Old bite indicators

[Paul Bullinger]

Having a chat with some fishing mates over a pint or two and the subject went to old school bite indicators. We recalled how, as kids, we used Fairy Liquid tops which we clipped onto the line and held it down using a knitting needle pushed into the soil. Early form of monkey climber.
Anyone else use a different method "back in day" before things became so sophisticated??

 

[Lee Backshall]

I remember forgetting to take my fairy lid tops on one session,so folded a piece of bread from my sandwich over the line. Lol....worked

 

[Tim Marks]

Dough bobbins.

Butt indicators - made from swing tips.

Home made bobbins made from biro or aquarium tube.

Monkey climbers made from plastic wine bottle tops

First generation Fox Swingers with weird triangular plastic protrusions to rest on the line -rapidly replaced by plastic tube, a beta light and a clip.

 

[Chris Belcher]

Used to put rods on the ground handles up and a loose clutch with a small stone on the spool - tbf still do this today when packing up but with the addition of a bivvy peg in front of the stem just in case.

Progressed to using tin foil, then fairy bottle tops, then an advanced 'clip on' bobbin (cannot for the life of me remember the name of the things) that located within a small spigot that was 'whipped' onto the blank behind the butt ring with electrical tape. You could cast with it in place and simply pull it out of the spigot to set it . . .it was an orange clamshell sphere that opened up to allow you to add SSG split shot etc . . .

 

[Graham Elliott]

Two coins on the ground with line between

 

[Steve Kenchington]

Having a chat with some fishing mates over a pint or two and the subject went to old school bite indicators. We recalled how, as kids, we used Fairy Liquid tops which we clipped onto the line and held it down using a knitting needle pushed into the soil. Early form of monkey climber.
Anyone else use a different method "back in day" before things became so sophisticated??

Swing tips ! Really good fun albeit only suitable for underarm swing casting. At risk of showing my age I caught a carp on one on Tuesday.

 

[Carl Massey]

I used to pinch some of our Xmas decorations with a hook etc so very festive. Not baubles but something else which was a bit heavier and durable. Then came home made monkey climbers of our own making from descriptions in books.

The good old days eh.....

 

[Bill Walford]

My first audiological indicator was an old halfpenny on the spool with a tin plate underneath The indicators on the line were made from strips of an L plate wrapped round something like a battery and put in boiling water to make them “Curley”

 

[Stuart Linton]

Bobbins made from drilled bullet weights with a hairpin through the middle to form the clip. Bend those rod tips into the lead to create a sping tight line balanced set up. Solar quiver locs were great for this sort of approach when they came on the scene.

 

[John Newman]

When we were young we used to fish an old clay pit so made a small ball of clay and wrapped it around the line between the reel and first rod ring.

 

[David Craine]

Simple was always best for me , I just snapped a short forked twig off the nearest bush or tree, and hung it on the line between the first and second rings . If it jerked up ir dropped it was a bite.
Never worried about losing it on the strike as there were probably thousands of others nearby.
Daft thing is that although I make custom vintage style “ bobbins” for traditional anglers I still use a bit of twig for 90% of the time .
Mainly because it saves unscrewing the bobbin chain from the rod rest , and also saves remembering to bring the bobbins along in the first place .

David

 

[Tim Marks]

I was also pike fishing Abberton when the first (probably) drop off indicators came into being. A piece of flexible plastic sheet bent round the rear rod rest and held together with elastic bands. The mainline was held between the 2 bits of plastic and was pulled out by a running fish. The plastic then slid down the rod rest and the bang as it hit the concrete dam told you you had a take….

Spot the deliberate mistake - they didn’t register dropbacks. So fatally (literally if you were a pike) flawed.

Next generation were ET Backbiters and they did work as they had a free running clip.


And another one - anybody remember Alan Pearce’s ‘Ringles’ a modern (1990 ish) take on a washing bottle top. They were brilliant and I still have a few sets.