Making "Quill" Bobbers

[Mike Sueirro]

I couldn't help but be envious of the terrific quill bobbers that Carl Hendrix made, but I know I'm not likely to do that kind of work. But it got me to looking around to see what I could come up with to achieve the same sort of effect, This is what I did.

I also did this.

Instead of quills I found that I had a couple of different size drinking straws like you get at fast food places. The black straw is 5mm inside and the red one is 7mm. I used a 1/4" hole punch to make plugs from some 1/4' thick craft foam that I had. The plugs fit inside the straw snugly and made it water tight. I had to use an 8mm punch to make similar plugs for the red straw. On both straws I dipped the end in white modeling paint to make the end more visible. That was all the red straw needed to make it a "quill" bobber. The black straw was also good to go, but it didn't float much weight, so I added a small, 1 1/2" foam float. The hole was a bit small, so I used progressively larger drill bits to manually ream the hole out. It ended up being 15/64" and slips onto the straw snugly. Just right. To attach the bobber to the line I used the small rubber bands that kids use to make bracelets. On the black straw the rubber bands also bracket the foam float to ensure it stays in place. The black straw will float at least 1/4 oz. while the red straw will float at least 1/8 oz.The best part of the whole project was that I had all the materials on hand. Zero cost!

Mike

[carl hendrix]

hey Mike!!  those look great to me buddy!!  on my quill floats;; all I do is paint them!!  you made the whole thing!!  congrats!!  check out Keith Ritter;s home made floats!!  he makes his out of everything!!  (((  hint)))  I use surgical tubing to hold the line to the float;;(  surgical tube is from a sling shot replacement band from wal mart!!

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Done that myself. Ive used old floats rescued from the shore, but anything that'll float - that's my motto!

[Keith Ritter]

I like your McGyver floats. That's how I started, just monkeying around with what I had on hand. I'm always on the lookout for the next free thing I can make a float out of. Let us know how they work.

[Leo Nguyen]

Nice approach! Light weight, high buoyancy, and don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get quality quills. How's the strike indicator rate? The quill is top of its class, even over the Thill's Ultra Shy bite.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Check eBay for plastic wagglers. You get a lot for a little and the effect is exact the same.