Pole floats - using rubbers instead of eyes

For a while now I have been asking Nick Gilbert to make my floats without eyes. This includes glass stem deck floats as well as dibbers but here I will talk about the deck float.



On the long deck floats I use 4 rubbers on the stem and 2 on the tip and if you can find the right diameter silicon then you can make the end rubbers tight and the middle rubbers a bit looser to make sliding the float up and down the line easier. I also ensure the bottom rubber is around 10mm plus so it over-hangs the stem a little to keep the line under the stem and not to the side and it also provides more grip. I use 2 rubbers on the tip in case 1 splits and also so that I can slide one up to the tip if I want to, perhaps for paste fishing when you want absolute direct control of the float.

The reason I only use rubbers is that you have less components to suffer wear and tear, especially in snag pits and it reduces the chances of tangles and hook-ups, especially in windy conditions. I have even used this set-up with back-shot when the two top rubbers are at the base of the tip and find that I prefer this to any rig where the float has eyes. Let's face it, we don't need eyes on stick floats do we?

No doubt there will be those that insist having eyes is better but for Carp and larger silvers on days when bites are plentiful, I find using rubbers is simple, reliable and saves time.