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Bite Alarm recommendations request.

Paul Yates

Paul Yates

Member
I thought I would never have to ask this question or even consider using bite alarms for my Barbel fishing, but I have just returned from my first trip to the River Trent & on my next trip I plan to do some over nighters. Therefore, I am looking for suggestions for good makes of bite alarms especially for using on the River Trent. Ideally I'm looking for some that don't give false beeps when for instance weed catching your line or when there are strong gusts of wind etc.

Paul
 
I'd second that. Also only replaced the head batteries once in 6 years

The best feature is the silent heads,just have the sounder box on vibrate in your pocket,no noise pollution. Be careful never to lose the sounder box though,renders the heads useless.
 
Do the Atts bite alarms have run adjustable sensitivity & if they do what are the margins of sensitivity from & too?

Paul
 
The sensitivity is according to the number of magnets in the roller wheel...as far as I know you can have 2 or 4 (4 being most sensitive) and it isn’t adjustable without changing wheels, which is easy to do but not practical bankside. When I use on the Trent or Severn I have never felt need to use bobbins - I just have alarms angled making sure line easily moves wheel
 
Paul
The wheels on the ATT have either 2,4 or 6 magnet. I think on the river the 2 magnet will be perfect which is what they come with and i think for indication i would use swinger's with an adjustable weight.
 
Any Fox or Delkims are very reliable, bomb proof and will last a lifetime.

BUT

I use alarms VERY rarely, so couldn't justify that sort of money, so I just bought some unbranded el cheapo Chinese ones from eBay. They've been perfect for what I need them for, and have adjustable volume and sensitivity and, to my surprise, they're fully water proof and not just water "resistant". So don't overlook those if you don't want to spend too much on them.
 
Last time I fished the Trent I was bothered all the session by bloody alarms going off, not mine as hate the dam things, the funniest thing was nobody caught anything, probably because of the row the alarms made.

Proper anglers dont need alarms, thats why crap, sorry , carp anglers use em.. ;)


Dave.
 
It's no coincidence that anglers with bad etiquette catch less fish. Bite alarms are a superb bit of kit for the specimen angler,but like alot of things they do get abused. There's really no need to have them on anything but minimum volume,if you can't hear them then you're too far away from your rods.
 
I think that we are spoilt for choice at the moment with regard to bite alarms. If you can move past the 'historic' fox and Delkim debate some of the ranges out now offer amazing value when you consider the features they have. Those of which you will pay top money for from the likes of fox and Delkim. A quick look at offerings from the likes of new direction, prologic or even Nash tackle and you
Will no doubt be struck by what features they offer as standard for a set, yes a set, of remote alarms that cost no more than purchasing a single, similar specification alarm from the likes of the top two. It's worth bearing in mind that advances in technology means these items should reduce in cost. Although those more established manufactures are not going to reduce their sales margin, especially as they have worked hard to win that market place. If you look at the bite alarm market, it's there to see that all of the more competitive priced alarms are from newer companies or those established companies venturing into this market place. Those without a historic price point to maintain.
If I was to purchase now, I'd be looking past the volume, tone and sensitivity, as they are pretty much standard on most alarms now. If the remote option is available, why not have it. Options such as integral snag ears, night light facilities are useful additions and further onsideration would be to the type of battery it would require and there availability, tho again. As technology has improved, aa and pp3 style batteries are becoming the norm.
I have 6 Delkim txi plus and 4 fox ntxr. All great alarms. I doubt that I will ever pay that sum of money out again, not when similar featured alarms are now available.
 
The posters complaing about noisy alarms I agree it would annoy me immensely too hearing alarms, some posters have recommended the Atts alarms which are silent & have a receiver that has a vibrant function. They will used as an aid after sunset when eye strain from looking at an isotope can occur especially as you get on in years, on no account will I fish when I know it's time for a sleep, rods will be wound in until wakey wakey time.

Paul
 
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I'd opt for a set of second hand fox sx digitals, absolutely brilliant bits of kit. I've owned mine (first 4 and second hand so age not known) for over 15 years without any issues at all. Bought a couple for spares, sold them as not required and bought another two to live on my barbel rests, (I also don't wear a floppy hat).


I can also recommend the SXV digitals which work similarly to delkims and sense vibration/movement on slack lines, so also useful for pike fishing with open bale arms.

My opinion on alarms when barbel fishing; I use them with the volume just audible to me, I also use them for all my other coarse legering, be it roach, perch, tench etc if I'm using bobbins and not quiver tip.

Sometimes they're turned off and just used as a rest on certain waters where audible alarms are banned by the controlling club!

I quite often see the rod tip or line move before the alarm sounds but not all the time, so to me, the use of an audible alarm makes more sense than not.

It is the 21st century after all.
 
If you want to keep it nice and simple how about the bombproof TLB's ? Can be muted to keep the noise down with purpose built plugs or one of the roll up filters you can buy in big bags from the pound shops.
 
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