The Invention and Development of Carp Wizard surface Carp Fishing Float.

Carp! The very sound conjures up every carp anglers dream of "the big one", and quite a number of the carp angling fraternity will have in mind 'off the top'.

Pictures spring to mind of favourite carp venues, lily pads, weed beds, overhanging trees and balmy summer days and nights, accompanied by the sound of a big carp 'clooping'. We all know this sound, it's a carp sucking something succulent off the surface which makes that very distinctive noise, and carp anglers worth their salt will be instantly alert with all senses at the highest possible pitch. The mind is immediately working overtime to locate the fish, to assess the suitability of the tackle currently being used for the job of trying to catch it, and planning the next move.

Be honest now, we've all gone through it, haven't we? It's usually from April to October that the main contest between angler and carp takes place, the fish move more freely and feed more readily during this period. It may appear that the odds are in favour of the carp, well protected in their habitat of weed growth and rushes, with natural food all around them, so it falls to the angler to try and fool them into taking the bait.

The angling methods for carp fall broadly into three general headings, ledger, float and 'off the top'. In ledgering or float fishing, the anticipation is in watching the float or the movement or sound of a bite indicator, and each of these methods have their obvious merits. But the feeding habits of the noble carp vary from water to water and not one particular method is supreme. In the two methods mentioned above, the bait is naturally out of sight of the angler , who has very little idea as to what is happening at the hook end. Everything depends on the fish actually moving the bait sufficientlyto send a signal to the float or bite indicator before there is any awareness of interest by a fish.

Remote alarms for ledgering have enabled some anglers to retire to the comfort of their camp bed whilst awaiting a bite, but for the float angler, his eyes are firmly fixed on the float, watching for the slightest tremor to alert him to the carps' interest in the bait below. From the floats' action, judgements have to be made as to the correct moment to strike and connect with the fish, hopefully a big one.However, for sheer tense anticipation and excitement, this must surely rest with the 'off the top' method. Fishing 'off the top' , the bait is always in full view of the angler and most importantly, the fish. The slightest movement just below the surface near the bait, is instantly registered and this transforms the angler into a coiled spring ready to trigger a strike, should the bait be taken. Every circling moment of the fish interested in the surface bait is recorded in the eye of the angler, whilst the carp is trying to work out if it really is a 'freebee' or something more deadly.The fish do have a few ways of 'testing' to work this out and line from a controller rig or freeline have been known to put a big carp off. After all, he only managed to grow big by being crafty. Carp have also been known to gently tug the bait under and let go, presumeably testing the natural buoyancy, or to nudge the bait out of the water to see what happens. Just about every carp angler will have experienced these events at some time or another.

But lets change the scene, two old codgers are trudging along the bank on a summers eve after a reasonable days carping, and stop chat to a fellow angler, who has a camper van, and is obviously there for a day or two, and the conversation goes much as usual among 'brothers of the angle:- Codgers "Anything doing?" Camper Van "Well there would be if I could get this to work". The problem appeared to involve a table tennis ball,a knitting needle, and various bits of wire, rings, tape and lead. Camper Van explained "These carp are too crafty to take off the top with a controller rig, they shy away from the line, so I'm trying to shove this knitting needle through the table tennis ball, attach the rings and balance the arm with the lead. This will hang the line vertically which should fool the fish, but I've been struggling for quite a few hours with no luck.The problem is that it won't hang together long enough to make a cast". Codgers "Best of luck, keep trying".

During the drive home things were quiet in the codgers' car, but eventually thoughts were aired on the Camper Van Mans problem, and it was agreed that we should turn our minds to it, as the approach did seem logical. A plan was hatched to find a solution and words like 'pike float', 'wire arm', 'lead','balsa', 'cork', and others were bandied about, and it was agreed that we meet the next day to talk things over.

The next day. Codger 1. "I've made a float, it's just ready for testing". This proved to be a champagne cork with a hole drilled through the middle, a piece of lead glued into a slot at the bottom and a piece of spring wire about six inches long, with a loop at the top, glued into the top of the cork. Codger 2 "Looks great, lets try it in you water butt". So to the butt, the device is rested on the water and gently released, whereon it sinks gracefully to the bottom, and is probably still there!

But, undaunted, the experiments continued, pike floats were favourite and the various combinations of arms, keels and floats were well into double figures before a satisfactory formula was found. Two floats were finally produced and plans were made for real testing on our favourite carp pond, and to our amazement, they worked first time.

Over the next five years these floats were gradually refined and a full patent obtained, and during that time, considerable interest was shown by other 'off the top' anglers when we successfully used the float on most of the carp ponds in our area. Our all time best take was sixty five carp fron 2lb to 12 lbin a two hour spell, and at least as many again were lost. Frequent requests were received as to where these floats could be purchased, but the message was that no plans had been made to productionise or market it. So many reqests were received that the next logical move was proper manufacture. It was soon realised that cork was out of the question, as this material is too difficult to work without specialist machinery, so the search was on for materials to do the job, and after many, many trials involving dozens of experiments with materials and glues, the problems were overcome.

The credit for this work must go to our engineering colleague who found the body material and the correct glue, which actually melts the two halves of the float body together, making the float practically indestructible, and finding the correct stainless wire for the arm. The correct design of weight and position of the keel had also to be calculated, and all these operations needed tooling. The float is also totally manufactured in the UK to strict standards.

The whole process of evolution of todays Carp Wizard Surface Fishing Float has taken some twelve years, but finally what we consider to be the ultimate float for 'off the top' carping is available to everyone, and it really works.

Codger 1. Reg Pope (sadly now deceased)
Codger 2 Bernie Orwin (sadly now deceased)
Engineer Tom Carder

Bernie Orwin, 2000.

As of 2nd April 2008, it is with great sadness that I can announce the passing away of Bernie Orwin, Husband of Joan, Father of Tracy and Grandfather of Ptolemy. The baton has been handed over to Tracy Rydin-Orwin and together with the production director, Tom, the float will continue. The World has lost a gem and someone that would being fun and love to all those that knew him.

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