On my way off the water on Sunday I did a little detour to scrounge a brew. Whilst in my mates peg I spotted he had a new pair of swingers. Indicators that is! There was no pampas grass, ash tray or car keys in sight.

It turns out that they are home made and I have to say they really are quite impressive.

This got me thinking back to my early introduction to carp fishing and how back then it was quite common for people to make bits and pieces.


On reflection I can’t help thinking that the commercialisation of our sport could be having a negative effect on innovation. Long gone are the days when people would turn up at the local water with their latest little invention hoping to put it through its paces.


This all reminded me of one of my little inventions that did not quite work out to plan. At the time I was fishing quite a rough inner city park where the likely hood of somebody tying to lift your rods while asleep was quite high. Enter the rod guardian MK1. Quite simply it was a pair of micro switches fitted into my butt rests with a wire leading back to a buzzer inside my bivvy. Once armed any attempt to lift the rods from their rests would result in a very loud alarm sounding. If the alarm alone did not send the potential thief on their heels the second part of the system was a baseball bat.

If the system worked ok my plan was to build up a proper control box with a proper battery holder and a big toggle on off switch. The reason for the plan of a big switch was so that it would be easy to see and disarm in the dark. For the purpose of testing though I settled for just trapping the wires against the terminals of a pp3 battery.

Everything worked fine until one dark night I was rudely awoken from my sleep from the blaring alarm of the rod guardian. I fumbled around for a few seconds locating the bat and then I plunged out of the bivvy door ready to confront the potential rod thief. To be honest I was relieved to find my peg deserted with no sign of anybody ever being there. That relief turned quickly to confusion. Why had the alarm gone off, more to the point why was it still going off? Clearly the rods were still on their rests. While this is all going on the alarm is still blaring and this was a very busy yet intimate little water.

It took but a few seconds for the first confused mumblings of complaint from the other anglers to turn into threats of serious physical damage, mostly promises of relocating the alarm into a lower orifice. This galvanized my mind and I quickly decided to pull the battery and work out the problem at a later date. Trouble was, such was my hasty exit from my bivvy that I had knocked everything flying under my sun lounger and my sleeping bag was in a heap on the floor. I could not even find my torch never mind a PP3 battery.

After searching for a couple of seconds and with the threats growing louder in my ears I gave up on the battery and simply yanked the wires from the micro switches.

In the morning with a clear head and light on my side, I quickly worked out that the micro switches had shorted out in the rain. For the system to work clearly I needed to make the switches water proof. Sadly I never got round to making the rod guardian MK2. For some reason my heart was no longer in it. Besides there was a good chance I would not survive seeing the system perfected.


What do you guys think has innovation gone out of the sport and as such could we now run the risk of stagnating while waiting for the tackle trade to come up with all the new ideas? Does anybody reading this still make their own equipment and dabble with new ideas and concepts?

We are all spoilt for choice and peer pressure comes into play.

I made myself some danglers the other day for a snide rod or two Ised the old kinder eggs, screwed a line clip in and used a bit of leadcore as the cord. Work a treat but dont look owt like your new Korda Stows.

No real innovation in that but still DIY.

btw
I liked your idea for the anti rod theft alarm, it would be much better if you could wire it to 240v. So long as you dont forget yourself.

Made a few bits of tackle over the years me..some great.. some not so great but all extremely usable..
Like this little light,out of bits i had left over..3xAAA battery box(switched).3 x white leds..1 x missus`s ear-ring case/cover(sanded to dull effect).
1 x resistor..1 x strip of stick on velcro.

The tiny light is a dull light,made for lighting the floor area of the bivvy only...upto now with the same 3xAAA batts...9 days and nights constant...lervly for those long winter nights.

clic the pic

I make loads of my own gear, especially for piking. I quite enjoy a bit of faffing about making stuff when I can't get out or everywhere is frozen. I regularly make marker and pike floats and indicators. Current prototypes are a soft vaned marker and some new pike drop offs. I also have several lures to finish off (paint and epoxy coat). I'm always thinking of stuff to make, modify or repair better than it was originally. Maybe it's because I'm a a bit of an ocd perfectionist type that can never find something thar does exactly what I want?

Landing net handle from a beach caster, when you could only buy the telescopic alloy type, a couple of very unsuccessful bite alarms in baccy tins, tension arm indicators from old quiver/spring tips so you could vary the tension. God knows what else, but it seemed that not much got used without being modified.

In the mid-70s I used Fairy Liquid tops for bobbins, different colour per rod to be ultra-cult....then Duncan Kay showed me how to cut up plastic wine bottle tops/sealers and hang them on knitting needles...such sophistication.....

Oh to be where it is as oppsosed to where we are LED!!!!!

kind regards Jeff

It really is a shame that its a dying art. I have seen things on the banks cobbled together in somebodys shed or spare room that have eventually made it onto the shelves of tackle shops.

Some of those cottage industries have gone on to be some of the big names in our sport.

Trouble is without that culture of innovation and invention what will the future bring? Where are the next Nash, Aqua, Korda etc going to come from?

Used to make loads of stuff when I started float fishing ~ all my floats from peacock quill and sarkansas reed, my own tackle box, always shortening banksticks, target boards for swing tips. The list was probably endless. I still make 90% of my own leads, marker floats and usually end up "modifying" a lot of the stuff bought over the counter to suit my needs.......



Messed about with these in the 80's ~ for a laugh if nothing else



Marker floats I've found to be better than anything I can buy.



A fox pod modified for two rod use and jetty/high bank work (not that I like using pods) The red stuff on the solar rear rest is catapult elastic, stops the rods being dragged off the rest admirably (cheers Mr Murray)
The bobbins are homemade, you can get loads if you know any Turners for the price of a 12 pack (2ba)

Been using sloany's markers for over a year and they are fantastic!!! Could do with a couple more making up if you have the time mate

stumpalead supplies has been around since the mid 80's - too tight to buy um

like a lot of you guys and girls (lizard people) stuff from over the counter get modified in the shed or on the bank

Hi Andy.
Are these the indicaters that you were eyeing up mate?

Made by our mate Phil Hackett, from a pair of original Bob Hendersons.

As soon as as I read Andy's first post, the name Hackett sprung to mind, although if Andy's mate was carp fishing, it wasn't him!

I have several original designs from the esteemed Mr. Hackett myself. The man is a walking, talking, pure English eccentric and it was my pleasure to fish with him for a number of years in the late 80's.

Phil was making rod pods, swingers, bobbins, self-opening swim feeders, spring-tips and rucksacks on wheels before anybody else had even thought about them.

I remember his optonics stopped working so he took a week out, went to the library every day and taught himself micro-electronics! He them made some himself.

His only fault is that he has a very dim view regarding most carp anglers! Although........

Hi Stenchman. How's Bert doing?

They are indeed the ones I was eyeing up, while Phil was busy making me a brew.

It has to be said that you can't really tell how well made they are from that photo.


Its a small world John!

The indicators in question were indeed made by Phil Hackett. And no he was not carp fishing.

Either his attitude to carp anglers has softened a little, or lucky for me I don't qualify as "most carp anglers"!

Sound bloke, very interesting, very clever and makes a cracking brew.

Hi Andy, next time you meet him, ask him about the time I nicked an 8lb + barbel out of his swim coz I just chucked my rod in the edge while he made me a brew! Ooops! Sorry, Phil!

Also I have travelled the length sand breadth of England as a passenger in his Robin Reliant with no heater, and helped push it back onto its wheels after it was pushed over on to its side while we were fishing.

I have loads of stories of Phil and his inventions. Truly, a remarkable bloke! I must give him a bell. :-)

He even has a user account on this site (merlin, if remember it right)