Bait droppers....

[Alan Whitty]

I have been using the plastic Dinsmores version for many years but in recent times they have become a rubbish item, I've lost two doors just fell off and the cork where you hook onto is now superglue so that also falls off, my problem is, is that the lead on the plastic dropper is the right size but the metal ones have too little causing issues sinking straight down in running water, I've tried many variations, ie Fox, Seymo etc but am unhappy size wise, does anyone have a suggestion, or possible a tackle shop who sources their own version?

 

[nottskev]

I know what you mean Alan. I think it's a tackle item crying out for a good new design- there are countless good pole cups and ingenious feeders, but no sign of anything new in bait droppers. Mind you, if I ever get a decent one I can be relied on to drop it straight into a snag that swallows it up.

Did you see the home-made one Steve Arnold put up a couple of weeks back?

 

[Philip]

Finding a good dropper is a pain. I find the issue of durability more of a concern than the issue of not enough lead as you can add lead to a dropper if its too light. I liked the metal Dinsmores but the hinges are rubbish and the door falls offf over time. I think it was Cygnet that used to make some droppers that looked alot like the Dinsmores ones but they also had a giant model..biggest I have ever seen but it appears to be discontinued.

I recently started to use these droppers from AL-U they are not perfect, you have to glue the plastic lug that holds the door shut on the metal arm else it pulls off but since I did that they seem to work ok but I have only used them for a short while so reserve final judgement. You also need to add lead in a strong current but what I did like was the large size holds alot of bait. There are two sizes medium and large, I am not sure if they are available in the UK so it may take some googling to find.

 

[Alan Whitty]

No I hadn't Kev, when I was working a made a few, I'm not sure about trying the small Korum whatever it's called, but I'm my experience in fast water(like the H.Avon in many places) great care needed to be taken emptying a dropper,if you lifted it off the bottom to open the door your bait would wash away, so I always was very gentle with it, the Korum thingy looks to open just above bottom, not ideal, on the small river I use small metal ones at times but on rivers like the Stour when it flows you need a slightly bigger dropper, say 50-70mm with at least 0.75ozs on it, I rarely use one these days, but I don't like going barbel fishing without one...

 

[@Clive]

The Fox ones I have used since moving here 11 years ago are still going strong. They have been customised using heavy braid to provide safety straps in case the doors fell off or the connecter swivel became loose. So far they haven't failed.

I also have the Korum Bopper in small and large sizes. The small Bopper is ideal for using with rods of 1.25lb tc. The large Bopper is about half of the size of the large Fox dropper and can be cast using conventional 2lb rods. The Fox in its largest size needs an Uptider rod to chuck it.

I also have a couple of older, small Dinsmore metal banjo types that I use on a rig designed to discharge before hitting the bottom. They are really good, no problems at all, but the modern types don't look as though they will last.

 

[@Clive]

No I hadn't Kev, when I was working a made a few, I'm not sure about trying the small Korum whatever it's called, but I'm my experience in fast water(like the H.Avon in many places) great care needed to be taken emptying a dropper,if you lifted it off the bottom to open the door your bait would wash away, so I always was very gentle with it, the Korum thingy looks to open just above bottom, not ideal, on the small river I use small metal ones at times but on rivers like the Stour when it flows you need a slightly bigger dropper, say 50-70mm with at least 0.75ozs on it, I rarely use one these days, but I don't like going barbel fishing without one...

The Korum one falls over as it discharges and you have to lift and drop the feeder a couple of times to make sure that it is empty before retrieving it. I use it on a fast flowing river without any problem. I can see it land in some places.

 

[Philip]

Worth saying that since Steve Arnold made his post about a home made dropper I have been tempted to make my own again. The issue for me with making a homemade droppers was always the hinge on the door which is fiddly to do but Steves idea to use a couple of cable ties seems a great & simple method to address this.

I have a feeling its probably going to be better for large quantities however as I suspect for precison baiting with a tiny dropper a door hinged by cable ties will probably not sit absolutly flush and perfectly closed so some bait may slip out of the gap between the door and the dropper body.

 

[Alan Whitty]

It's annoying that the Al-u ones aren't available here just to try one as the lead seems ideal for my purposes...

 

[Ray Roberts]

I made a large one and used a piece of old seatbelt webbing for a hinge. More recently I couldn’t source any from the local tackle shop, so I sourced some from Amazon. Three different sizes for about a tenner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Philip]

Re: AL-U ..looks like you can contact the bloke who makes them on his facebook page - "Plombee possions fond" ...I think he speaks English.

If your struggling to source one I can post you one next time I am back over there but it could be quite a while.

 

[mikench]

Silly question of the day , is there a light telescopic pole for use solely with a pole pot. I don’t have a pole or a whip and the Preston Kups like these * won’t fit onto the threaded end of a landing net pole. I have no idea why I bought them but might use them if I could attach them to a light telescopic pole or fit them onto a net handle. The pots have little screw in handles for a threaded grommet on the side of each pot. I lost my baitdropper the first time I used it on the river and never replaced it. I haven’t missed it.

* no pics as yet as iPad hasn’t synched with phone or vice versa for some reason.

 

[Alan Whitty]

Usually telescopic poles wouldn't be threaded for pots Mike, so your best option is a cheap baiting pole with thread for cupping...


And to Philip, thanks for the offer and info, just seems strange that someone doesn't source them here

 

[@Clive]

If you are not fishing with a pole then do you really need that level of precision and the restriction of distance when baiting up? Baiting by hand or by a small catapult should suffice at the sort of distances a cupping pole would reach. It is unlikely that your float would be in exactly the same place every time anyway.

I can understand that a bait dropper wouldn't my tool of choice on sub 2 acre stillwaters, but why use a cupping pole if you are fishing rod and line?

 

[mikench]

Why indeed. I probably wouldn’t in truth but I was curious how these pots were used by pole anglers. I’m even more curious why I ever bought them.

Alan , if you can source those bait droppers and want to buy them, you could arrange delivery to my home in Nice and I will bring them home and post to you. I’m going on Monday until the 18/09.

 

[Alan Whitty]

I've just seen the dimensions and 85mm diameter is too big which is a shame but there you go...

 

[peterjg]

I like the old Fox bait droppers because the stem goes around the back which allows ground bait to be released.

 

[The bad one]

I'ed go for a spomb under arm flicked.

 

[markcw]

Why indeed. I probably wouldn’t in truth but I was curious how these pots were used by pole anglers. I’m even more curious why I ever bought them.

Alan , if you can source those bait droppers and want to buy them, you could arrange delivery to my home in Nice and I will bring them home and post to you. I’m going on Monday until the 18/09.

The pots fit on the end of a cupping kit , basically a spare topkit for a pole, not a telescopic whip.
To use just take off topkit in use ,put cupping kit on with bait in cups, ship out, turn pole past 90 degrees so bait comes out at required distance .
Bring pole back in ,replace with topkit and fish over feed . Only takes a couple of minutes tops .

 

[mikench]

If you want one Mark let me know as I’ll never use them. I’ll keep one for chopping worms if I ever get round to doing that.

 

[markcw]

If you want one Mark let me know as I’ll never use them. I’ll keep one for chopping worms if I ever get round to doing that.

Thanks Mike but I have a set of Daiwa and a set of fox somewhere.
They are also useful for measuring groundbait and pellets out