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Went fishing with a couple of mates between Aberdyfi & Tywyn this evening and with no surf to speak of (= no fish by & large), I took the time to try these D-vice gizmos out.
I have never before found something that combines easy long casting with 100% intact bait (I knew that because nothing was feeding so I could retrieve everything back for a look!).
Just to get this into perspective, I was fishing 6ft running legers of 20lb Amnesia with ~10 beads, to 1/0 hooks baited with soft crab and mussel (no elastic), with as a tip a single 3-4 inch ragworm head-hooked just once or alternatively a thin strip of AMMO frozen razor.
Because nothing was about to eat them, I was reeling in every 40 minutes or so and able to inspect how the baits had fared. The ragworms were not only intact, but still wriggling! This is after casts exceeding 100m.
I am very impressed indeed. This is far superior to any bait-clip system I have used FOR LONG-RANGE - that is where the advantage exists. It's not far off casting a plain lead out in terms of easy distance even with an overhead thump-type cast.
Had one cast (my first) where the D-vice failed to eject its contents: I was aiming at just inside a sandbank beginning 100m out, but the thing whizzed out much further than expected, and went plop into the foamy surf breaking over the bank - very shallow in other words given that no surf was to be seen anywhere else. So if you are only fishing water six inches deep it won't work LOL! The other casts all worked perfectly well.
The lads eventually had an insize turbot apiece close-in within minutes of each other - a small group of them must have passed along very close to the shore - so I switched to seeing if I could pick up a straggler, to no avail, but found the D-vice to be an effective swimfeeder full of finely-chopped mackerel at the same time. So they have their uses close-in as well.
Now I can't wait to deploy them in "fishy" conditions
Great invention, and after today's tests, I would recommend it highly for anyone wanting to fish soft or delicate baits, especially at range and especially where presentation is critical, which is particularly the case in daylight on shallow beaches where sight plays a big role in fish feeding patterns.
A recommendation I would make is to make an additional one, with the same weight of lead but squatter in shape, so that a wider tube may be fitted. This would have applications with monster-size cod baits etc. Something to think about IMO.
Cheers - John
I have never before found something that combines easy long casting with 100% intact bait (I knew that because nothing was feeding so I could retrieve everything back for a look!).
Just to get this into perspective, I was fishing 6ft running legers of 20lb Amnesia with ~10 beads, to 1/0 hooks baited with soft crab and mussel (no elastic), with as a tip a single 3-4 inch ragworm head-hooked just once or alternatively a thin strip of AMMO frozen razor.
Because nothing was about to eat them, I was reeling in every 40 minutes or so and able to inspect how the baits had fared. The ragworms were not only intact, but still wriggling! This is after casts exceeding 100m.
I am very impressed indeed. This is far superior to any bait-clip system I have used FOR LONG-RANGE - that is where the advantage exists. It's not far off casting a plain lead out in terms of easy distance even with an overhead thump-type cast.
Had one cast (my first) where the D-vice failed to eject its contents: I was aiming at just inside a sandbank beginning 100m out, but the thing whizzed out much further than expected, and went plop into the foamy surf breaking over the bank - very shallow in other words given that no surf was to be seen anywhere else. So if you are only fishing water six inches deep it won't work LOL! The other casts all worked perfectly well.
The lads eventually had an insize turbot apiece close-in within minutes of each other - a small group of them must have passed along very close to the shore - so I switched to seeing if I could pick up a straggler, to no avail, but found the D-vice to be an effective swimfeeder full of finely-chopped mackerel at the same time. So they have their uses close-in as well.
Now I can't wait to deploy them in "fishy" conditions
Great invention, and after today's tests, I would recommend it highly for anyone wanting to fish soft or delicate baits, especially at range and especially where presentation is critical, which is particularly the case in daylight on shallow beaches where sight plays a big role in fish feeding patterns.
A recommendation I would make is to make an additional one, with the same weight of lead but squatter in shape, so that a wider tube may be fitted. This would have applications with monster-size cod baits etc. Something to think about IMO.
Cheers - John