do now. What I can say is that they function correctly and as planned. I will never know what their shotting patterns and weights are until I actually slide them onto my line and see how they cock in the water. So, onward and upward, as the saying goes…
Eight months later, the reed had been in the workshop and was now bone-dry. I decided it was time to clean it up and sort out suitable lengths for float-making. Firstly, the outer shell was removed where it was loose then I cut the reed into suitable lengths for storing. I ended up with about 80 or so pieces of various diameters, which was useful. The reed was now quite tough and stiff, ready for being transformed into working floats.
I set out a few tools on the bench and set to work. On the bench, along with the reed I had a junior hacksaw to cut it, a couple of drills to open the ends of the reed stems to accept a stem of a lower diameter, a scribing tool to make the first guide hole in the end of the reed and a pair of wire snips for cutting the bamboo skewers that I use for the tips and bottoms of floats. I also had a tube of superglue for gluing the reed pieces, together with some fine sandpaper and a ruler.
Firstly, I had to decide what type of floats to make; I decided on a couple of antennas and a couple similar to what these days are called ‘wagglers’ I believe. These were to be constructed as ‘Norfolk reed insert’ floats.
After measuring (well, not actually measuring, as I used the ‘byt rack ‘o’ th’eye’, as they say in Yorkshire: just a combination of cutting and guesswork really), cutting and drilling I had the parts for four floats laid out. These were constructed at first without any glue in order to ensure the parts were a snug fit.
The main body, the inserts and, finally, the bamboo parts all fitted reasonably well, so glue was applied and the floats-in-making were set aside. The next task was to create a seamless joint between the parts. I had used normal dry decorators’filler with added water when making pampas or reed floats in the past and it had worked well but had a tendency to occasionally crack when dry which was very frustrating when the floats were sanded back. One evening, while watching a TV programme called ‘The Repair Shop’ I had a eureka moment!
A very clever woman who was a ceramics repair specialist was using a two-part epoxy putty to repair various damaged ornaments etc. I thought this item would be OK for float-making so ordered some. It is as cheap as the dry filler, easy to mix and apply and, best of all, needs practically no sanding back since, when mixed, it can be smoothed into the ‘steps’ on the float bodies by wiping with a damp finger. This method leaves a nice smooth transition from one level to the next. It looks a bit suspect when you open it.
The two parts, when mixed, turn to a pale lime green but take any stain and paint very well. So, onward we go; the floats were filled using the above. I should say at this point that I made two sets of two, almost identical, floats, each to be a different colour to its twin but identical (hopefully) in shotting weight, so that the floats can be changed over in use should the light conditions change.
The floats were set aside overnight, allowing the epoxy putty to harden off. Next day, the epoxy was hard and the float bodies were gently sanded back to remove any gloss or stray epoxy. Now it was time to start the colour finishes. I use spirit stain and ordinary water-based paints for the colours. Some float-makers use other types of paint, such as oil-based gloss or maybe acrylic and have fantastic results.
I am a bit impatient and cannot wait for paints to dry for days on end so I have used water-based paint for years and it works for me. It takes a half hour at most to dry so I can press on with construction. This is the time when I think the floats look their worst.
The white tips are painted with quick-dry, indoor paint, the green bodies are just children’s, green, water-based paint applied with a piece of kitchen roll which, once applied thinly, leaves the grain of the reed showing through which I personally like. The brown bases and middles receive spirit-based wood-stain. This is the stage when I begin to decide how I am going to finish the floats. I have decided that the tips should be yellow or red, so more water-based paint is applied to the tips. Two coats are more than sufficient, giving a nice,traditional colour scheme.
I have to say that I am in awe of some float-makers, in particular our fellow Raconteur Micky Erends makes the most wonderfully decorated floats and has a very steady hand when applying trim lines and ‘Mr Crabtree’ decoration. His float finishes are impossible for me to equal. However, I do my best with other methods, using just plain whippings to make the trim-lines and a bit of decoration does the job.
The whippings are applied and a thin, brass-wire float ring is formed over a bicycle spoke, then cut to length and whipped on. To all intents and purposes the float is complete now,apart from waterproof varnishing. First, I give the floats three coats of water-based, silk varnish; this should seal the whippings and prevent any colour bleed from the final three coats of Spar varnish. At this stage I must be patient and leave the final coats of varnish to completely harden off and then the floats will be ready for use.
The finished articles…
Float-making has been a hobby of mine since I first started fishing at the age of about ten years old. I must have made thousands and it gets to be a bit of an obsession; the various ways to decorate and finish a float must be infinitesimal. Sometimes I scorch the reed to give a vintage look, sometimes just a plain stain gives a pleasing finish. Various colours, body styles and combinations of balsa, quill, reed, etc, all offer a good float variety. I do, however, always use whipping to make trim-lines; I suspect that as I am now getting older, the ability to hold a fine brush steady will never be achieved.
Pampas grass antennas: these floats are constructed from easily obtained pampas grass, which has very similar properties to reed.
A few of my ‘user’ floats, although I admit that I will probably never actually use the majority of them, despite carrying them around with me on every visit to the water.
A few various reed ‘Avon’ floats, some with quill inserts.
I have even ventured into the hallowed grounds of making ‘Avons’ and making a few antennas from wine corks,something I have not attempted before.
Recently I was gifted a goodly selection of elephant grass; this is extremely tough stuff and makes floats that are similar in appearance to Norfolk reed but are much more durable. I do not have any at the moment as the few that I made have been passed on to other anglers. I shall be making more very soon though.
‘Things can only get better’ as the saying goes…
So there you have it. It is not so difficult once you have decided what you want; floats can be as plain or highly decorated as you like, in fact, one which I use when surface fishing with crust is actually just a twig from a tree with a float-rubber at each end. I guess my idea is that the carp will just regard a twig as a bit of natural debris floating around, as opposed to a gaudily decorated float from my float-tube. Fish are, after all, more at home in their environment than we will ever be.
Writing & Images David Craine, Licolnshire June ’25
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