Review - Nick Gilbert Pole Floats

It's a well used adage in angling that pole floats catch more anglers than fish and its certainly true in my case.

I have dozens of floats that have never seen water and probably never will.Its also true that a handful of patterns would more than likely 'do' for the type of  fishing I partake in , however using the right tool for the job gives me confidence in my gear and presentation.

There is a trend at the moment for hand made floats to be en vogue and I've tried a few makes. Surely there are great mass produced floats out there as well ? Well there are. But again it comes back to confidence again. Trust that the float wont break or bend and do what's asked of it.

Which brings me on to the handmade and Commercial XT pole float range available on-line from Nick Gilbert.

I can easily say that Nick's floats are the best I've ever used. They are beautifully crafted and look good (enough reason on its own for some anglers !); they are strong enough to cope with commercial fish abuse; they carry the shot stated on the float (if I shot 1 float up in a tube, I know others will shot the same without having to go through the full process again) and they are all stable and do the jobs they are meant to do.

The 3 floats shown above are (from top to bottom):-

NG Mini Gimp - 1.5mm hollow tip and wire stem. Lovely short float ideal for fishing shallow, far banks on canal type lakes, or even as a margin float.

NG XT Mini Diamond - 2mm hollow tip and carbon stem. Ideal for bigger baits. However I have used this small float with paste and found compared to my usual long bristled paste floats that bites were more positive. From Nick's commercial range but with the same build quality as the hand mades floats IMO.

NG Decker HD - 1.7mm hollow tip and glass stem. Ideal for fishing on or near the bottom with bigger baits like meat or corn. Very stable float.

NG Gimp Glass (not pictured) 1.2mm hollow tip and glass stem. Tremendously versatile float, great for maggots, pellets etc for F1s and silvers on commercials. If I could only choose 1 float for all my fishing, this would it. Another stable, sensitive float.

The floats are available in a myriad of sizes with different tip diameters (& colours) and stem materials or diameters too, so you really can tailor the float to your own specification.

Nick's website is at  www.float-store.co.uk   The XT range are usually available from stock whilst there is a few week wait for the hand mades. The price for the hand made floats is possibly at the premium end of the scale, but these floats are not one session wonders like some I've used. If you've ever had an eye rip out or the float take on water and sit lower during your session you will know what I mean. The price and small waiting time for delivery are worth it and I'll be expanding my own collection soon !

Thanks

Robin

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