# Bobbins/Swingers



## Alex_Combs (Mar 20, 2013)

I've heard so many different reasons to use these but none seem truly necessary to me. And my bite alarms seem sensitive enough without them.

So to the people that hook them up, what is your use for them?


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Leave your bail open. Take a styrofoam cup and cut the bottom out of it. Then use the bottom two inches of the cup. It will look like a large O. Then make a tear in the O to make it a C. Now place your new strike indicator between your bottom two guides on your rod. When a fish takes the bait your wieghtless and practically free indicator will bounce up with the fish feeling zero resistance. By placing this between your bottom two guides it will not interfer with reeling in a fish. White styrofoam works like a champ at night with a black light.


----------



## Alex_Combs (Mar 20, 2013)

Who needs to old styrofoam trick when you have bite alarms though ? Lol


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Alex_Combs said:


> Who needs to old styrofoam trick when you have bite alarms though ? Lol
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Lol obviously someone trying to waste thier money.


----------



## Vince™ (Sep 20, 2011)

Flathead, you mention the "weightless" indicator which is sometimes the exact opposite of what you want. Bite indicators are often weighted (5g,10g,15g+) to pull the line back through the bite alarm if there is a "dropback." A dropback is when the Carp runs towards the bank and creates slack line. With a weightless indicator, the line with not cause the bite alarm to sound. 

That being said, bite indicators aren't absolutely necessary with bite alarms, but they will give you positive indication whether you have a dropback or screaming run.


----------



## Garyoutlaw77 (Feb 3, 2005)

Hangers & swingers are designed to keep direct back tension on your line - thus keeping your line in tight contact to the roller wheel indicator part of your alarms. They are not required but are a way to maximize the sensitivity of your alarms as well as offering a visual indicator of bites.

I know of quite a few Anglers who were given the old bread crust line -indicator trick from Crappie Looker at COSI.

I have both styles and find benefits to each and best advice I can offer is buy quality that will last.

Sorry Vince beat me to the punch


----------



## TimJC (Apr 6, 2004)

As Gary and Vince have said, swingers/hangers are not critical, but do add increased sensitivity and versatility to your setup. Prior to electronic bite alarms these types of indicators were the primary means of bite detection.

While electronic bite alarms are convenient, alone they are most effective at short range (<20-25 yards) where the fish is more likely to run away from you than towards you (back bite). If line isn't peeling off the reel, the bite alarm isn't likely to make a peep. This becomes an issue the further out your fish, as there is more slack in the line, making the bite alarm less sensitive, and increasing the likelihood of the fish moving the bait without activating the bite alarm.

The purpose of using a bite indicator (swinger/hanger) in addition to a bite alarm is to combat these situations by adding just enough weight between the reel and bite alarm to remove _some_ of the slack in the line. The further out you fish, the more weight that will be required to increase this sensitivity. You want to get away with as little weight as possible, so the line near the end tackle sits close to the lakebed. If you pull all the slack out of the line by adding too much weight, the line will lift off the bottom near the rig, which can startle the fish. You are also more likely to get false indications (line bites) from fish brushing up against the line, whether or not they are interacting with your baited rig.

I use swingers with my alarms almost all the time. There are a lot of times when a small catfish, shad, bluegill, or even a bass can take the bait, but these fish might not be able to move the lead (sinker) enough to activate the bite alarm without the added sensitivity the indicator provides. I cannot count the times where this has happened, and without the bite alarm beeping infrequently from the swinger moving, I may have left a rig out that already had a "nuisance" fish on it.


----------

