Making the crowquill avon
They were made very popular by Bristol match ace “Topper” Haskins who has used these floats to dominate matches on the Bristol Avon. However, Topper has moved on to using polystyrene bodies with his crow quill avons whilst I have stuck to the more traditional balsa wood bodies. Unlike Topper I have not yet mastered the techniques of working with high density polystyrene foam so at present I am stuck with the older body material.The balsa bodied version still can be made to hold plenty of shot and perform very well under the right conditions. I have still caught more barbel and chub on these floats than any other, particularly on the Hampshire Avon and the River Kennet. These floats are also very good out in the punt when the river is carrying extra water. I regularly use one of these floats when out in fast water fishing from a Francis Francis Club punt on the Tidal Thames.The balsa wood body gives the float its high shot carrying capacity whilst the crow quill top makes the float sensitive. This float is best fished with three float caps. One at the top where the balsa body meets the tip. The second on the stem where it leaves the balsa with the final cap on the bottom of the crow quill stem. These three float caps not only hold the float firmly in position but also protect the stem from folding.
Making the crowquill avon
MaterialsCrow quill, balsa wood, craft knife, cellulose dope, black paint, base white, epoxy glue, fluorescent orange paint, green paint, glass paper, paint brushes and whipping thread.Note: Crow quills can often be picked up from your local park. It is illegal to shoot crows as they are now a protected bird.TechniqueYou can shape the balsa wood by hand but I take the backache out of the job by using an electric drill. I drill out the balsa wood and insert a length of wood dowel. The wooden dowel is inserted in the drill chuck and the balsa wood turned. Using glass paper the body is shaped. However I often cheat by buying in ready drilled and shaped bodies. I used to buy mine from Veals tackle shop in Bristol.I now strip the crowquill using the sharp knife and smooth them with a piece of fine glass paper. The epoxy resin glue (I use Araldite) is mixed and the body glued onto the quill.For extra strength, I whip the base of the body and stem area with large open turns to the base that is finished with a neat whipping. This gives the quill stem extra strength and also improves the appearance.Once I’ve whipped the float the whole thing is covered in cellulose dope to seal it. Once the float is dry it is painted black.The tip of the float is painted with base white. The float is left to let the paint dry before the tip is given a coat of fluorescent orange paint.I like my floats to have a mottled body. I apply green paint with a sponge to finish the float. Another attractive alternative is to mottle with brown paint.
I believe that the polystyrene bodied version of the crowquill avon are now commercially available from Veals in Bristol or directly from Topper. It’s certainly worth a try