'H' Marker - Karpfiske
The ‘H’ marker and how to make them
By Chris Thornhill
www.screamingdelkims.se
The H Marker
Some of you may be asking yourselves, “What is a ‘H’ marker”?
Well it’s a marker float that is used in mainly carp fishing and its purpose is to mark an area visible on the surface of the water that you can use as a reference point when casting and baiting up so you hit the same spot every time. It also has an ingenious little design.
Firstly, It is shaped like the letter ‘H’, hence the name, and it is this shape that provides the “self unwinding” properties of the marker float.
A "Shop Bought" H Marker Float
This type of marker float is not cast out into the water like a conventional marker float, but is placed out in the water, either by wading out with it or the use of a boat.
Strong fishing line is attached and wound round the middle of ‘H’ (the horizontal piece that connects the 2 vertical pieces) and then on the other end of the fishing line there is some form of weight attached, usually a large lead weight of some kind.
The length of the line should be long enough so it will reach the bottom of the lake so the float will remain on the surface. 20 meters will be sufficient in most cases.
The principle of the float is that it unwinds by itself when placed in the water.
As the lead sinks, the float begins to spin & flip round in the water due to its buoyancy, and unwinding the line until the lead reaches the bottom.
A word of warning though, ‘sometimes’ this does not work!! ,especially with the homemade versions.
So to be on the safe side I like to unwind the float by hand and lower the lead down to the bottom (from a boat). The problem that occurs is that if the line gets trapped while unwinding by itself the float will be pulled down by the lead and you will lose your float.
One of my ‘H’ markers is still under the surface in Henrikstorpsjön somewhere as I accidentally dropped it in the water and it failed to unwind by itself
The lead that you use for the H marker must be heavy enough to sink the marker float, if not it could float or blow away in bad weather. If the water level rises due to heavy rain the lead will be lifted off the bottom and again it will drift away. So make sure the lead is large enough to easily sink the float
The reason I like these marker floats so much is that they are very neat and tidy and really easy to use.
You just unwind them, place them in your chosen spots and then wind them back in again when you are finished. Also it’s very easy to get the depth right first time, every time, unlike other homemade marker floats that I have used.
When I have lowered a lead down to the bottom on a length of fishing line and then tried to tie a large float on, it is very difficult to gauge the exact depth and the float usually lies flat on the surface instead of upright, making it difficult to see from the bank area. So you have to untie it and start again.
Another problem when trying to tie on a float in this way is that when you have finally tied it on at the right depth, or what you think is the right depth, the boat sometimes drifts away and the depth changes slightly. This makes the float lie flat on the surface or submerges it completely.
This is very frustrating and annoying, so that’s why I use a “H” marker when possible.
Another problem with these kinds of floats is ‘what’ to wind the line on to when you are finished. It usually ends up in a big birds nest and the line has to be thrown away. With the H marker the line winds nicely back on to the float itself.
The only disadvantage really with the H marker is the fact that you need a boat to use them, unless of course the water is shallow enough for you to wade out with it……………… or you fancy going for a swim. But remember, you will have to go for another swim to get them back in again.
The shop bought H markers are made of hollow red plastic with a strip of lead at the end of the line which acts as the weight, and also folds round the line to keep it from unravelling when not in use.
In this article I will show you how to make them yourself.
Making your own H marker float
They are really simple and cheap to make aswell, and here is how to do it
What you need:
A length of Balsa wood – 1m x 2cm x 2cm (This will make 2 ‘H’ markers)
Glue (that can be used on wood)
Waterproof Paint – White & Fluorescent Orange
Boat varnish
2 Stainless wood screws
Sandpaper
A paintbrush
A ruler or tape measure
A small saw or hacksaw blade (a junior hacksaw is perfect)
A sharp knife
A pencil
Drill and bits
20 – 30 meters of strong fishing line (10kg breaking strain is enough)
A large snap link
150 – 200g Lead weight
A small piece of silicone tube
4 small round dowel pegs
Most of the items that you need to make the float are easy to obtain from your local shops. The balsa wood and fluorescent paint are a little more difficult to find.
I get my balsa from a hobby shop that sells materials for making model planes and cars etc.
A 1 meter length of 2cm x 2cm cost me 44 kr, which I thought was a little bit too expensive as I have bought this size balsa from other shops before and it cost me about 20 kr.
This 1-meter length will make 2 “H” markers with a little left over (which you can use to make a normal marker float)
The fluorescent paint can also be found in these model shops and a small tub of Humerol flouro orange paint costs about 20 kr.
There are different pot sizes and brands of paint depending on where you go.
Just make sure you don’t buy “water based” fluorescent paint, if unsure ask the person in the shop.
How to make the H marker float
The first thing you need to do is to cut the balsa wood into 3 lengths with the saw or hacksaw blade.
You will need:
2 lengths of 15cm and
1 length of 6.5cm
This wood is really soft so it wont take much effort at all to saw through it.
Once you have these 3 pieces, sandpaper the ends of the balsa to take away any rough edges.
Now here comes the tricky part.
You now need to make 2 joints so that the 3 pieces of wood fit together to form the letter H.
The Joints
This can be done with the saw blade and a sharp knife.
Mark the 2 long lengths in the middle where the joint will be then cut the joint to a depth of 50mm. Then you can take out the waste wood with the sharp knife. Once you have done this on both sides, just slot the pieces together to make sure everything fits together nicely.
Then you need to drill a hole, in the middle of the joints on both pieces for the screws to go in.
If you don’t drill the hole first and try to put the screws in, the wood will split and you will have to start all over again, not to mention having to buy more balsa.
If you can, make sure your screws are stainless steel wood screws, but if you don’t have these it doesn’t really matter as the paint will seal the screws in and prevent water from getting to them.
Once you have done this, spread some glue on the joints and screw them together. DO NOT tighten the screws too tight because the balsa wood is very soft and the screw threads will just slip in the wood.
Then let the glue dry, check on the glue bottle for manufacturers drying times.
Once it is dry give it a quick rub over with fine sandpaper and brush the dust off with a damp rag.
Now it’s time for the first coat of paint.
Whenever you use fluorescent paint you must ALWAYS have a white undercoat layer of paint so this is what you put on first.
Once this is dried, you can then apply the fluorescent coating.
There are various colours to choose from in the shops, which are Flouro Red, Orange , Yellow, and Green. The colour I find most effective is Orange , but you can experiment with whatever colours you like. Black and White are also alternative colours you can use.
When the paint has dried, give it a coat or two of boat varnish; this protects the paint, seals and waterproofs it making your marker float last for years.
Now its time to fix the line to the H marker. Just tie it on as you would your line to your reel spool and wind it on by hand. Its better to have too much line on the float rather than too little. You never know when you may fish a really deep lake and if your line is not long enough you will be messing about making extensions to the line.
All that is left to do is to tie on the snap link so you can attach the lead/weight.
This is better than tying the lead directly to the line, as you can remove it easily if need be.
Then, if you want to, you can adapt your marker float so that you can see it during the night.
What I do is insert small round dowelling pegs in each side by drilling a hole and gluing them in so that a small piece of silicone can be fitted on to them to accommodate starlight’s. (Use the larger starlight’s as they are more visible) These can be placed in the float just before dusk when you are out in the boat baiting up/putting your rigs out and they will glow all night.
Now you will be able to see your marker float during the night in case you need to recast when it is dark.
If you are fishing long distances, as you may well be if you have a boat. You can buy some of the large thick “break n shake” glow sticks that are used for emergency lighting (the ones people use at rave party’s and dance with them) and attach them to the marker float with elastic bands. You can see these from great distances
Why not make a few of these and store them in your tackle bag, they really do help when accurate casting is necessary. It also gives you more confidence knowing that your hookbait is exactly where you want it
Plus it will give you something to do during the long winter months, because WINTER SUCKS!!!!
Chris Thornhill
chris@screamingdelkims.se
By Chris Thornhill
www.screamingdelkims.se
The H Marker
Some of you may be asking yourselves, “What is a ‘H’ marker”?
Well it’s a marker float that is used in mainly carp fishing and its purpose is to mark an area visible on the surface of the water that you can use as a reference point when casting and baiting up so you hit the same spot every time. It also has an ingenious little design.
Firstly, It is shaped like the letter ‘H’, hence the name, and it is this shape that provides the “self unwinding” properties of the marker float.
A "Shop Bought" H Marker Float
This type of marker float is not cast out into the water like a conventional marker float, but is placed out in the water, either by wading out with it or the use of a boat.
Strong fishing line is attached and wound round the middle of ‘H’ (the horizontal piece that connects the 2 vertical pieces) and then on the other end of the fishing line there is some form of weight attached, usually a large lead weight of some kind.
The length of the line should be long enough so it will reach the bottom of the lake so the float will remain on the surface. 20 meters will be sufficient in most cases.
The principle of the float is that it unwinds by itself when placed in the water.
As the lead sinks, the float begins to spin & flip round in the water due to its buoyancy, and unwinding the line until the lead reaches the bottom.
A word of warning though, ‘sometimes’ this does not work!! ,especially with the homemade versions.
So to be on the safe side I like to unwind the float by hand and lower the lead down to the bottom (from a boat). The problem that occurs is that if the line gets trapped while unwinding by itself the float will be pulled down by the lead and you will lose your float.
One of my ‘H’ markers is still under the surface in Henrikstorpsjön somewhere as I accidentally dropped it in the water and it failed to unwind by itself
The lead that you use for the H marker must be heavy enough to sink the marker float, if not it could float or blow away in bad weather. If the water level rises due to heavy rain the lead will be lifted off the bottom and again it will drift away. So make sure the lead is large enough to easily sink the float
The reason I like these marker floats so much is that they are very neat and tidy and really easy to use.
You just unwind them, place them in your chosen spots and then wind them back in again when you are finished. Also it’s very easy to get the depth right first time, every time, unlike other homemade marker floats that I have used.
When I have lowered a lead down to the bottom on a length of fishing line and then tried to tie a large float on, it is very difficult to gauge the exact depth and the float usually lies flat on the surface instead of upright, making it difficult to see from the bank area. So you have to untie it and start again.
Another problem when trying to tie on a float in this way is that when you have finally tied it on at the right depth, or what you think is the right depth, the boat sometimes drifts away and the depth changes slightly. This makes the float lie flat on the surface or submerges it completely.
This is very frustrating and annoying, so that’s why I use a “H” marker when possible.
Another problem with these kinds of floats is ‘what’ to wind the line on to when you are finished. It usually ends up in a big birds nest and the line has to be thrown away. With the H marker the line winds nicely back on to the float itself.
The only disadvantage really with the H marker is the fact that you need a boat to use them, unless of course the water is shallow enough for you to wade out with it……………… or you fancy going for a swim. But remember, you will have to go for another swim to get them back in again.
The shop bought H markers are made of hollow red plastic with a strip of lead at the end of the line which acts as the weight, and also folds round the line to keep it from unravelling when not in use.
In this article I will show you how to make them yourself.
Making your own H marker float
They are really simple and cheap to make aswell, and here is how to do it
What you need:
A length of Balsa wood – 1m x 2cm x 2cm (This will make 2 ‘H’ markers)
Glue (that can be used on wood)
Waterproof Paint – White & Fluorescent Orange
Boat varnish
2 Stainless wood screws
Sandpaper
A paintbrush
A ruler or tape measure
A small saw or hacksaw blade (a junior hacksaw is perfect)
A sharp knife
A pencil
Drill and bits
20 – 30 meters of strong fishing line (10kg breaking strain is enough)
A large snap link
150 – 200g Lead weight
A small piece of silicone tube
4 small round dowel pegs
Most of the items that you need to make the float are easy to obtain from your local shops. The balsa wood and fluorescent paint are a little more difficult to find.
I get my balsa from a hobby shop that sells materials for making model planes and cars etc.
A 1 meter length of 2cm x 2cm cost me 44 kr, which I thought was a little bit too expensive as I have bought this size balsa from other shops before and it cost me about 20 kr.
This 1-meter length will make 2 “H” markers with a little left over (which you can use to make a normal marker float)
The fluorescent paint can also be found in these model shops and a small tub of Humerol flouro orange paint costs about 20 kr.
There are different pot sizes and brands of paint depending on where you go.
Just make sure you don’t buy “water based” fluorescent paint, if unsure ask the person in the shop.
How to make the H marker float
The first thing you need to do is to cut the balsa wood into 3 lengths with the saw or hacksaw blade.
You will need:
2 lengths of 15cm and
1 length of 6.5cm
This wood is really soft so it wont take much effort at all to saw through it.
Once you have these 3 pieces, sandpaper the ends of the balsa to take away any rough edges.
Now here comes the tricky part.
You now need to make 2 joints so that the 3 pieces of wood fit together to form the letter H.
The Joints
This can be done with the saw blade and a sharp knife.
Mark the 2 long lengths in the middle where the joint will be then cut the joint to a depth of 50mm. Then you can take out the waste wood with the sharp knife. Once you have done this on both sides, just slot the pieces together to make sure everything fits together nicely.
Then you need to drill a hole, in the middle of the joints on both pieces for the screws to go in.
If you don’t drill the hole first and try to put the screws in, the wood will split and you will have to start all over again, not to mention having to buy more balsa.
If you can, make sure your screws are stainless steel wood screws, but if you don’t have these it doesn’t really matter as the paint will seal the screws in and prevent water from getting to them.
Once you have done this, spread some glue on the joints and screw them together. DO NOT tighten the screws too tight because the balsa wood is very soft and the screw threads will just slip in the wood.
Then let the glue dry, check on the glue bottle for manufacturers drying times.
Once it is dry give it a quick rub over with fine sandpaper and brush the dust off with a damp rag.
Now it’s time for the first coat of paint.
Whenever you use fluorescent paint you must ALWAYS have a white undercoat layer of paint so this is what you put on first.
Once this is dried, you can then apply the fluorescent coating.
There are various colours to choose from in the shops, which are Flouro Red, Orange , Yellow, and Green. The colour I find most effective is Orange , but you can experiment with whatever colours you like. Black and White are also alternative colours you can use.
When the paint has dried, give it a coat or two of boat varnish; this protects the paint, seals and waterproofs it making your marker float last for years.
Now its time to fix the line to the H marker. Just tie it on as you would your line to your reel spool and wind it on by hand. Its better to have too much line on the float rather than too little. You never know when you may fish a really deep lake and if your line is not long enough you will be messing about making extensions to the line.
All that is left to do is to tie on the snap link so you can attach the lead/weight.
This is better than tying the lead directly to the line, as you can remove it easily if need be.
Then, if you want to, you can adapt your marker float so that you can see it during the night.
What I do is insert small round dowelling pegs in each side by drilling a hole and gluing them in so that a small piece of silicone can be fitted on to them to accommodate starlight’s. (Use the larger starlight’s as they are more visible) These can be placed in the float just before dusk when you are out in the boat baiting up/putting your rigs out and they will glow all night.
Now you will be able to see your marker float during the night in case you need to recast when it is dark.
If you are fishing long distances, as you may well be if you have a boat. You can buy some of the large thick “break n shake” glow sticks that are used for emergency lighting (the ones people use at rave party’s and dance with them) and attach them to the marker float with elastic bands. You can see these from great distances
Why not make a few of these and store them in your tackle bag, they really do help when accurate casting is necessary. It also gives you more confidence knowing that your hookbait is exactly where you want it
Plus it will give you something to do during the long winter months, because WINTER SUCKS!!!!
Chris Thornhill
chris@screamingdelkims.se
Definately gonna make some of those... cheap, practical & effective 
Gonna light up the swim like a landing pad 
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