Flavour of the Week - Bobbins/Swingers/Indicators

[yonny]

This should be a good'n as I predict we'll all have very different opinions on what's important.

I went first last time so I'll let one of you guys kick it off........

[...]

I have these illuminated swingers...buuut...now getting bored of them as i want now to be on buzz bar setup and want to leave alarms n swingers together for ease and speed...look nice but may invest in Illumanated bobbins ?? Or plain matching bobbins with decent isotopes ??

[...]

Wanna upgrade the bobbins then invest in a buzz bar bag and place on my buzz bars for ease...

[David_gravesend]

I think a lot of people are more concerned about their bobbins looking good bankside  than the reasons they are using those bobbins.

I mainly use 2 types, a set of Fox slik bobbins in the main and a set of fox euro swingers for longer range stuff when I want to tension the line. Nothing fancy but they do the job I want them too

[framey]

I have a set of bug bobbins 

i also have the swing arms for them

And extra weights 

for my grab and go set 

Does most of what i need it to cover

[The Compleat Angler]

Used Solar Quiver Locks for years, they were so versatile covering many situations. They were looking a bit tired, so I bought the Solar Titaniums, which are a more updated Quiver Lock, I really rate them, as I can fish my lines piano wire tight, right down to the other end of the scale being very slack. I bought the longer versions, as I think the shorter ones are more limited in function. Anyway, they do me fine.

[Gazlaaar]

Solar quiver lock for me, hangers for general short range to medium range work the springers for medium to long range. I got the presentation set a while back for peanuts, to my mind there hasn't been any better since, they cover every situation I find myself in.

The hinged hockey sticks are a great purchase as I can really tighten down the springers for long range or if im fishing a far margin or snag, I do also have the swinger arms, but never felt the need to use them.

Currently, I'm not using any kind of indicator at all as I'm fishing so close in.

Generally, the further I fish the tighter I want my lines, there are exceptions of course as mentioned above, far margins, snags, weed etc.

[smufter]

Wychwood Slug Bobbins for me, in "hi-vis" orange. I find they're the perfect weight for the type of fishing I do and they stand out really well in all lights and against any background.

The only thing I'd change is the isotope slot. It's next to useless where it is. 

 

Edited August 22, 2018 by smufter

[B.C.]

9 hours ago, The Compleat Angler said:

Solar Titaniums,

These look like the complete "all rounder" to me and I was tempted to get these last Season, ahead of joining a larger water.....

 

9 hours ago, David_gravesend said:

I think a lot of people are more concerned about their bobbins looking good bankside  than the reasons they are using those bobbins.

Couldn't agree more David....

… I've stuck with standard bobbins for years, with ball clip attachments , Matrix Dinky Hot Heads, to be precise. They are quite weighty for their size and with the chain and I'm just so used to using them that I've found it difficult to come away from this kind of set up...……… I did try some Korda stows about a year back, but it was like a bad dream lol. Being as I like to use the line clip on my rods, I found that my mainline would keep coming free from the bobbin whenever I tried to clip the line to the blank...…. So I ditched them and went back to my old bobbins, and just bought some different head attachments for £5, to give me the same kind of indication as the stows or Fox slicks, if I felt I needed them.. (Still in the packet).. TBH though, I'm not into all this mega subtle indication, I may be missing a trick here, but when you've got Rudd and other small stuff bouncing off your mainline then I think you get false indication all day long...……… A bobbin or hanger, for me, has one main function  and that is to weight the mainline onto your bite alarm, with the right amount of weight, so that your line won't skip over the buzzer , but isn't so heavy, that it prevents indication all together...… I pay much more attention to the hooking potential of rigs and rely on them to do their job...……… I can see the need for swinger arms in windy conditions and springers to help negate undertow ……. Lets be honest, if you are fishing through the night, you won't be watching your bobbins and if I want to stare at something in day light, it will most likely be my rod tips or where my line enters the water and that will most probably be after a single bleep on the buzzer, or if I've caught some line/rod tip movement out the corner of my eye...….. These are just my views based on short to medium range fishing... I suspect those of you fishing at range will have some interesting points to share...…… My trusty old buzzers do all the work for me as long as they are set correctly and the line is weighted properly they will give me some indication with just a couple of mm of line movement or a slight pluck on the line.

Isotopes in bobbins?...….. We've all got them...but why...? lol. (Oh yeah, they look pretty)… 🙂

I have to say, that I can't remember the last time I hooked a fish without the rod hooping round, due to my margin fishing. So , realistically for me atm, my bobbins are just there to weight the line onto the roller wheel and help me pick up on any liners, hopefully a pre-curser to that rod hooping round.....

 

[smufter]

14 minutes ago, B.C. said:

Isotopes in bobbins?...….. We've all got them...but why...? lol. (Oh yeah, they look pretty)… 🙂

 

 

Not only that, but they look pretty

😉

[greekskii]

I have the muddy waters/cygnet bobbins. A white ptfe ‘old skool’ design weighing 3g, the black ones weighing 2g and white dumpy heads weighing 7g. Between them I can cover off most situations in my fishing. 

I tend to fish very slack lines where the lighter bobbins come in handy as they can be set slightly instead of completely limp. The light bobbins all come in handy when fishing tight to snags with tight lines. I want the last 5/6ft of my leader pinned down on the deck but my line still tight after that. With a heavier bobbin this is hard to control whereas a lighter one the line is tensioned directly from the spool with the bobbins just ever so slightly tensioning it any further. 

The 7g dumpy leads come in to play when it’s mega windy or I’m using heavy leads but they are rarely used. The 3g heads are normally on with the 2g heads used when fishing very short range with slack lines (or I fancy being a tart and using them) 

[B.C.]

45 minutes ago, greekskii said:

I tend to fish very slack lines where the lighter bobbins come in handy as they can be set slightly instead of completely limp.

Same...…. Gonna give that running rig set up a go on the slack lining, after your post on the rotary mate.  I was fishing locked up when the weed was thicker, but can get away with a bit of line being taken now on any clearer spots.....

 

[yonny]

13 hours ago, David_gravesend said:

I think a lot of people are more concerned about their bobbins looking good bankside  than the reasons they are using those bobbins.

I don't disagree mate.

I've used all-sorts over the years, spent a small fortune, and my resulting mindset is:

1 hour ago, B.C. said:

I pay much more attention to the hooking potential of rigs and rely on them to do their job...………

 In fact @B.C. you're whole post reflects my thoughts very closely indeed.

I used the old Fox swingers for years which were good, then I changed to the standard Solar bobbins which were also good, then I changed to carbon Bugs (because I thought they looked cool lol), also good. I then changed to JAG Safeliners due to their effectiveness when slack lining but they were so poor at range/with tight lines I ditched them. Moved over to MPS Defiant MKII Mag Heads, more of a classic bobbin but with a magnetic mechanism so you could fish them fixed to the line (best of both worlds). Then realised I'd gone nearly full circle and ended up getting the most basic of basic bobbins you can get, those being Korda B&W's.

There's several more I've not mentioned too.

What has all this taught me?: That when you've fished well enough to get the carp feeding confidently it doesn't matter what you use (imo), you know about it when you have an angry carp hooked.

I fish my lines as tight as I think I can get away with without spooking the carp (which at short range might not be very tight at all), therefore indication is normally pretty good whatever I use. I do use the interchangeable weights that come with the B&W's to spot drop-backs more easily but tbh I'd not be bothered if I didn't have them. Imo the bobbin is just an aid to allowing the alarm to beep and if I get one single beep it is enough for me to know that the rod/line has to be checked/observed very closely to ascertain what the score is. I'll get down to the rods and check the line where it enters the water for movement, any signs and I'll pull the line very gently to check for resistance. I'll know if a carp is on. Basically I'm not waiting for the bobbin/alarm to tell me I have a fish on - I use them as a signal for ME to figure out if a carp is on.

Nine times out of 10 the alarm screams anyway, there's no mistaking a carp is responsible.

So basically I think they're all a complete waste of money lol...... BUT:

1 hour ago, smufter said:

they look pretty

😉

It's sad but true😂. I pride myself in not being a tart - I use whatever I think is the best on the market for what I do, regardless of looks, and stick with it...... but having been through so many bobbins I cannot deny that there must be an element of tartyness to it!

[Gazlaaar]

Isotopes

I don't know about anyone else but I find them very handy. My indicator bodies are the older solar lite flo jobbies, the isotopes are housed inside different coloured bodies, red, yellow and green. At night I have all of my indicators level, so I can see which one has moved out of position if I miss the LED on my buzzer. Plus on a number of occasions both LED's on my buzzers have lit up at night on a take. The indicator confirms which one is moving

[yonny]

I always get isotopes but they've never come in handy for me. Purely a tart thing for me I'm ashamed to say.

[greekskii]

i never use isotopes but I feel I should when I use the tiny black bobbins as you cant see them for nothing at night even with a head torch. That's the only practical use I would have for them. Personally feel they would have put me in danger once or twice on the bank where I went unnoticed at the time.

[AndyCh]

After dabbling with a few different bobbins I've gone back to the original Solar slim heads with cords I made out of stripped out leadcore.

I'm currently using the original clips as well but would dearly love to get hold of some more of the original Solar grip clips, I have misplaced mine.😟

I have loads of extra drag weights that I can add to the bobbins if I think it necessary, but rarely do fishing my current waters.

Edited August 22, 2018 by AndyCh

[snowmanstevo]

I use the old fox swingers,have done for years. From Zig fishing on bow string lines with the weight near the head to it pushed right back when I dabble in Pike,Catfish and Perch fishing. I luv how you can control the weight of your indicators to suit styles/weather conditions. They do look a bit old and big,but they do there job and that’s good enough for me. 😬😎

[harpz_31]

I used to use the fox mk2 swingers and cant understand why I changed (probably didn't look cool enough)

like stevo says you can change the weight to suit any style of fishing and they're a lot more stable in windy conditions

[yonny]

35 minutes ago, harpz_31 said:

I used to use the fox mk2 swingers and cant understand why I changed (probably didn't look cool enough)

I see they've bought out mini versions which look pretty cool!

[snowmanstevo]

18 minutes ago, yonny said:

I see they've bought out mini versions which look pretty cool!

I’m probably going to get some when the back pay comes through. 😬😎

[yonny]

1 minute ago, snowmanstevo said:

I’m probably going to get some

I must admit I'm going to have a quick peek myself next time I'm near a tackle shop.

[salokcinnodrog]

I think of the indicators I have used over the years, monkey climbers made out of old 35mm film cases, to Gardner bodies, to PTFE climbers on stainless needles with a ball top to prevent the indicator flying off.

 

From those to original Fox Swingers, which I loved, as the sliding weight was, I think, more 'zero' under the buzzer, than the Mark.ll's.

 Then onto Fox Specialist hangars where I added some extra weight with some setting putty in the base, and put bath chains on them. After that I got some original Solar Quiverlocs, in red, white and green. I really did like the the original clips. 

After I finally killed them, and fancied an upgrade, I went for the short arm Solar Titaniums, again in those three colours. I must admit I don't like the Grip Clips, so put the IPRO heads on them, which I have found I can tighten right up. The Titaniums can be fished at drop, or as swingers or spring arm, even with the short arm which I prefer. As good as the long arms are, which are probably better, because I often fish as low as possible, that is why I have preference for short arms. The original Quiverlocs I found a bit too long at times.

 

Isotopes, I do. At night I often sit watching the indicators, and sometimes with the buzzers off to keep myself to myself, so the isotopes mean I can see movement, even if the buzzers are on, sometimes a bit of movement can precede the sound.

With tight lines I have the indicators level, you can see any movement.

 

My indicators need to be able to be used with slack or tight lines, as I do prefer running leads, but can't always do that. Slack lines and running leads mean the indicator is down at 'maximum drop', or even resting on the ground in the case of the hangars. Tight lines means I can level my heads.

[smufter]

8 hours ago, yonny said:

I always get isotopes but they've never come in handy for me. Purely a tart thing for me I'm ashamed to say.

I think my "passion" for isotopes comes from when I used to go night fishing years ago, without alarms.

In those days, star lites had just come out, (the ones you snap and shake to get to light up), and they were a natural progression from lumps of breadflake on your line, and then fairy washing up liquid tops. A star lite was a luxury! Didn't have alarms, you just waited in the dark (or the light from a candle in a jam jar) to see your home made bobbin rise up. A star lite made it so much easier and it has naturally progressed to isotopes.

 

[B.C.]

9 hours ago, yonny said:

There's several more I've not mentioned too.

And I bet you've kept hold of all of them...…..

 

8 hours ago, greekskii said:

tiny black bobbins

I've always used white ones, just for the visual aspect.....

 

9 hours ago, Gazlaaar said:

Plus on a number of occasions both LED's on my buzzers have lit up at night on a take. The indicator confirms which one is moving

Good point mate....  Blimey , the LED' s on my old Fox alarms, no need for iso's or head torch most of the time.... I have to half cover them with leccy tape, they are so bright when my eyes have adjusted to night vision... Jeeze, if two went off together, I'd probably get a fake tan...……..🙂