So I’ve got a little range of bolo floats.

[Kevin Steele]

Can I ask, when does an Avon float become a bolo float? (Or vice versa.) I've read various things on the internet about bolo floats and bolo fishing, much of it seems vague as well as contradictory, so I'm still none the wiser as to a definition.
.

 

[Ian Woods]

Can I ask, when does an Avon float become a bolo float? (Or vice versa.) I've read various things on the internet about bolo floats and bolo fishing, much of it seems vague as well as contradictory, so I'm still none the wiser as to a definition.
.

Keith, the body of an avon float is more like a rugby ball shape, whereas a bolo has a lot more shoulder, kinda like an upside down tear shape and is more stable when holding back, or in choppy riffles etc.

 

[Paul Rogers]

Another interested party. Yesterday with conditions not really being right for barbel, I went float fishing for the first time in years. Long trotting 40yds or so and finding the shop brought tips too hard to see.
I caught one fish, and it has made me determined to try more.
Any fish like this (See picture) on a 13ft float rod fights like a demon in fast water.
7lb 8oz

 

[Graham Elliott]

Must say they look very good Richard

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Keith, the body of an avon float is more like a rugby ball shape, whereas a bolo has a lot more shoulder, kinda like an upside down tear shape and is more stable when holding back, or in choppy riffles etc.

I’d actually say an Avon float becomes a bolo the moment you replace the stick for a stem.
Avon floats are essentially stick floats with bulbous bodies and higher domed tops where as bolo floats are all stemmed either in carbon wire or fibre glass.
That’s how i would determine the difference anyway but might of got it wrong

 

[Ian Woods]

That’s how i would determine the difference anyway but might of got it wrong

An avon is deffo nothing like a stick float Richard, as I said, an avon has a decent sight tip and a similar body to a bolo float but with less shoulder.

Left to right...bolos, avons, stick floats.
You can clearly see the difference in the shape of body between a bolo and an avon float...

 

[Kevin Steele]

To add to the confusion, the chap from Cadence (below) calls all of these floats Bolo's. In another video he describes the Avon float in much the same way as the Bolo, so (with respect) I'm not convinced anyone knows the definitive characteristics of either - apart from where the terms Avon and Bolo come from (which I've learned today).

Sorry for the diversion, but Richard's description of his floats as both Bolo and 'classical Avon' (sic) was something that piqued my curiosity while my patio doors were being fitted.

 

[Ian Woods]

They always had a clear distinction between them at one time, nowadays it seems avons are self identifying as bolos etc etc .

 

[Richard Isaacs]

An avon is deffo nothing like a stick float Richard, as I said, an avon has a decent sight tip and a similar body to a bolo float but with less shoulder.

Left to right...bolos, avons, stick floats.
You can clearly see the difference in the shape of body between a bolo and an avon float...

You’ve misread my post Ian I said like a stick float with bulbous body and higher domed top exactly like number 5 in your line up.
That’s the only one I’d consider an Avon

 

[Richard Isaacs]

To add to the confusion, the chap from Cadence (below) calls all of these floats Bolo's. In another video he describes the Avon float in much the same way as the Bolo, so (with respect) I'm not convinced anyone knows the definitive characteristics of either - apart from where the terms Avon and Bolo come from (which I've learned today).

Sorry for the diversion, but Richard's description of his floats as both Bolo and 'classical Avon' (sic) was something that piqued my curiosity while my patio doors were being fitted.

View attachment 32681

Personally I identify any top n bottom float with a dissimilar fine stem (excluding stupidly light pole floats) as a bolo or top n bottom float.
The high shoulder thing doesn’t really work as the bolo float seems to take on many forms and shapes
If they all have just 1 thing in common it’s the finer dissimilar stem.

 

[Alan Rose]

I sometimes think of them as giant pole floats

 

[Richard Isaacs]

I sometimes think of them as giant pole floats

Essentially Al that’s exactly what they are.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Glossy ten grammers. Proper man’s floats

 

[Ian Woods]

You’ve misread my post Ian I said like a stick float with bulbous body and higher domed top exactly like number 5 in your line up.
That’s the only one I’d consider an Avon

Yes, the 5th float is a good example of an avon, but, the stem doesn't have to be like the one pictured, it could be wire or carbon etc etc. The main differences between the avon and bolo are the body shape,, the bolo having exagerrated shoulders, and often the bolo would have a longer sight tip.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Yes, the 5th float is a good example of an avon, but, the stem doesn't have to be like the one pictured, it could be wire or carbon etc etc. The main differences between the avon and bolo are the body shape,, the bolo having exagerrated shoulders, and often the bolo would have a longer sight tip.

That doesn’t make sense though because as I’ve shown bolos come in all manner of shapes and the only thing they share is the stem

 

[Jim Gregory]

Many floats of a said pattern or style, have advancedor more likely just adapted to suit the current trends.
Have a look at avons from 100yrs ago!.
Can't comment on bolos, as I think they are European.
Either way, your floats look excellent for today's style of big baits, specimen fish
fishing.

 

[Kevin Steele]

The main differences between the avon and bolo are the body shape....

If you look back to #47 Ian, it seems that there is no definable body shape for what some choose to call a Bolo. It strikes me (to answer my own question) that a Bolo was originally an Italian version of an Avon. All other definitions are clearly contestable.

But I think Jim is right - even an Avon of today isn't anything like an Avon of 100 years ago, so it's all down to trends and what the marketing people want us to believe.

.

 

[Ian Woods]

If you look back to #47 Ian, it seems that there is no definable body shape for what some choose to call a Bolo. It strikes me (to answer my own question) that a Bolo was originally an Italian version of an Avon. All other definitions are clearly contestable.

But I think Jim is right - even an Avon of today isn't anything like an Avon of 100 years ago, so it's all down to trends and what the marketing people want us to believe.

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I agree that the bolo was most likely the italian version of a avon, but, many of those other incarnations people include as being a bolo float do not resemble a bolo float imo.
I myself have floats with "slim bolo" printed on them and the only thing they have in common with a propper bolo float is the fact that they have a bit of shoulder. It seems to me that lots of people are just lumping all kinds of shaped floats together and labelling them as bolo floats, most of these people have hardly ever trotted a float !

 

[Chris Jones]

In my experience, a Bolo float could have any body shape and any type of stem (but probably not wood). The only real defining feature being a longer sight tip between 1 and 4mm in diameter. However, even that isn't set in stone. They are rather more like a pole float on steroids. There's as much variation in Bolo floats as there is with Avons, there's no set pattern for either type. However, proper Italian Bolo fishing looks rather like running water pole fishing. The pole swapped out for a very long telescopic "pole" with rings and a reel fitted instead of elastic.

Which size Bolo, body shape, stem type and tip size you might use largely depends on the bait size, depth and pace of the water being fished. I've been misusing Bolo floats for years. I rarely fish the relatively deep rivers that Italian Bolo fishing came from. However, I'm quite happy using them on faster, shallower rivers (largely for grayling). The only thing I usually do to adapt them for my use is shorten the stem a little. When I do head to bigger, slower, deeper rivers, I may well use Bolo floats with longer stems, different shape bodies and larger capacities.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

In my experience, a Bolo float could have any body shape and any type of stem (but probably not wood). The only real defining feature being a longer sight tip between 1 and 4mm in diameter. However, even that isn't set in stone. They are rather more like a pole float on steroids. There's as much variation in Bolo floats as there is with Avons, there's no set pattern for either type. However, proper Italian Bolo fishing looks rather like running water pole fishing. The pole swapped out for a very long telescopic "pole" with rings and a reel fitted instead of elastic.

Which size Bolo, body shape, stem type and tip size you might use largely depends on the bait size, depth and pace of the water being fished. I've been misusing Bolo floats for years. I rarely fish the relatively deep rivers that Italian Bolo fishing came from. However, I'm quite happy using them on faster, shallower rivers (largely for grayling). The only thing I usually do to adapt them for my use is shorten the stem a little. When I do head to bigger, slower, deeper rivers, I may well use Bolo floats with longer stems, different shape bodies and larger capacities.

Yeah My thoughts on them exactly
There doesn’t seem to be anything set in stone regarding the body type and certainly manufacturers don’t appear to follow any trends with regards to what they call a bolo float apart from dissimilar material stems.

I wouldn’t call wooden stem float a bolo either and the same goes for plastic like the old crystal drennan avons but again that might largely be down to personal perception

Antennas are a funny one because on the most part they are long and quite slim (too slim in a lot of cases) but even then it’s not something I would use to differentiate a bolo from another float type simply because the likes of Dave Harrell, Korum and our own Andy Burt offer what I would call bolo floats that have shorter and or wider tips.

Whatever people choose to call them, it’s all I use religiously on rivers for trotting and have done for years. I use them on several rivers in all manner of depths and pace throughout the country every year and have drawn my own conclusions that there is never a need to go lighter than 3g and tbh 4-10g practically covers all my fishing.

Tbf i think it’s difficult to buy a bad bolo type float nowadays as the general shape used from nearly all manufacturers works well in one or more situations or another and they do a great job. It’s the antennas where I struggle with them. Too short too thin or in some cases … both.
If I go on the upper reaches of the middle Trent I am more often than not, totally alone and can wade out and trot as far as I want. It’s not a lot of fun bringing a float back prematurely because I can’t see the dam thing. It’s sections of river like this, that are the reason I have designed my centrepin and floats to be like they are.