Rigging Up With Malman Floats
White Acres is fast approaching, so time for the obligatory ‘look at my lovingly tied pole rigs’ album! Other than a few shallow specials, 90% of my rigs now sport handmade Malman Floats designs.
I’ve owned some of Gaz’s creations for years and cannot fault them. Near-indestructible, some with titanium stems rather than wire, no spring eyes to catch in the surface tension and only a little sheen of paint on their extra-tough foam bodies. That’s a big advantage compared to shop-bought balsas that could have as much as six coats of acrylic paint to toughen them up. It also means Malman Floats stay nice and small yet they take plenty of shot. He’s even fashioned a chunky little design called a Mojo just for me!
I currently use the following:
Carbon Roobs (2mm hollow tip and carbon stem) on 0.20mm and 0.18mm main lines for big carp and big baits.
Dusty Titans (1.5mm hollow tip and titan stem) on 0.16mm main line for small carp and F1s in good conditions.
Dolphin Titans (1.5mm hollow tip and titan stem) on 0.18mm main line for general carp in choppy conditions.
Secrets (1mm plastic tip and carbon stem) on 0.14mm and 0.16mm main line for silverfish and F1s.
Mojos (2mm hollow tip and glass stem) on 0.18mm and 0.20mm main lines for margin, island and shallow work.
Happiness is a tray full of pole rigs, all nice and neatly lined up like soldiers!