Cutting Out The Clip - The Formation Of The Rollover

This isn't yet another article about such and such a drop off indicator or monkey climber that is just a revamp of what already exists. This is something new. It lifts off the line by means of weights rolling down a tube.

Over the years there have been so many indicators. In the 1960s I learnt the art of legering for roach using bread paste as a dough bobbin. This was the most common indicator before the swingtip came along.

As a teenager in the 70s, I became fascinated with a new way of thinking - specimen hunting - where thinking anglers refined techniques and tackle to catch big specimen fish by design. Silver foil wrapped into a cylinder shape replaced the dough bobbin and the bail arm was left open so that a run could develop. I can easily recall the magical sound of line rustling through the foil on a calm and sultry midsummer night as a rare specimen carp (yes rare, the good old days when carp were rare) made off with the 'secret' cat food paste. This was the era when carp anglers fished with low resistance, free running rigs. The rod would be angled steeply downwards, pointing towards the bait and the bail arm left open.

During this era most anglers made their own indicators. One attempt at progress involved sliding the foil cylinder down a knitting needle that had been pushed into the ground at an angle. These were the first monkey climbers. Washing up bottle tops, corks, cords, hairgrips, map pins and more were used to make a variety of home-made indicators. I remember seeing a pike angler using a drop-off indicator made with a hairgrip for the line grip and a table tennis ball as the sight bob.

During the 80s the boilie style of fishing resulted in a boom in carp angling tackle sales. The introduction of the baitrunner-type reel meant that rods could be fished with closed bail arms. This meant that the indicator could now be fixed to the front rest rather than at the back where it must be to retain line on the spool when open bailing. A whole new era of all singing, all dancing (all swinging, all dangling) style of glitzy indicators was born. These came with various different tension settings, adjustable line grips and sliding weights. Matching sets became the order of the day. Pike anglers had now developed the drop off arm and line clip which became commercially produced in various all swinging, all dangling, adjustable styles

WILD FISH

After seven or eight years of fanatical carp angling I lost the bug and moved on to fish for other species. These days I prefer to seek truly wild fish, especially eels and zander, using my preferred 'old fashioned' approach of free- running, low-resistance rig fished with open bail arm, rod angled towards the fish and lightweight bobbin hanging between reel and butt ring. Having tried many different indicators over the years my preferred choice for the last decade or so has been, if the conditions suit, the simple lightweight, free-hanging bobbin such as a washing up bottle top, plumbers clip, curtain hook or a plastic coated cup hook. Or, second best, when conditions are too rough for bobbins, I use pike-type drop off indicators instead. I have fished like this exclusively and extensively up until last year when I finally found something more suitable.

What I am going to tell you about now is how I discovered a new type of indicator that beats the pants off all the above mentioned indicators. This type lifts off rather than drops off. For the kind of angling I do it is just so much easier to use. I have used nothing else for the last year and have now made two sets of new, glitzy, all shining, jingling, carefully loaded, critically balanced lift off tubes and found them very user friendly. They don't sway in the wind, still work whether sun, rain or frost, are made of strong, shockproof materials and they actually make a noise when they flip off.

The idea of a lift off indicator was spawned whilst eel fishing one night. Problems occurred while fishing off a stage which was rather too high above the water. First, it was bats hitting the line, which was overcome by angling the rods more steeply until the tips were underwater. Next problem was the 'bit bites' as hoards of small fish whittled away at the bait. Each time the free hanging bobbin lifted, the steep angle of the rod was causing coils of line to spring from the fully loaded spool. I often suffer from a similar line spill whenever there is a strong wind from behind. When this happens I replace the free-hanging bobbins with pike-type drop-off arms - the ones with the adjustable line grip on the end. These stop the line spilling from the spool.

As I said, these drop-off indicators are my second choice for eel angling, and although I use these for most of my zander angling on the fen drains, I've still never been entirely happy with them. Clips have to be adjusted to suit varying strengths of wind and water flow. Fishing on the fens both wind and flow can fluctuate. This leads to a tendency to over-tighten the line grip to compensate for any sudden wind gust or current surge. With the clip too tight, when a fish takes the bait, what often happens is that the indicator will lift and pull tight at which point the fish rejects the bait as it feels the resistance of the over-tightened clip. When the clip isn't too tight; it's too loose, causing endless false runs. Also a clip may be gripping the line on a frosty night only to loosen off when the sun rises in the morning and the clip expands. I must have spent many hours of my life adjusting and readjusting these line clips - they always seem too tight or too loose. I've never been happy with them.

For years I have puzzled over alternatives to drop off alarms and their line grips. I've tried various inventions along the way but always ended up going back to what works for me - free hanging bobbins or drop offs.

EUREKA!

On the night it all changed, I had once again started puzzling over indicators and looking for improvements. A visit to Pete Drabble's bivvy turned into a discussion about our past discussions on indicators. Once again we ended up on an often mentioned topic - an article by Maurice Steeles in one of my old British Eel Angling Club magazines and some of the indicators that anglers such as he and John Sidley had tinkered with at that time. It is at this point that we always get stuck. The problem is that everything is fine as the indicator lifts towards the rod only for things to be not quite satisfactory at the drop off/clip off point when the line is at its tightest.

I went back to my bivvy and sat up all night puzzling and puzzling it over and over. As always, there seemed to be something missing, something not quite right. I got determined, pitched my mind to it as though to a cryptic crossword and tried to look for a new approach. A few sketches were drawn to try and get the ball rolling, followed by a really, really big think.

The first brainwave to be sketched was working on an idea of a line grip that would release itself. The idea was to try creating a line grip at the end of a tube which could be locked shut or released open by some how using sand, lead balls, mercury or whatever to push against a back plate inside the tube and close the line gripper on the end. Once the indicator is raised then the medium will roll down the tube and release the end grip. This seemed like a long shot but you've got to start somewhere.

As I was drawing diagrams 1A and 1B the answer to this problem suddenly seemed
obvious. In diagram 1E it can be seen how in tube (a) the medium is bearing down and closing the line grip. In tube (b), once the medium reaches the
end of the tube there is still too much weight because of the weight of the tube bearing on the line grip end. As I looked at the diagram the answer hit me - it needs to lift off. I pencilled
in the dotted extensions a and b in diagram 1E. This would allow the medium to roll past the pivot point which should act like a see saw and lift the other end off the line.

SEE-SAW

By the time it got light I had made the first prototype with a biro, some split shot and a quiver tip - see diagram 2. It worked too. I have been using them ever since but it hasn't been all plain sailing. I thought that the realisation of this see­saw principle, along with the fact that I had finally managed to make one that works ok, would see these indicators ready to use. As the weeks went by it became obvious that an extensive period of research and development was needed to develop the indicator further. This stage involved trying various materials to test both their suitability and durability whilst trying various different designs in order to find the optimum weight, length and shape to produce a controlled lift off.

Using plastic plumber's pipes and plastic drinking straws, many different design shapes were tried (diagram 3). After months of trials the penny finally dropped and I realised that the shape and weight of the indicator made little difference since the point of balance and see-saw principle means that whatever weight is added to one side must be added to the other. It was therefore decided to settle for one straight tube of uniform diameter with enough drilled bullets in it to get some weight forward bearing down on the line. Smaller models were made with various different loadings of swan shot.

The test was to be on the fen drains when some good run offs could be expected as autumn rains added to the flow. When zander fishing the drains the indicator would need enough weight forward to hold against the flow when the drain is running off. They sort of worked but the drilled bullets and split shot weren't perfectly round. This stopped them rolling as freely as desired. Also, the whole thing is like a balance scale and any weight added forward has to be added to the rear to balance up the see-saw. Attempts at getting more weight forward resulted in the whole thing getting a bit too chunky and heavy. It seemed that a slimmer, more lightweight body material was needed for the tube.

During winter they were rebuilt using aluminium tubing filled with ball bearings. These were then taken for a couple of trial trips to the fens in February and March, hoping for plenty of zander runs to lift off the indicator. The zander weren't feeding in the sub zero temperatures. The only run in two trips produced an unexpected sea trout of 6lb 9oz on deadbait from the Relief Channel. This had no problem flipping over the indicator tube as it gave me the fastest run I've ever experienced on the fens.

Despite this being the only run on which to test the indicator tubes, I was still able to test the ability of the indicator to hold in the current, their resistance to freezing temperatures and how they are, or aren't, affected by gusting wind. They worked ok until it got wet and the ball bearings rusted up inside the tube where they became a rusty coloured sludge that didn't want to roll freely. Also, the aluminium proved to be a bit too thick in the wall so lighter materials were looked for.

The next improvement involved using lightweight, thin-walled, titanium tubing with rust-free stainless steel ball bearings. Various numbers of ball bearings were tried in each tube to find the optimum loading.

The final design wasn't an instant find and weeks were spent looking for something to replace the line grip. Altogether, a lot of time was spent tinkering with different means of attachment to the line with a groove, hook, claw, bent-clip or whatever. Once the bent claw was decided on. its optimum angle had to be configured; also it was found necessary to add a line backstop which had to be made from lightweight materials. Further time was spent deciding where to put the pivot point as this has an effect on the resulting action and sensitivity of the indicator.

PIVOT POINT

In the process it was discovered that placing the pivot point on the underside of the tube proved better for sensitivity than putting it on the top. Also the addition of a sliding counterbalance weight meant the pivot point could be further to the rear allowing a longer bit at the front where it has to reach from back rest to reel. At first it had been decided against a sliding weight for adjustment because this tends to dull the action and make it less sharp. Instead, a model was made with three pivot points (diagram 4), giving low, medium and high weight loadings towards the front. To adjust sensitivity, the arm is relocated on the next pivot point. This was later altered to one pivot point with the addition of a sliding weight for adjustments (diagram 5) which would help to get more, or less, weight bearing down on the line at the front end of the indicator. It seemed worth sacrificing some of the sharpness of action for the sake of making the indicator more user-friendly. It was now so simple to adjust. Make things as basic as you can is my policy. With the final choice of design it is no longer necessary to fiddle about and relocate the pivot attachment; now you just slide the weight instead.

USER FRIENDLY

The reason that they are so easy to use is because whilst fishing with them for the last I 'A years I have been constantly assessing and modifying with a view to making them easier to use for the type of angling I practice. After getting fed up messing about with line clips I wanted something to simply push down onto the line when setting it after casting. Also, after getting fed up with flexible indicators that sway in strong gusting winds I wanted something rigid. It has worked out fine as they are now, undoubtedly, a joy to use. Once the final design of the indicator was formed, the heavier settings were found to be suitable for flowing water and livebaiting while the lighter settings passed the test for still conditions and small or finicky species. What fun the field testing has proved too. During the research and development trips I went either eel or zander fishing and caught loads of eels to 6lb 8oz and zander to 10lb 6oz using these indicators. Many other species were caught, more by accident than by design, including perch to 3lb 8oz; tench to 7lb-plus; bream to 6lb-plus; carp over 20lb as well as pike, roach, rudd, tench, ide, a sea trout and a few mitten crabs. So the indicators have been well tested.

Another advantage of these indicators is that you hear a jingle noise when the ball bearings slide down to hit the bottom of the tube. This can alert the angler to a run without the need for a buzzer type alarm. Recent articles in the angling weeklies announced that local anglers are in uproar because buzzer type alarms have been banned on a popular section of the Thames. Jingle jingle...

Pike anglers should note that although these were originally developed for zander and eel angling they are equally as good for pike. I wouldn't be surprised if they became favoured for perch, bream, tench and more. This summer I have been spotted using them by the occasional angler. Each one has instantly noticed the shiny metal indicators. On each occasion the reaction has been, "wow, superb, those would be much better than the drop-offs I use for pike fishing. Where can I buy some?" If other anglers find them as useful as I do, I can see these completely replacing the old type of drop off. Patent applied for.