Gold Medal Floats

Avon Hemp Pole Float

🌿 Avon Hemp Float

The Avon Hemp Float is a specialised pole float I developed while fishing one of my favourite rivers — the Warwickshire Avon at Evesham.

It’s also proven highly effective on the Bristol Avon at Newbridge.

This float was designed for ultra-fine presentation of hemp seed, a bait that often tempts elusive roach when all else fails.

🐟 Why Hemp?

On pressured rivers like the Warwickshire Avon — where up to three matches a week can make roach wary and elusive — hemp seed has become one of the most reliable baits.

Roach naturally feed on tiny snails and larvae, and hemp mimics this perfectly.
When presented correctly, it can pick out quality fish during tough daytime conditions.

🎯 Key features of this method:

  • Constant loose feeding of hemp

  • A slow, natural drop of the hook bait

  • Fine line and light shotting

  • Precise depth control around the feeding zone

🏗️ Float Design and Construction

  • Stem and bristle: Light fibreglass for extra sensitivity

  • Body: Oval polystyrene, coloured white for camouflage

  • Tip: Bright yellow for visibility against the river backdrop

This float is designed to mimic the natural fall of hemp in the swim, allowing your hookbait to sink in perfect unison with the loose feed.

🪝 Rig Setup and Presentation

  • Hook length: 0.07 mm fine diameter

  • Shotting: Very light, No. 13 Stotz spaced down the line

  • Hook: Size 20 (or size 24 opened slightly to match weight)

  • Depth: Start around 12 inches above bottom, adjusting until bites occur

🌀 Presentation method:

  1. Lay the rig out gently as you catapult loose hemp into the swim.

  2. Let the hookbait fall through the water in time with the feed.

  3. Adjust the line and shotting to match the natural drop speed.

Fish often sit just above the loose feed, so setting the float slightly above the bed can be the key to success.

🍽️ Preparing Hemp Seed

  1. Soak overnight in cold water.

  2. Boil and simmer until the seed splits and the white kernel shows.

  3. Optional flavourings:

    • Sea salt (for natural enhancement)

    • Honey, fennel, or aniseed (for extra attraction)

  4. Optional: Bicarbonate of soda to blacken the seed — but note, this can discolour the kernel.

🧲 Hooking the Hemp

  • Push the hook through the crown (top) of the split seed.

  • Gently push it back through the split, exposing the point.

This method locks the hemp securely onto the hook, even after catching a fish — a crucial detail when bites are at a premium.

✅ In summary:

  • A highly sensitive, ultra-light float designed for hemp fishing

  • Ideal for shy daytime roach in pressured river swims

  • Encourages natural bait presentation in mid-to-lower layers

  • Best fished with light line, small hooks, and a soft drop shotting pattern

  • A proven winner on classic British venues like the Warwickshire Avon and Bristol Avon

Illustration from the book
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