Bite alarm

Message

SCI · #1 Post by **SCI** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:59 pm

Hi guys.I'm new to the forum and new to sea fishing.I was just wondering can you use a bite alarm for Beach casting,are they any good and if so what one would you go for or what to look for in them?
Thanks for your help.

#2 Post by **seagull** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 3:15 pm

I can honestly say that in thirty years of fishing I have personally never seen anyone using a bite alarm when sea angling. I must admit that when I was about thirteen I bought a bell that clipped onto the end of the rod but looking back it was a waste of time. I can't see the point of a bait alarm because depending on the weather/tide etc it could be bleeping too often and end up doing your head in, the best bite alarm is concentration and leave the electronic alarms to the carp guys who cast out then go to sleep.

SCI · #3 Post by **SCI** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 3:25 pm

Ok.Cheers mate.

#4 Post by **stevecrow74** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 4:39 pm

i have seen one lad using a couple of bite alarms...

but he only uses them when there is no swell, surf or wind... and in this country isnt very often...

but the day he was using them, he got more fish than i did :oops: :oops: :oops:

#5 Post by **Drew** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 8:12 pm

I'm an Impatient sort of a Lad, so I tend to use Rod Bells...

#6 Post by **beachcaster** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 8:22 pm

you could also use the rachet on your reel as a bite alarm set it up and when the fish move of with the bait your raches will go on the reel mate.

teacher · #7 Post by **teacher** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 10:54 pm

The problem with bite alarms is that they can't tell the differnce between wave (or wind) action and a bite. The bite can be less pronounced than the wave action, but with experience you can tell the difference between the two.

With experience, you can also tell the differnce between different fish. For example, bass have a distinctive bite, as do flatties and doggies.

As beachcaster says, you can also use the rachet on your reel. This is particularly useful if you want to use a running ledger in calm conditions with light gear.

I don't use a bell but fish regularly with someone who does. The big advantage is that you rarely miss a bit and you can learn to tell the difference between the bell noice made by waves, the the ring of a bite.

The down side of bells is that your mates will get hours of enjoyment ringing the bell while you're not looking :D

#8 Post by **MAC** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:20 am

:D I like that teacher. The other down side of a bell is that they are forever ringing in the background and thus, do you head in. :lol:

I mentioned in a previous thread that you can get bite alarms that clip onto your rod. I've seen these on e-bay. These could be well worth while if you are fishing on calmer days and for larger species like smooth hounds or Tope. Might be useful for Bass in an esturary. I'm not too sure if the would be any use for the smaller species or off a surf beach as they would be ringing all the time.

Kev

teacher · #9 Post by **teacher** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:28 am

MAC wrote::D I like that teacher. The other down side of a bell is that they are forever ringing in the background and thus, do you head in. :lol:

If more than one person is using a bell, you also need to have them tuned differently!

:idea: I'm sure there's money to be made by inventing a bite alarm that can tell the difference between wave action and a bite ... Should be possible for someone with a working knowledge of signal processing ... I guess a good analogy would be a junk email filter ... :idea:

#10 Post by **MAC** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:52 am

With coarse fishing alarms you can adjust the sensitivity. With my alarms on level one it will beep with 4mm of line movement and level 4 you get a beep with about 50mm.

Kev

#11 Post by **MAC** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:57 am

Something like this with a sensitivity adjustment would be idel. You could then adjust it for the conditions.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Super-Mini-Bite-A ... dZViewItem

Kev

#12 Post by **seagull** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 12:18 am

A friend of mine used to have a very good bite alarm. When he got a small bite he would move his arms into a rod grabbing position and go "ooh!" When he had a big bite he would come flying off his seat box and shout "*^$*ing hell!!!"

#13 Post by **Adam S** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 12:20 am

you can get ones that only go off when the line gets ripped out of the clip on the alarm by a running fish, have used them for catish with live eels as bait.

the wriggling of the eels up to 1lbs (or even carp) does not set the alarm off , it only goes when the cat pulls hard enough to rip line off the reel. we would have the reels with the ratchet on too, but if you are on an all night session you might miss the ratchet but the alarm will do the waking up. it can be set up too by adding weights to the clip to detect drop backs

the same kind of thing might be useable for conger fishing or tope or smoothy fishing, but having said that i personally use a bell. the salt would reduce the life of the alarm a lot too, especailly on a free running roller type alarm.