Best drop offs?

[terry m]

As the season draws to a close, I am vowing not to struggle through another season with the recalcitrant Fox PS drop off bite alarms that drive me nuts with their temperamental performance.

What rear drop offs do you guys use? What about the ET Backbiter or Billys Backbiters? Has anyone got any real experience and feedback on those.

Or what about the Rollover contraption than some use for zeds or eels?

 

[tiinker]

As the season draws to a close, I am vowing not to struggle through another season with the recalcitrant Fox PS drop off bite alarms that drive me nuts with their temperamental performance.

What rear drop offs do you guys use? What about the ET Backbiter or Billys Backbiters? Has anyone got any real experience and feedback on those.

Or what about the Rollover contraption than some use for zeds or eels?

Get your self a set of Billy's Backbiters. I have been using a set for two seasons after being recommended to them by a couple of my friends who specialise in predator fishing. They can also be fitted with role over arms.
Billys Backbiters.
Google billy's backbiters for full site.

 

[flightliner]

Terry, I make my own, dead simple, polyball, a "stalk", a swivel or two and an adjustable line clip and clip at rear end for attachment to a bank stik.
Keep it simple, best way,

 

[nicepix]

Plastic wine 'cork' with a split at one end for the line, and a length of fly line at the other end. The fly line has a loop spliced in it to slip over the rod rest top.

 

[john step]

Plastic wine 'cork' with a split at one end for the line, and a length of fly line at the other end. The fly line has a loop spliced in it to slip over the rod rest top.

You can make similar by gluing a hairclip into a bright poly ball. I have seen plastic clothes pegs used as well.
Not for the tackle tarts though.

 

[nicepix]

You can make similar by gluing a hairclip into a bright poly ball. I have seen plastic clothes pegs used as well.
Not for the tackle tarts though.

It's a Baron Philippe de Rothschild wine cork

 

[richiekelly]

You can make similar by gluing a hairclip into a bright poly ball. I have seen plastic clothes pegs used as well.
Not for the tackle tarts though.

certainly wont be John but they work well enough, I have never paid for a drop off indicator in my life.

My mate has 3 billys backbiters and while they work well enough I cant justify the expense.

 

[flightliner]

How much are they blanker ???

 

[richiekelly]

I think if I remember correctly they were around 65 to 70 quid, look nice in the dark if you get a take though as the bodies are clear, my mate had the blue ones.

 

[mick b]

Don't use drop-offs, thats the answer.

Try this, get a piece of foam, something like a piece of car sponge and jam it i to your butt ring, not to tight but tight enough to hold the line to the bait, then open you bail arm and hang a clothes peg or some-such quickly removable on the line to create an indicator.

When you get a run the fish will not feel any change in resistance so will just keep running, all you do is close the bail arm and your in...

Its the sudden changes in the load on the line that causes problems.....not the amount of (continuous) resistance.....unless its of stupid proportions that ismg:!

Zander can be very finicky when taking a bait, but the best Zander catcher I've ever seen by far, used wooden clothes pegs as bite indicators, and believe me Ive seen thousands of Zander caught by many hundreds of anglers.

 

[richiekelly]

What about showing drop backs Mick?

 

[mick b]

What about showing drop backs Mick?

Hi Blanks,

You watch the taught line at the end of the rod tip.........it goes slack......don'tyaknow

I fish alone so Im watching my rods.
Plus I go for the low tech option first and if it isn't effective I work up to the more costly and technical from there.

Never needed anything with lights, buzzers or whistles, but it didn't stop me catching plenty of (none carpus) fish.

So if its carp, ignore everything Ive submitted...

 

[graham472]

Have a look at Eddie Turners web site.He has various options on the back- biter design and cheaper than Billys.I use front alarms(Delkim) and the new Pete foster drop off arms which I find most suitable on the pits I fish.Probably the same ones as you Terry.

 

[terry m]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Graham what are the Pete Fosters drop offs?

The Billy Backbiters do sound useful, are they availabl in shops or just by mail order?

 

[robtherake]

Just online, I think. I don't do enough piking to justify the outlay, but they do look tasty!

Billy Back Biters

 

[graham472]

Terry. The Pete foster ball head drop offs are sold by Neville Fickling at the Tackle shop.There is a full decription on his site.They are an arm not an alarm.They show drop backs very clearly which is very useful.

 

[mick b]

If the line is tight to the bait/weight/float then anything hung between the butt ring and the reel will show a drop back....because the hanging object will drop closer to the ground!

A piece of plastic tube, dough bobin or even a lump of mud, infact anything slightly heavier than the wind can effect will serve as an drop indicator.
(I have just used a length of wet reed laid across the line to catch two 20s in one day when they didn't want it wobbled but did if it was stationary)

Of course a section of plastic tube is very 'old school' and certainly wouldn't cut it in many groupie (tackle tart) circles but they do the job if used correctly.

All the high tech tackle in the world will not improve how an angler thinks, and its usually the thinking angler who catches the most fish.

 

[terry m]

If the line is tight to the bait/weight/float then anything hung between the butt ring and the reel will show a drop back....because the hanging object will drop closer to the ground!

A piece of plastic tube, dough bobin or even a lump of mud, infact anything slightly heavier than the wind can effect will serve as an drop indicator.
(I have just used a length of wet reed laid across the line to catch two 20s in one day when they didn't want it wobbled but did if it was stationary)

Of course a section of plastic tube is very 'old school' and certainly wouldn't cut it in many groupie (tackle tart) circles but they do the job if used correctly.

All the high tech tackle in the world will not improve how an angler thinks, and its usually the thinking angler who catches the most fish.

What you say Mick may be factually correct, but with my eyesight, bits of reed or blobs of mud will not be the most visible indication.

So rear arms work well for me, they are very visible especially if fishing multiple rods, if that is tartish then I am a total tart. I do not suggest that tarty rear arms will catch me any more fish, but if used properly they are likely to prevent me deep hooking any.

 

[mick b]

Anything that rocks your boat and is right for you and the fish is the way to go imo.

I well remember making a drop back indicator way back before even Optonics were on the market, using mercury tilt switches, aluminium knitting needles and hair clips they worked to a fashion, problem was the fish would gently lift the deadbait (1lb+ Rudd usually) and feel the resistance of the clip and drop the bait!

However light the clip was set the fish (always a high double plus) would drop the bait the instance the clip came tight.
So I went back to using sections of Fairy Liquid bottles (they were round in the early 70s) and immediately started catching the bigger fish.

Sitting alone and alongside my two rods it was easy to notice the slight 1/2" or so drop of the plastic tube anything up to 45 secs before the run developed.

However, if I was to go back to deadbaiting now, I would certainly look at every type of indicator available and compare them against my experience with the plastic tubes.

.

 

[terry m]

I well remember back in the 70's buying sheets of white thin plastic which were cut into strips, wrapped around a battery (the fat old batteries that were in general use back then), held in place with an elastic band, then dropped into a saucepan of boiling water so that it took the shape of the battery. It was important to get a bit of an overlap at the joint of about half an inch.

Those carp bobbins were used for years, in windy conditions the trusty knitting needle was used in an early monkey climber fashion. They were extremely visible, but I seem to remember that their relatively light weight, when combined with heron (antennae) buzzers made for a marginal set up. But back then we thought it was the mutts nuts.mg: