Several times a year I get asked if I can make a float that is not listed on my website nor available anywhere else - if I can, i use my skills and understanding of the materials I work with daily to help make an anglers ideas, dreams and inspirations come to fruition.
While I wish I had the time available to take on every one of these projects as I relish the challenge, sadly I have to fit them into my existing workload. My order book is never empty - good for business, not so good for how much fishing I get to do! Also it means I am not able to take on every request, but do not let that deter you from asking. All requests are filed and occasionally that file gets reviewed when I have time. Sometimes, a request comes along that just piques my interest or the challenge of trying to make it, just too tempting. Oddly that tends to happen when I am snowed under and stressed - yes, I make 'new idea' floats to unwind - I am wierd like that!
VARIOUS EXAMPLES OF CUSTOM FLOATS
Below are some custom floats made for falconer Martin Cox of Sharandy's birds of Prey in Somerset. These are Golden Eagle (Saxon - pictured below), Peregrine Falcon (Jinny, seen being held by Chris Yates at Redmire) and Giant Eagle Owl floats (all legally made from captive bred birds with all the correct paperwork).
Quintessentially 'Redmire'
One of the great joys of my work is being asked (and trusted) several times a year to bring someones dreams alive - to help them, using my knowledge of materials and float making together with their inginuity and imagination, to create something new - a totally custom float that very often will be a one off, but occasionally goes on to become a top seller!
Above are self cocking 1oz and 0.5oz Cork floats, designed by Rod Worrall of Plymouth. These have a 3 way swivel at the top to fish the top 3 feet of water for garish and mackerel although they have now accounted for many good sea bass and even a John Dory! Rod (and several anglers near him) were amazed when giviing the first prototypes a spin watched the float shoot out 80 yards with a 'gentle' cast, sit perfectly, were highly visible and next thing Rod was winding in a garfish, then another, then another. He returned to me the next day with orders for another 40 floats. That day he caught a record number of Garfish - saying that the floats were working great and actually worked as a self hooking bolt rig and better than anything he had used in 40 years sea angling! Top marks then Mr. Worral on an awesome design. Maybe some carp anglers should give them a whirl as ''Bolt rig - surface marker floats!''
I love the challange and to some extent the trial and error phase during production to create these orders
Some custom orders are quite simple - mearly a slight tweek of a listed pattern, and for these the charges are negligable at most, however, some are real brain testers and require the production of multiple trial floats to hone down on the final measurements required (this would be the case if you require a float of a specific length AND a specific cocking weight).
My ever popular carp margin dart was created at the request of a customer, who having bought a missile, liked what he saw, just wanted it smaller - like 1/3rd the size and asked if it were possible as he had some finiky (large) carp crusing the margins at dusk where he fished. On receiveing the prototype, he went out and landed a fish of 22lb along with a couple of high teens - all less than a rod length from the bank he was on! We decided the design needed no further tweeking. The list of carp, large and small caught using this float around the world is now very large indeed!
Thank you Alan - a winning idea.
