Gold Medal Floats

Plastic Stem Stickfloat

🧪 PLASTIC STEM STICK FLOAT

(A Modern Twist on a Classic Design)

Plastic stem stick floats have become a modern favourite — almost as good as the original cane sticks, and in some cases, even better. Thanks to precision engineering and modern composite materials, today’s plastic stems offer exceptional strength, durability, and versatility.

Plastics now come in a range of densities, giving float makers control over buoyancy and weight. Many of these floats feature clear stems, which help camouflage the float in the water, allowing fish to feed more confidently without spooking. Nearly every stick float pattern — from lignum to long stick to light stick — can now be replicated with a plastic base.

🧰 Design & Features

  • Stem: Clear or opaque plastic for strength and stealth

  • Body: Various shapes — from light to heavy, lignum-style to long stick

  • Durability: More resistant to wear, cracking, and breakage than cane

  • Weighting: Works with both bulk and strung shotting patterns

  • Camouflage Effect: Clear stem blends into the water column

  • Casting: Excellent with heavier patterns (e.g., 8BB and above)

On big rivers like the River Wye or River Severn, the larger plastic stem stick casts smoothly and fishes confidently at mid-river range.

🌊 Why It Works

  • 🪝 Strong and reliable — less prone to breakage than cane

  • 🧭 Clear stem reduces visual spooking in fish

  • 🌀 Adaptable to multiple shotting styles

  • 🐟 Ideal for mid-river trotting with heavy shot loads

  • ⚖️ Excellent line pickup and control with long rods

Plastic stems offer both strength and subtlety, making them particularly useful when you need the casting power of lignum but want the finesse of a transparent stem.

🏆 Clive’s Match Memory

🎣 Venue: Big river — Wye and Severn
I often use an 8BB plastic stem stick on big rivers, spacing No.6 shots about 6 inches apart, plus a couple of No.8s on the hook length. Fishing mid-river and just dragging bottom has brought me some excellent catches.

When the swim boils, I bulk two-thirds down the line with three No.8s below. This keeps the float steady, especially with an upstream wind. Using a 14 ft or sometimes even a 20 ft rod gives me full control over the line and presentation.

🧭 Pro Tip

  • Use long rods (14–20 ft) to pick line up quickly when striking.

  • Retrieve with the rod tip pointed at the float to reduce line twist.

  • Keep the line on top of the water during the retrieve for smoother pickup.

  • Clear stems are ideal for spooky fish in clear water.

  • Match shotting style to conditions — strung for steady water, bulk for boil.

🕰️ Classic Float Heritage

“Plastic stems gave us the best of both worlds — strength and subtlety. They’ve earned their place in modern river fishing.”
— Clive Branson

🎨 Illustration Box

🪶 Float Type: Plastic Stem Stick Float
🌊 Ideal Venue: Big rivers — Wye, Severn, Trent
🐟 Target Species: Roach, dace, chub, bream
🪝 Rigging Tip: 8BB+ float, spaced shot or bulk down depending on conditions
🧪 Key Advantage: Strong, subtle, and ideal for long-range trotting

🪵 Materials Timeline

  • 🕰️ Early Years: Pure cane stem with cork or balsa body

  • 📈 Developed: Lignum and hardwood stems for extra casting weight

  • 💡 Modern: Plastic and composite stems — clear, strong, and adaptable

✅ An illustration from the book

Order the Complete Float Manual

📘 The Float Manual — over 167 pages of knowledge, techniques, and illustrations — is now available.
To order, simply click the book image or contact me directly:
📩 clive@angling-news.co.uk

📘 Download the Complete Float Manual – Instant Access

Bring decades of float-fishing knowledge straight to your screen.
Written by World Champion Clive Branson, The Complete Float Manual is a 167+ page eBook packed with practical techniques, classic float designs, diagrams, and championship-winning methods.

✅ Learn how to use wagglers, stick floats, pole floats and more
✅ Discover the history and evolution of float fishing
✅ Get pro tips and tactics used at the highest level
✅ Ideal for beginners and experienced match anglers alike

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