Drake Finesse Small Eyed Slider Benwick Sports is the No1 source of the excellent Drake Floats and I’m lucky enough to have been sent some for review.
They are not the first Drake wagglers I’ve had – I bought some super-long, straight Drake wagglers for fishing the Wide Welland and the North Bank of the Nene a few years ago – superb, super long floats that got the bulk under the surface drift and enabled you present your bait effectively even in a horrid downstream wind.
And in these days when everything seems to be dominated by commercial fisheries, it’s refreshing to see that the art of making high quality hand-made waggler floats lives on with Drake Floats. And it’s even more refreshing to learn from Adrian at Benwick Sports that demand for them is higher than ever.
One of the key features of all the floats is the high quality peacock quill in use. Thin or thick, there is never any doubt that the best antenna material is chosen. Another is the fine, hard-wearing finish. Plus you can rely on them taking the marked weighting.
The Finesse Sliders are new pattern designed to take less weight than a standard slider float for when more finesse is required. Or to put is slightly differently, for when you can’t get away with a big bulk – for example where skimmers, roach or hybrids rather than big bream are the target.
These balsa-bodied floats come in 13-inch and 14-inch versions and the length is important for stability, especially when there’s a chop. In designer Adrian’s words, it also allows the float to ‘stick’ to the surface while the shot settles. There’s also a straight waggler version which is 12-inches long. Available in six sizes from 1.6gr up to 5.6gr and costing from £1.99, it’s also very important to point out the float eye, which is especially small so that you have no issues with it catching on the slider knot. Impressive.
Geepster

Fact File

Product: Drake Finesse Small Eyed Slider
Sizes and prices: 12-inch straights £1.99 at 1.6gr and 2.4gr; 13-inch bodied £2.99 at 3.2gr and 4gr; 14-inch bodied £2.99 at 4.8gr and 5.6gr
Website: http://www.benwick-sports.co.uk
Email: info@benwick-sports.co.uk
Telephone: 01353 721009