Essential Gear – Be Alarmed

A few issues back The Carp Angler carried a review on a number of different alarms and alarm sets that are available in most of our local tackle stores. I think it was of great help to the angler who is looking for an alarm or set that would meet his specific requirements. Alarms are an essential part of a big carp angler’s gear as they are designed to detect more than just a fish picking up the bait and bolting off in search of freedom. Back in the day we would attach a ‘policeman’ onto the line as a bite indicator and an exciter, especially when it showed even the slightest of movements. Windy days would make it a bit more difficult to detect any form of movement, and even though we caught fish, one wonders how many more we would have had if the bite indication was a bit more accurate. Staring at those little bright things all day made most fishing outings a little less social, which could be one of the reasons why most wives and girlfriends don’t really look forward to the next fishing trip. When spending a few nights at the water’s edge one would simply slip a glow stick into the policeman to ensure that a bite could be spotted at night, and even though we stayed up most of the night, especially the first night, we would fall into a deep sleep sometime during the early hours of the morning. As any bank angler would tell you, that is prime biting time you are sleeping through and if it was a back drop bite, most of the lines would be tangled up by one fish that decided the margins would offer the best protection. The alarm is another one of those great British inventions designed to simplify and add great value to the angler’s big carp adventures. It lets you know that something is happening at the end of your line without you having to stare at a bite indicator all day long. At night you are able to slip into bed comfortably knowing that you will not sleep through a bite and wake up the following morning with a couple of tangled lines, or even worse, an empty spool! Alarms will also detect fish moving in and out of your swim with a single tone every now and again as fish swim into the lines, or touch the line with a fin while feeding in and around the area. Most importantly though is that when it is used in conjunction with a swinger or hanger, the alarm will activate when a fish picks up the bait and swims towards your bank - commonly referred to as a back drop bite. Again, very useful when sleeping or if you are busy with something else and not watching the line. Alarms will also make your fishing trips a lot more social, which means that you are able to spend a bit more valuable time with the family and kids. If you are fortunate enough to own an alarm set with a receiver, a quick visit to the neighbours will be quite possible. As I mentioned earlier, there are numerous alarms to choose from and selecting the right one should not be too difficult. Alarms with receivers have become very popular, with many anglers investing in them for various reasons. Firstly, it’s a nice-to-have item, not necessarily a must-have item. If most of your fishing is done with you bivying up close to your rods, then there really isn’t a need for a receiver. Most alarms are loud enough to wake up the whole bankside at night, but there are a few heavy sleepers out there who simply don’t hear a screaming alarm until someone actually wakes them. On many occasions I’ve heard alarms scream for a few minutes before the rod is attended to. Should one be fishing in snaggy conditions, this would be disastrous. If you are a bit of a deep dreamer or enjoy a bottle or three at the water’s edge, I strongly suggest you invest in an alarm set with a receiver to help you out of bed when that big one you’ve been waiting for takes a fancy to your hook bait. The other reason for a receiver is that when fishing margins, you can simply turn down the volume on the alarm and have the receiver indicate what’s happening at the business end. I firmly believe that a high pitched screaming alarm will spook any fish in the area and it may be quite some time before they return. Some competitive anglers will silence their alarms and use the receivers during competitions so that the other chaps will think that your lines have been quiet all night, and be in for a big surprise come morning. So the receiver is a very nice bit of tackle to have and it certainly serves its purpose very well, but it is not a must-have item, not yet anyway. The features on an alarm are very important as well, and most of them are available with volume and tone controls. Some anglers like to have each alarm sounding differently while others prefer high or low pitched sounds, which can be set using the tone control button. A very important feature that an alarm must have is sensitivity setting. On windy days most alarms will beep as the line is bowed by the wind, which can become a bit irritating after a while and leave you wondering if a fish is interested in your bait. If you had a sensitivity button, the alarm can simply be set to a less sensitive setting with will illuminate unnecessary beeps during windy conditions. When I target waters that are home to crabs, I normally set my alarms on their most sensitive to let me know if those little pests are making a meal of my hookbait, which in turn will ensure that I check the bait after a few hours. Being water resistant goes without saying, so when shopping make sure that you are spending your hard eared money on something that is going to work for you whether it rains or not.