electronic bite indicators

[pikeman]

i am looking to purchase an electronic bite indicator to use for pike fishing.

can any readers recommend a suitable type to use with a two rod set-up.

[Peter Waller]

Two good floats and a pair of eyes

 

Ghetto Blasters. Basic, almost crude, but they work. Don't go for a double unit. Buy two separate alarms. And for pike's sakes, don't go for those Mitchell reels with built in alarms, potentially lethal, can't see how they can register a drop-back take.

[poledark]

Blimey, more agreement Pete! (may I call you Pete now we are friends?)

 

Back to the indicators, loud and sensitive enough to register 1/2" of movement.

 

More important is a drop back indicator used with the alarm.

 

Den

[grahamdaubney]

I only use floats.There's nothing more boring than sitting behind buzzers when pike fishing.

[Peter Waller]

poledark:

Blimey, more agreement Pete! (may I call you Pete now we are friends?

 Den

And we both like kingfishers! Perhaps thats an age thing

[Paul_D]

Fox Micron PS's. You won't go wrong with these and they're much cheaper now than when I bought mine

[Steve Burke]

IMO indicators are more important than the type of audible alarm when predator fishing. That said I use both. Indeed, I use the same models for all my stillwater legering and some river legering, whatever the species, including carp.

 

The indicator I favour is the Fox Pike Swinger, but with the line clip replaced by a Gardner one. The Pike Swinger has a rigid arm with a sliding weight that can be fully adjusted, unusually right down to zero. See my field test in the reviews section of Angler's Net at http://anglersnet.co.uk/reviews/fox-pike-swinger.htm.

 

I have to say I don't like rear alarms. However, I agree with Peter in saying that if you must use them go for separate ones for each rod. That way you can separate the butts so that the rod is pointing down the line and so minimise resistance.

 

The reason I don't like drop-off alarms is that, with the exception of the Fox Microns, they continue bl****y sounding until you replace the indicator. The Microns are an excellent idea, but I neither like the line clip (especially for resistance-hating perch), nor the lack of adjustability to compensate for drag or current. In certain situations this could mean that drop backs aren't shown, leading to deep-hooking and so possibly dead fish.

 

I therefore prefer front alarms, my choice being the GFs from Good Fishing. I've posted about this exceptionally reliable alarm here before and so won't repeat myself. I'll only add that they're similar to the excellent Fox MX, but at £29.50 cost less. They're made just down the road from me and so anyone interested in getting hold of some can e-mail me.

[pikemaster39]

fox p's for me along with delkims on the front to let me know just how fast the beggers are running or not as the case may be.

 

tight lines and roll on winter

[Andy Macfarlane]

I noticed the drop offs made by Leeda have 2 balls at the line clip instead of the regular "V" shaped clip.Although these are crap indicators on the whole,I find the ball shaped clips help with drop backs and solve the line jam associated with the Fox clips which are notorious for gripping the line when a Pike runs or drops back,which in turn,often prevents the alarm from sounding.I,m sure with a little inventivness,Fox could apply these ball clips on thier own drop offs.

As for weighted drop offs,I think the addition of a piece of maliable window lead to the £6 drop off is far cheaper than forking out for the weighted version which costs around £12.

[AberdeenAngus]

What's wrong with the split washer (10 p )on the line and empty tin beneath (free) to make it rattle when the washer drops?

 

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