The first known mention of using a float appears in the book Treatyse of fysshynge wyth an Angle written by Juliana Berners in 1496. The method described, involved boring a hole through a cork so the line could be passed through and trapped with a quill. Later books such as The Art of Angling by Gerald Eades Bentley in 1577 and the classic work The Compleat Angler first published in 1653, written by Isaak Walton gave greater detail on fishing and using floats.
