The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

does anyone collect these floats ive had a look at his web site and they look lovely i though id treat myself to the gazzette pike float i rang him up and had a chat he was a really nice chap

I don't collect them myself but have spent a fair few hours dreamily looking at his website. A few have come up on ebay and the prices they are commanding they seem to be very collectable! I'm not surprised as they are wonderful looking floats. I say treat yourself Mazza, the fellow is a true craftsman and one of his creations would enhance any day on the water.

INCOMING !!!!




:notlisterning:

I was wondering if you'd manage to resist commenting Nobby.....

Being a fairly new forum member, am I to take it Nobby isn't a fan!?

Andrew Field's floats seem to devide people's opinions, Hannay. There are those that believe them to be truely beautiful things (which they absolutely are), and then there are those that believe them to be guilded lillys. All I can say myself is that when something looks as nice as one of his floats and costs probably ten times it's equally functional, but perhaps less pretty tackle shop equivalent, then I'd be scared to use the thing.

Ahh, I see. I take it then that Nobby is in the gilded lily camp! I admit that some of them are perhaps not to my taste and a little elaborate, it's the quills and wagglers that catch my eye. I'm still using Harcork floats from years ago, although I did order some floats made by George 387 which were superb (both practically and aesthetically). It's always nice to own something handcrafted and I gather Mazza is a great enthusiast for angling artwork so i'm sure these'll be perfect for him.

Hannay wrote:Ahh, I see. I take it then that Nobby is in the gilded lily camp! I admit that some of them are perhaps not to my taste and a little elaborate, it's the quills and wagglers that catch my eye. I'm still using Harcork floats from years ago, although I did order some floats made by George 387 which were superb (both practically and aesthetically). It's always nice to own something handcrafted and I gather Mazza is a great enthusiast for angling artwork so i'm sure these'll be perfect for him.

I'm pretty sure that Nobby would run a country mile from any camp called Guilded Lily. At least I hope he would.

My comments weren't in relation to Nobby's post anyhow, Hannay, just a comment in general. I'm sure the Nobster probably likes Andrew's floats.

I wouldn't say I'm not a fan of his workmanship. He is an artist, without a doubt and a highly skilled one at that. He's also a pretty good close-up photographer too.


I posted the 'incoming' bit because whenever his floats are mentioned on a forum the discussion gets very heated with sides drawn as to whether a float that fancy can ever be fit for purpose. One side sees them as a work of art, with some wanting nothing more than a curio for the desktop, the other side sees them ( and this side seems to get the mosty vociferous ) saying they are too fancy, won't fish well and far too expensive. I first saw his floats a couple of years ago on the Fishing Magic forum. The discussion that followed and the course it took was one of the reasons I don't visit that forum anymore.


At the end of the day( to use the modern expression ) a 'thing' is worth what somebody is prepared to pay for it. I've no idea how many floats he sells, but he's gone from a blog, to a website, and is now offering a lot of other tackle too.



The old saying has it that immitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there are now many sellers offering home-made floats on eBay. Some bear quite a similarity to Andrew's. Some are of a very high standard, whilst some seem to ignore the forms developed after years and years of float fishing.

My word. Wasn't aware of how strong people have felt about this in the past. Funny what gets us going isn't it? I won't go over old ground or re-open old wounds but would just like to thank Nobby and Mr. Clarke for explaining. Such a friendly forum!