Ultimate bobbin

[Anderoo]

Well, a mere 2 years later, my swingers are finished

 

This is what they started life as (cheapies off ebay):

 

The huge and poor quality bobbin heads were thrown away, as were the massive sliding weights. In the recess of the bobbin thread I araldided some plastic Solar threads, so any Solar bobbin can now be screwed on. I got some i-Lites for the new swingers, as they are nice and light, have a good adjustable line clip, and I already own screw-in weights and isotopes for them.

 

At the other end, I drilled a couple of holes through the plastic bankstick attachment and used little brass nuts and bolts to attach two metal terry clips, so the swingers can be clipped securely anywhere up a bankstick.

 

For the arm material I followed Tinca's advice and used 6mm ali tube. The arms are about 24" long, and provide a long drop. I cut off short lengths of the original 4mm steel tube and araldided them inside the 6mm ali tube, so that they can be pushed into the plastic hinges. This is a good tight fit and means that everything can be pulled apart for transportation.

 

I'm really pleased with them! I will probably paint the arms black at some point. In practice, they work really well clipped to either the front or rear banksticks. They move easily and do not require much effort to pull them up, and with the line clip set correctly they remain firmly attached to the line until you strike.

 

Here are a few pictures (no cat, she's asleep upstairs ):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roll on tench and bream season

 

Oh, and I still have some 6mm ali tube and 4mm steel tube, so I will probably make some shorter arms too.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Anderoo

[Tigger]

A lot of messing about for a bobbin lol. To be honest surely a set of good monkey climbers would be better....more stable in wind and much less hasstle to make. It'll be interesting to see if your inventions work on the bank....good luck with em !

[tincatinca]

Excellent Anderoo, well done. If I may make one suggestion, I think it would be prudent to cut the ends of the bolts off. Jobs a goodun

[Anderoo]

They were an attempt to solve a specific problem, and also a fun winter project - I'll have to wait and see whether they work effectively in a real fishing situation. If I could have bought something similar I would have, but nothing like this exists. Long monkey climbers that work properly would have been a whole lot harder to make than long arm swingers! That's why I made swingers

 

Tinca, any reason (other than neatness) to cut the bolts? I don't think anything can catch on them.

[tincatinca]

Tinca, any reason (other than neatness) to cut the bolts? I don't think anything can catch on them.

 

Yes it would be neater but the main reason is that if nothing is sticking out then it eliminates as far as possible the chances of something getting caught up however remote. Why take the chance.

[poledark]

Looks like a lot of fun, especially with limited resources

 

Of course they will work, if a fish hooks itself then they will go all the way up ( or even down)

 

Not sure I would have the bottle to be seen dead with them though

 

 

Den

[Dick Dastardly]

Nice one Anderoo. Exactly the same cheapo "carp swingers" I brought and cannibalised.My plan had been to bin the bobbin end hinge though and just put a short length of white PTFE rod directly on the end of the arm with a line clip attached kind of Pike drop off style.

 

I found it all easy until the fourth lot of different diameter carbon tube/rod still proved too floppy.I had resigned myself to the simple fact by then that Paul was right in the first place and the 6mm ally tube was the answer.I was still concerned about the weight so Paul's counter balance set up all so now made sense. That far a U turn and it was easy to cave in and accept his kind offer of some!

 

Think I will still finish my originals so the stuff ain't wasted and there is all ways a spare set for some one else to borrow.

 

I agree about cutting off the excess bolt as its not worth taking the risk of the line catching on it.

[Anderoo]

I think they look great! Can't wait to try them out

 

I'm not concerned about the weight. They'll only be used in windy weather, mostly at night, with a bolt rig, for bream and tench. If I was using a bobbin in the same conditions I'd have to add a fair bit of weight anyway for stability, so it's no different really. In my 'garden tests' it's easy to bump into the line and show a liner without the lead moving.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Anderoo

[lutra]

I think they look great! Can't wait to try them out

 

I'm not concerned about the weight. They'll only be used in windy weather, mostly at night, with a bolt rig, for bream and tench. If I was using a bobbin in the same conditions I'd have to add a fair bit of weight anyway for stability, so it's no different really. In my 'garden tests' it's easy to bump into the line and show a liner without the lead moving.

Sorry to be a sceptic Anderoo, but unless you find some way of stopping them from swinging about sideways, i cant see you getting much kip on them windy nights.

 

As Ive said before, all you need to do when fishing a bolt rig for big bream is do nothing till it moves off with your rig. Don't strike at little bleeps, wait for it to move off. Works every time with a sort hook-length and has the added bonus of not deep hooking them. It also means that the fish you are striking into has moved or is moving away from your baited area and hopefully any other fish when you strike......

[Anderoo]

Nonsense, they'll work fine!

 

Thanks for the bolt rig tips