ANGLERS have come up with some really weird and wonderful inventions – some more successful than others.
Remember the Pole Cat and the Clever Claw? Love it or loathe it, technology and invention is here to stay. So here’s our team’s pick of the best gadgets, gizmos, tools and angling tech available on the market today!
PRESTON MAG STORE SYSTEM
This waterproof hooklength box, with removable pegs held in by magnets, can be customised, and you can even buy additional sticks complete with ready-tied hooks. In several sizes.
Price: £3.99 - £19.99, www.prestoninnovations.com
GO FISH CAM
Unlike its rivals, this wireless underwater fishing camera can be attached to your line just above your rig to catch footage of the fish taking your bait. It’s tricky to set up with static baits, but works fantastically well when lure fishing.
Price: £159.99, www.gofishcam.com
RITE WEIGH
With this lightweight set of scales that fits between your landing net pole and net you can weigh each fish as you return it to the water or lower it into a keepnet.
Mainly aimed at match anglers to stop them going over their keepnet limit, it can also be used by pleasure anglers to quickly see the weight of their fish.
Price: £24.99, www.ritetackle.co.uk
SPOMB
A worthy successor to the spod, a Spomb flies well, doesn’t spill, casts miles and releases bait on impact thanks to its spring-loaded mechanism. It floats, too, causing minimal disturbance to feeding fish.
Price: £10.99 - £14.99, www.spomb.com
MATRIX DURALITE TRANSPORTER
A super-stable, lightweight skeleton platform for wading with a seatbox, it converts into a barrow to get your kit to the peg. The whole lot disassembles so it can be packed into a bag and stowed in the car.
Price: £329.99, www.fishmatrix.co.uk
GARDNER TACKLE SPIN DOCTOR
Line twist is an unavoidable curse, made worse with the use of a clutch or freespool. But the grooves in a Spin Doctor lead cause it to rotate anti-clockwise on the retrieve, so just a couple of casts will remove any twist in the line.
Price: £3.50 - £4.50, www.gardnertackle.co.uk
PROLOGIC QUICK RELEASE CONNECTOR
This time-saving device turns every attachment into a quick-release accessory, be it a keepnet, rod rest, pole sock or bite alarm. Comes in small, medium and large.
Price: £13.99 for three, www.prologicfishing.com
NASH DELIVERANCE BALL MAKER
The rounder and more consistent your groundbait balls, the greater your accuracy. The two sizes of this handy little gadget both make perfectly round balls and include a plunger to release them from the chamber.
Price: £7.99 - £9.99, www.nashtackle.co.uk
RINGERS SLAMO STYLE DISGORGER
Instead of a slot, this disgorger has a loop and slit arrangement which is far easier to use on bigger hooks and deep-hooked fish.
Price: £1.50, www.benwicksports.co.uk
DAIWA SENSOR LINE LOADER
Loading a reel with line can be tricky unless you have a friend with a pencil handy! This cheap gadget ensures you get the right tension of line, and that it goes on to your spool twist and tangle-free.
Price: £16.99, www.daiwasports.co.uk
FOX MICRON BITE ALARMS
A host of features, including a high-quality roller wheel, dual step sensitivity, tone and volume control, as well as rod-identifying coloured LEDs, make the Micron range market leaders. The more expensive models are compatible with a receiver, so you don’t disturb your neighbours.
Price: £34.99 - £220.00, www.foxint.com
DEEPER SMART SONAR
Fish-finders aren’t just for locating fish, but will map depths and find underwater features too. Deeper produces pocket-sized devices that are cast into the lake and send back location and mapping data to your smartphone.
Price: £89.99 - £309.99, www.deepersonar.com
NASH PINPOINT HOOK DOCTOR
When life at the end of the line becomes dull, you can either put on a fresh hook or sharpen the existing one.
For the latter, the Hook Doctor takes some beating! A battery-powered rotating polishing stone sharpens and remodels hookpoints in seconds. A choice of clockwise and counter-clockwise running ensures a professional finish.
Price: £87.99, www.nashtackle.co.uk
ANGLING TECHNICS MICROCAT MKIII
Radio-controlled and fitted with two bait hoppers, the Microcat MKIII can deliver 4kg of bait and a rig in one go. An echo sounder can be fitted as an extra, while GPS allows the boat to visit the same spot time and time again, at night or in fog and well beyond casting range (600m).
Price: Around £900, www.anglingtechnics.co.uk
PRESTON FLOATER PELLET BANDER
No matter how nimble your fingers, banding a bait is a fiddly business. This elasticated device has four prongs that open up a band so a bait can be positioned without fuss.
Price: £4.49, www.prestoninnovations.com
BERKLEY POCKET LINE STRIPPER AND STRIPPER MAX
Not just one, but two handy devices for taking old line off your reel. The battery-powered pocket version rips line off the spool and into a bucket, bag or bin that can be held underneath. The Max version is attached to a cordless drill and creates a coil of line for recycling.
Price: £11.99 - £19.99, www.berkley-fishing.co.uk
PRESTON INNOVATIONS GROUNDBAIT WHISK
Knocking up large quantities of groundbait can be a pain unless you use this stainless steel whisk. Attached to a drill, it’s job done in no time! The finished mix is usually so good that it doesn’t even need riddling.
Price: £21.99, www.prestoninnovations.com
CYGNET BAITING POLE
This is used to accurately bait up and present a rig next to features. Payloads of bait, plus the rig, are placed in a baiting spoon and floated out to the required spot.
In 12m and 16m lengths, but 1.5m extensions are available to make it as long as you need. A cheat, or an indispensable tool for fishing tricky enclosed swims? You decide…
Price: £149.99 - £236.99, www.cygnettackle.co.uk
NASH POWER BARROWS
THE powerful 150w motor is a huge help to older or infirm anglers. Two sizes are available, both with under-barrow storage bags, battery charger and a rear wheel kit. Capable of four miles-plus between charges, it comes apart for packing into a car.
Price: £989.99 - £1,044.99, www.nashtackle.co.uk
MIDDY SAWN-OFF SHOTGUN PELLET FEEDER
This tweaked and improved version of Rob Wootton’s original design still catches loads of fish today.
The Shotgun is spring-loaded to push the bait out faster, yet still offers superb presentation. It’s even found fans in Italy, where they load it with sticky mag.
Price: £2.99, [ www.middytackle.com](www.middytackle.comckle.com)
PRESTON INNOVATIONS MEASURING STICKS
Measuring sticks, still something of a mystery to some of us, allow the angler to accurately measure the distance at which they have chosen to fish, so they can set up multiple rods for the same spot or find a feature for a second time after unclipping.
Price: £24.99, www.prestoninnovations.com
FEEDERLAND FISH COUNTER AND STOPWATCH
A dual fish counter allows you to keep track of what is in each keepnet so you don’t exceed the fishery limit, while a stopwatch can time intervals between casts when feeder fishing. Includes a clamp to attach it to seatbox or feeder chair legs.
Price: £54.99, www.feederland.co.uk
NASH MEDI CARP KIT
Any wound, pre-existing or in a carp’s mouth from the hook, can all be treated with this handy kit. Simply dry the area with the microfibre towel then apply the liquid. It dries in seconds to provide a seal against infection and encourage tissue regeneration.
Price: £15.99, www.nashtackle.co.uk
MATCHMAN HOOK TYER
Tie your own spade end hooks and you’ll keep costs down and be able to tailor your hooklength to your exact needs.
For years anglers have relied on the trusty Matchman Hook Tyer as a quick, easy and cost-effective solution.
Price: Around £3.60, www.benwicksports.co.uk
PRESTON XR BANJO FEEDER AND MOULD
This latest version is a mix of alloy and plastic for perfect flight and presentation. Inline and elasticated stems are available. A spring loaded mould ensures the feeder is loaded perfectly every time.
Price: £2.99 - £3.79, www.prestoninnovations.com
