Monkey climbers

[David Bruce]

I have what I think is a complete monkey climber.ie a steel rod about 24inch (real money) long and a plastic gizmo that travels up and down it. One end of the gizmo is cut at 90 degrees to its long side and the other at 45 degrees. Which way up do I use it , where do i put the line and how is it used in general?

 

[Dave Rothery]

ah, monkeys - blast from the past!

the way i would set them is to put the climber just in front of the buzzer/rod rest (ie inbetween buzzer and reel). have the needle as near to vertical as poss, and push it in till the top of the needle is level with the top of the rod. cast out and tighten up to the desired tension on the line. the monkey goes on with the 45deg cut uppermost, and the line is trapped inbetween the climber body and the needle. when you lift the rod up, the climber should go up the needle until the top passes the top of the needle and the line releases. hope that makes sense!

best to leave a short drop on the climber if poss, and make sure you keep the needle and the inside of the climber body as clean as poss.

 

[Stuart Dennis]

Although being a tackle tart like Rothery, I did used to love monkey climbers. Even the knitting needles with washing up bottle tops. Arghhh, bring back the simple days of ledgering......

Naa, sod that, wheres me echo sounder?