Handmade Balsa Floats

If you are like me, you thrive on being outside in whatever nature can throw at you.  When it goes down to zero, as it right now, there are limit options.  To fill my head with thoughts of fishing in these cold times, I started building steelhead floats.   After a quick visit to Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics, I was ready to become an expert at this craft.  My purchases included, ½ inch square balsa wood, craft dowels, and airbrush paint.

My interest in floats stems mainly from my experiences using a Drennan Loafer.  This float is by far the best all around Steelhead killer you can hook on your line.  Its design allows it to find current seams and, in many cases, fish slower in faster current than other floats.   Another reason I am so sold on this float is the way it telegraghs your bait dragging bottom if set too deep.  Other floats I have used just don’t “tell a story” like it. Here lies the difficulty with the Drennan Loafer; it only comes in sizes up to 8 grams.  When you fish in big water with this float, it is too small to see and limits your ability to shot up. 

My mission is to build a super-sized balsa float that acts like a super-sized Drennan Loafer.  To date, I have yet to be successful.  I am still paying homage to the Joe Montello, another blogger and float maker, after seeing the beautiful custom floats he produces.  With only a widdling knife, drill and wood, I am a bit disadvantaged in my ability to produce really crisp end product. 

In the picture above, you can see my progression from production balsa to Izotops to Ravens/Drennans and now my carved floats.  It is very interesting to read about how the English have really evolved float designs, but they don't have more manufacturers producing Loafers.  My first generation floats are 1" - 2" longer than the Drennan Loafer, identical in diameter, and different in the stem.  These floats pictured all use 1/8" bamboo stems taken from my barbecue collection.