An Interview with a Fellow Junkie....

This amazing collection of glass fishing floats belongs to Patrick. I recently befriended Patrick on Facebook after he joined my Glass Fishing Float Collectors group. He lives in Malaysia & is also a glass float enthusiast. He answered a few questions for me regarding glass floats.

1. How did you become interested in glass fishing floats?

P: I became interested since encountering them while hunting for wild boars. Never knew anything about it before. Was forewarned by local people about taking them home. They believed they housed evil spirits. That fired me even more.

2. Where do you find them?

P: In the littoral forest bordering the beach in my country. I have traveled the length and breadth of my country hunting them down. I guess there are not many left to be collected. From analysis of currents and winds, I conclude that the balls arrived here via freak storms/tsunamis originating from Japan, Taiwan, Korea....some 40-50 years ago. They were pushed way beyond the high tide zone, stashing them away for decades. Moss has covered many of those I have collected. Many have been covered by sea sand and re-exposed by wild boars digging for food.

3. What types of floats do you usually find?

P: From 1"-14" balls. We find very few 14" balls though. There are also rolling pins, sausages, a bullet roller, half of a binary & others but nothing compared to yours. You are the champ.

4. What is your favorite float?

P: A very black-brown 6" ball, beating my bullet and all others for good reason.

5. How long did it take you to collect all of the floats in the photo?

P: 4 years, but the rate of strikes has diminished. That's why I have time to weave nets to hang them up. Hahaha!

6. How many floats do you think you have?

P: Big & small - a thousand plus-minus. All self found and all authentic. All definitely my darlings! Ah, I fight tooth and nail with my family for space! Hahahaha!

Patrick also mentions that shards of glass floats that are found on rocky beaches are also considered treasures.

Here are a few more floats from Patrick's vast collection.

Patrick with his daughter after a long day of beachcombing.

Sausage roller

Hokkaido roller

A float buried in the sand. Patrick says the wild boars had dug it up.

An American made float found on the beach in Malaysia. It's been on a long journey!

Taiwanese float with the "pie seal"

Patrick with a Tohoku roller


Bullet roller

Thank you so much, Patrick, for answering my questions & sharing your floats with us! May you have many more successful float hunting trips & continue to find these amazing treasures!!