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Bite alarms

Adam Wylie

Senior Member & Supporter
Hi all,
How many people on here use Bite alarms for their Barbel fishing ???
I don't use them as I rely on the rod tip and the sound of the BAITRUNNER or FAST DRAG.
A guy about 3 swims away from me was and drove me up the wall , it was a strong wind and every bluster produced the sound of the Alarms going off .☹️
 
I use a centrepin, so have no use for them.
Were I to night fish with a quiet-drag fixed spool, however, I can see a use for them.
 
Occasionally if I think I might fall asleep on after dark sessions, but less and less as time goes by. Where I fish I watch bobbin(s) rather than the rod tips and I sit on my rods so I hear the reel ticking.

They also attract unwanted attention from other anglers.
 
I use underlight ATTs but have the receiver off. They light up when I get a take and just give me another indication as well as the baitrunner. Only when I go on a lake will I use the receiver.
 
I’ve never liked letting others know what’s going on, goes back to my carp fishing days of the 70’s & 80’s but in those days the extension box was wired from rods round my brolly and sounder box located next to my lughole! These days I use ATTs like Simon for my Tenching and some Barbel fishing….why? ‘Cos I have a habit of nodding off especially after an early start. Sounder box goes in my pocket with audible alarm so as only I can hear it AND vibrate activated. 😁
 
The overuse of bait alarms drives me mad and it’s one of the primary reasons I don’t fish day ticket waters very often. I will use one if I’m on an overnighter but certainly in daylight, unless I’m asleep for some reason, there’s no real purpose. I think some people like other people to hear their alarm go off, same as the bloke that shouts “got one”.
 
The constant beep bloody beep from bite alarms is a reason in itself not to buy one. The people who use them in this scenario must be oblivious to the irritation and annoyance they cause to other anglers. Or they just dont care. Or as said above it is a macho thing that they want everybody to know they have a screeching run.

I never use them at all, but if anglers must use them then why dont they get remote alarms that alert only the angler actually using them instead of the whole county.

The check on my ‘pins’ or in some cases the baitrunner on my 3500 BTR is more than enough warning of a fishes interest in my bait for me .


David
 
99% of the time I do NOT use bite alarms!

Having just bought a camper van and using it next to the river I have set up with bite alarms a couple of times. They have proven very useful.....

Barbel 6.5 lb.jpg


IMG_20220508_190505 (1).jpg


I caught a bigger barbel early the next morning whilst I was cooking breakfast in the van. How long had it taken me to register one of the alarms was going mental?

Yesterday I took delivery of some new alarms that have a wireless receiver. Last night I set the alarms on silent mode, with the receiver on its lowest volume setting with the "vibrate" function on.


Hopefully I will try them this week on that same campsite. Not likely to upset my neighbours with the noise and be sure any hooked fish do not have time to find the snags!

Apologies for using these photos again!
 
Wow Steve now that’s luxury angling 🤣
If I use alarms it’s mainly still waters carp fishing.
their on a receiver on vibrate or very low volume. Ive herd alarms going off on the other side of the fishery before I almost jumped out of my bivvy thinking I had a run🤣
 
I have resisted using alarms whenever possible. However, if I have two or more rods set out so that I cannot monitor them all then it makes sense to put alarms on the furthest rods.

Mine are Delkins from the 70's and are muted in that each speaker has a blob of Blu-Tac in the hole. And mostly I don't fish where anybody else would be able to hear them anyway.
 
I always use alarms
but they are adjusted heads off and the receiver only on very low so only I can hear it even lower at night

the last thing I want to be doing is staring at a rod tip for 10 hours I can still watch the tips but can enjoy my surroundings and wild life looking for fish topping etc taking a leak making a brew having a spot of lunch all things where a bite could come and without an alarm to alert me

when I was a teenager (yes I can remember that long ago !! sod off lol ) I used to just hold the rod and my finger on the line was the bite indicator but them days are gone
not using am alarm does not make you a better or worse angler (only in some weirdo`s minds )
 
Wow Steve now that’s luxury angling 🤣
If I use alarms it’s mainly still waters carp fishing.
their on a receiver on vibrate or very low volume. Ive herd alarms going off on the other side of the fishery before I almost jumped out of my bivvy thinking I had a run🤣
I had expected these wireless devices to be expensive. My neighbour on a campsite at Moissac had silure to over 2.7 metres using a wireless setup, that's what got me "switched-on" to these devices. He did not like disturbing other "happy-campers" either!

In the end I spent just over 60 euros on a set of three!

I could afford to me honest with my wife about what I had spent! ;)
 
Very very rarely…
The exception would be a very long probably all night session when watching rods for hours and hours becomes impractical.
I won’t fall asleep behind baited rods mind.
 
I've only used them once at collingham when I did 2 night up there. I won't be needing to them up there anymore 🤣
 
Was on a club lake on Friday. Was stood out watching the lake at 5am. Could hear an alarm screaming off. Going on for ages. Ended up seeing another member have to go and wake up an angler who was just sleeping through the bite 😐
That would be me if I was a carper. Knowing I would never get up if I had a bite during the night I just wouldn't be able to fish.
 
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