Bite alarms
Fox Micron NTX-R Bite Alarm
If you already own bite alarms and already go carp fishing at night, then you will be familiar with what I call the bite alarm chorus. As the sun sets over the water and everything seems peaceful, you have just made a brew and settled down for the evening wondering what the night ahead will bring, you hear the first beep. Then beep beep. Some movement from the bivvy across the lake is followed by a few more beeps. It has started. The “bite alarm chorus”. Soon everyone on the lake decides it is that time to re-bait the rods and set them up for the night ahead. The beeps are of course coming from the range of different Delkim, Daiwa, Fox, TFG and other bite alarms of choice from each carp angler. Everyone sets their bite alarms to a reasonable volume and tone setting to alert them to a run during the night.
Soon it’s over and darkness starts to set in. Looking across the lake, bite alarms and swingers can be seen with glowing red, blue, white and purple LEDs as everyone waits in eager anticipation.
Sometimes I remember back to days gone by when carp fishing was a more quiet and peaceful pastime. All you ever heard at night then was a fox, an owl or a water vole plopping into the water’s edge and the sound of carp slurping as they suck snails’ eggs from the underside of water lily leaves. Still, all is quiet now. Suddenly, the silence is broken again. The deadly ring tone followed by “Hello. Yeah, I’m fine. Steve got a 20 last night. Nah, nothing yet. Tell Alisha daddy says night night. Yeah. And you babe. See ya.” And then you remember we live in a technical age.
Tin Can Bonkers
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to go back to the old days when you couldn’t nod off in case you missed a run you had been waiting all night for. Or straining in the noise of the wind to hear the coin as it dropped off of the line into the tin can. Yes we really did used to do that at night. Or a bit of bread dough moulded to the loose line between the reel and the butt ring and struck if it rose upwards. Not good in the dark unless it was a full moon! Those old methods worked well if you could stay awake, but nowadays, any serious carp angler needs some good bite alarms if they want to get the best out of their fishing. The trouble is, they are a bit more expensive than bread dough and tin cans. So this web site will try to help you decide on the best models for your budget.
Money
TFG Force 8 Bite Alarm
Sadly these days we all have to consider the cost. Bite Alarms are available in a large range of prices from cheap budget alarms to all singing all dancing models, so set yourself a price range and decide how many you are going to want. Also consider the cost of a remote sounder box. These decisions would be so easy if all models cost the same amount, but sadly we have to be practical. Of course there are some extremely good, reliable budget bite alarms on the market nowadays. Take a look at the TF Gear fishing tackle for example. Also the Fox Warrior range of tackle is superb value for money. So you don’t have to spend a fortune and you can still get your hands on some very competent technology indeed. So now you have your budget, you need to decide what features you are looking for. What exactly are these features? What do they do and do you need them? Let’s take a look.
Gain Control
There can be up to three main controls on most modern bite alarms. The model you go for may have none or all of them fitted. Firstly, found on most bite alarms, is a gain or volume control. If you didn’t have this you would either be deafening every other angler or you would never hear a bite in windy conditions. Therefore I would say this is a must have. Secondly, a tone control. You may think at first that you don’t care what tone the alarm has. However, if you have more than one bite alarm, set them up to different tones, hi and low, and you can hear straight away which rod has the run. Finally, a sensitivity control enables you to set how much movement of the line is needed before a bite is registered. This one is I suppose only a nice to have feature, but it is really useful when you are fishing in wind as it stops the wind registering false bites. It’s also great if you are being pestered by line bites caused by smaller fish knocking into your line.
Lighting Up Time
You will also see on the front of most bite alarms one or two LED lights. They are usually either red, yellow, green, purple or white. Some colours can be a bit more expensive than others. The purpose of the first LED is to show you when you have a bite. It will only light up as line is actually being taken from the reel. That’s all fine if you see it happen, you know which rod has the bite. Now suppose you are in the bivvy and come out as you hear the take. By the time you get there no light is on. The run has stopped.
On some bite alarms the same light will remain on for a few seconds so that you can see. On others the second light comes into play. This is known as a latching light. The first light switches straight off when the line stops moving, the latching light stays on so that you know what is going on. After all, if you don’t know which rod had the take, and the bite doesn’t resume, you have no way of knowing which rod may need re-baiting and re-casting.
Remote
RX Plus Pro 6 LED Mini Receiver Delkim Bite Alarm
Another really useful feature if you have the budget is the additional remote sounder box. Most modern bite alarms are radio sounder boxes, which receive radio signals from the bite alarms without any need for wires at all. The old wired type, whilst reliable, did cause a bit of a trip hazard! Mind you, if you like them then Delkim still make them. Each alarm is represented on the sounder box by a different light, so you know which rod has the bite even from inside the bivvy. They will operate at quite a long distance from your rods; handy if you have to answer a call of nature during the night. As long as it isn’t too far away. Please remember this does NOT mean that you can go wandering off round the other side of the water to have a brew with your mate. Please always consider the safety of the fish first. A fish attached to a bolt rig and 100 yards of line stuck in the middle of a lily pad isn’t clever. Don’t do it. It ain’t big, it ain’t clever and may even get you barred from the venue. You may also get your tackle nicked while you’re gone. Think about that one!
Reliability
Finally then let’s talk about reliability. It is maybe one of the most important features to look for. It doesn’t matter how much money you save, if it doesn’t work properly or falters in the rain, it was money wasted. Also consider this when you choose your batteries. No good if they run out at 3 in the morning. Even if you do realise it’s not working before morning and have a spare, it’s not fun to change in the dark. So how do you find out? Well, the best way is to ask a mate or fellow angler who already owns one. Asking in a tackle shop may result in good advice from the more reputable dealers, but there will always be those who recommend the one that they happen to have a lot of in stock or that they earn the most commission on.
Of course if you see an alarm on this web site then it ain’t rubbish. I won’t promote rubbish tackle. However I can’t know what every single alarm is like. If you ask me what to buy I will say Delkim TX-Is and sounder box because that’s what I use and swear by. A mate of mine used Fox Microns and swore by them. So what I will do is bring as much information to you as I can and let you decide from that. Remember, a recommendation from someone who has owned one for a good time and used it in all weather conditions is worth its weight.
So there you go. Good luck and tight lines. Beep beep.
