Dave Coster's How To- Change Float Tip Colours FAST

This entry was posted on 3rd February, 2020

With a low winter sun it can be tricky to see your pole float antenna, especially when the light changes so dramatically and quickly at this time of the year. A speedy way of altering hard to see float tips, when fishing against a backdrop of white water, is to use a black felt tip marker pen. Waterproof versions don’t wash off and dry in a few seconds. The only problem with this is the black ink won’t wipe away. Normally you have to scrape or sand it off and repaint if you want to get a favourite float back to its original tip colour. But there is another option…



I always carry a good selection of pole float silicone, which includes several different colours and diameters, all useful for anchoring the wire or carbon stems of my various pole floats onto main line. I pick out a few black or dark coloured pieces and carefully push these onto the top part of the float’s antenna. Pole float rubbers are extremely light, so they will hardly affect how the float sits in the water, especially if you only push a few on. By going darker and making the float tip thicker, it will stand out a lot more clearly when fishing against a white surface in open water.



The great thing about using float rubbers is you can return the tip colour to its original state in seconds, should conditions change, or if you don’t want to risk spoiling a favourite float. It’s also possible to use bigger diameter pieces of silicone tubing on larger running line floats like wagglers, sticks and Avons. You can still use a waterproof marker pen of course. Yet another option, I’ve spotted in a couple of Angling Direct superstores, is Sensas Float Bristle Paint. This has an applicator brush and can applied in seconds, coming in black, white, yellow and red hues.