The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Some time back I found one of these Zephyr antennae floats in a box of various bits and pieces at a collectors fair. Jacko79 asked how the float sat in the water and not having a clue I decided to give it a go and see how it sat. After a long search I found the float that I had safely put away.. too safe for my own good, but soon I had a jug of water and a few shot to give it a try. On the side of the float is printed 'Zephyr' and '5B' I assumed that the number and shot size was for a 5BB loading so that is what I used. In the pictures below I loaded the float with 5, then 6 then 7BB of shot, the 7BB took the float right under. One thing I noticed about the float is that the varnish used to coat it is coloured green, the eye of the float retains a thin film of this green varnish. The antennae is made of copper wire.

5BB of shot


6BB of shot


7BB of shot takes the float down so that the top of the red diamond shape is level with the surface of the water so you cannot see
any part of the float above water! I did not have a deep enough container to show this.



5B printed on side of float and Zephyr just round the other side.


Green varnish left in the eye


Length of float

I believe the number refers to the length of the body (5") and B stands for 'broad-body' as opposed to the slimmer standard style

I know nothing about this float so any known knowledge will only add to this thread, thanks Wagtail.

I think that number does mean the length....look at this:







That said, a 5B was only supposed to take 4BB....clearly shot ain't what it used to be.......

5B is shown as a plain float Nobby, mine has Zephyr 5B on the side and is an Antennae, which seems odd as the fairy? antennae have an altogether different sequence of numbers/letters. Has anyone else got one of these floats and can state what is printed on the side?

I will check when I get back from my holiday. If I forget give me a reminder!!!!

Could you have a look at your float please Bob Brookes, to see what is printed on the side. 5B is a type number number as was originally said by Pafpuff when I found this float and Nobby's article shows this float with a different name to mine. I started my shotting at 5BB on a whim based on the floats number but am not really sure how this float should sit in the water and how is it supposed to work, do you know? So many questions...anyway it would be nice to know what your float says if you don't mind.

I have just taken the 2 attached photo's which I hope shows the size and the markings. The number refers to the body length and the B to the thickness (Broad?)
With regard to the usage of the float my guess would be that it is specifically suited for still-water fishing at distance. If I were to use it, I would shot it down as if it it didn't have the antenna. The antenna would probably be to give some extra viewing distance. Again that is just my thoughts.
Sorry for the delay in replying.
Bob




PS: Mine is bigger than yours!

Cheers Bob that is much appreciated and I must just say.... show off, its not how big it is, it is how you use it. I see yours has the same type markings as mine, I wonder what a fairy antennae was as there are no other antennae floats on Nobbys list and the ones shown have a completely different code mark. It would be nice to see an article in a mag or book which talks about these floats in depth, but I suppose I had better go to sleep before I start dreaming. Once again thanks for the reply and the pictures and one final thing I see yours looks to have the remains of a green coloured varnish in the eye like my example.

Reedling wrote:Cheers Bob that is much appreciated and I must just say.... show off, its not how big it is, it is how you use it. I see yours has the same type markings as mine, I wonder what a fairy antennae was as there are no other antennae floats on Nobbys list and the ones shown have a completely different code mark. It would be nice to see an article in a mag or book which talks about these floats in depth, but I suppose I had better go to sleep before I start dreaming. Once again thanks for the reply and the pictures and one final thing I see yours looks to have the remains of a green coloured varnish in the eye like my example.

Which probably goes to show that the previous owners weren't sure how to use them either.