How Do Bite Alarms Work

Modern Bite Alarms usually work through use of a reed switch which conducts when an magnetic field passes over it.

A magnet is contained within a wheel that turns when line is passed over it. Therefore when the magnet and reed switch come together the bite alarm sounds.

This is why a bobbin needs to be used when using a bite alarm, so that the line will turn the wheel and therefore the bite alarm will sound.

This may be an over simplified version, but in essence it is the basics of bite alarm operation.

Lyns lands 39 lb Pike

Lyn Baker stunned the angling world when she reeled in the biggest pike ever caught by a female angler at the weekend.Lyn, 32, from Newcastle, caught a 39lbs 8oz pike on a trip to the Lake of Menteith, in Scotland, on Saturday

."I'm still shaking now, I was so excited,"

she said. "It fought really hard, it was really fit. We didn't see it for five minutes after I hooked it, and when I did, I just thought oh my god."

Lyn was on a boat with her husband Neil when the monster picked up her sardine deadbait."I've been pike fishing for around three years," she said. "Neil got me into it, he fishes all the time. We used to do a lot of fly fishing for trout, then he got into pike fishing and got me to try that." Neil convinced Lyn it was worth entering the draw for a place on a fish-in on Menteith organised by the Pike Anglers Club, which she joined a few months earlier." Her previous best pike was 10lbs 8oz and I said if we go to Menteith you've got a great chance of beating it," he said."

Her first fish after half an hour was 21lbs 5oz and she was absolutely over the moon, she'd have happily gone home then."I said it'll take you a while to beat that, then she struck into this thing, it came out of the water and I've never seen anything like it."The PAC obtains a limited number of days' fishing for its members on Menteith each season. The events are always over-subscribed and members enter a draw for places.PAC special events organiser Mark Skinner said: "I spoke to Lyn in the pub the night before and said wouldn't it be great if a woman member caught the biggest fish." It's truly a great achievement for any pike angler but to see one of our female members come on here and upstage all the household names shows what the club's about. "It shows anyone can join up, get in the draw for places and stand a chance of catching a fish like this if their number comes up."

Book Review - Big Pike

'Big Pike' edited by Bob Church is a relatively new pike book (some of the photos taken in 2006), and covers all the basics and well as more advanced techniques.

Personally I found the mixture of authors to this book quite interesting, even if some of the authors did tend to ramble about pike fishing tales. It also meant a wide variety of fishing techniques and tips are covered in the book.

Most noticeable the section on lure fishing and fly fishing for pike were the obvious references to the latest in pike fishing. The authors experience in these techniques to catch big pike, makes his words very influential.

As mentioned earlier the book is a good read, since it contains stories of the anglers best and worst moments. With other books, they can get boring if they are just focused on fishing practice. In particular, the section on fishing in Canada may interest some fisherman.

At the beginning of the book some time is focused on the history of pike fishing, which can be interesting to younger anglers who do not know of the terrible treatment pike faced in those dark days.

The book retails at £19.95, but can be bought for £13.16 from Amazon.

Feeder Fishing

Feeder fishing has become very popular recently for bream, roach and carp. Below are a few steps which can improve your next feeder fishing outing.

• Make sure the distance from the hook to the feeder is quite close, so the bait from the feeder encourages the fish to bite your hook!
  
• The rod should be positioned at about 45 degrees to the side for the best bite indication when using a quiver tip.
  
• If you do not have a quiver tip rod, 'feeling' the line for tugs is a very accurate method.
  
• Change the contents of your feeder. You could use groundbait, worms, maggots or sweetcorn.
  
• Change the hookbait, and make the size of it appropriate for the size of fish you are fishing for. IE when being pestered by small fish, try using a big hookbait.

Feeder Bite Indication

Feeder fishing involves having a capsule of bait attached to your line, which then sinks to the bottom so you are ledgering. On the right the feeder is filled with ground bait. Fishing on the bottom makes good bite indication difficult since there is no float.

One method is to 'feel' the line. I suggest holding the line between your thumb and other four fingers. For this to work the line must be taut. When a fish does take your bait you should feel a tug on the line. This is by the far the most sensitive bite indication.

Another method is to 'quiver tip'. This involves the use of a 'quiver tip' rod or a rod that is quite flexible. Again the line should be taut. When the fish does pull your line the rod tip should move back and forth and hence the name 'quiver tip'.

New Fishing TV Series

On January 9th a series of 10 programs called 'Nick Hancock's Fishing School' are starting about budding fly fishermen being shown the ropes in Scottish lochs. It is on at 7.30PM on ITV1.

The TV Presenter invites would-be anglers to the Highlands of Scotland to learn the art of wild game fishing. The environment is stunning but remote and rugged - do they know what they have got themselves into?

The Benefit of Bite Alarms

A bite alarm is a device which indicates visually or by sound that you have a bite. This makes them ideally suitable for fishing where you have more than one rod, such as in Carp or Pike fishing. In these situations bite alarms reduce the pressure on you to monitor all rods at once.

They come in 2 forms. 'Front alarms' (pictured left) are placed on the first rod stick and will sound when the line is moved over them. A bobbin or drop arm is then required to ensure the line is pulled down onto the bite alarm. A post here demonstrates normal requirements of bite alarms.

Rear 'drop off' electronic bite alarms are slightly different. They only sound when the line is pulled off the clip on the drop off arm. They will sound continuously when the line is pulled free.

A recent development in bite alarms is the use of a wireless receiver. Small lights on the receiver will light up when a bite is observed. This is especially useful if you are fishing in a bivvy and might not here the alarms.