A bite indicator is the weight on your line between the reel and the alarm. It helps the alarm pick up movement. It shows you which way the fish is pulling when you get a bite. The alarm signals when something happens, but the indicator tells you what.
This is important, because not all bites are fish running off with the bait. Sometimes a fish picks the bait up and swims toward you and the line goes slack. Without an indicator that drops when this happens, a lot of bites go unnoticed.
Hangers
Hangers are the simplest kind of strike indicator. Weighted heads hang from the bank stick or rod pod on a short piece of cord or chain. They are designed to clip onto the fishing line. When a fish runs, the indicator lifts up to the rod. When the fish comes toward you, the indicator drops down.
They are simple to put together and function well over still water with minimal wind. The cord or chain allows the hanger to move freely, which shows smaller movements. The downside to that is they will swing about in a strong wind.
Swingers
A swinger has a fixed arm that is attached to the alarm or the bank stick and pivots up and down. The line clips into the head at the end of the arm. Since the arm only moves in one direction, a swinger doesn’t blow around like a hanger does.
Most swingers let you change the tension or slide a weight along the arm. That makes them a better choice when fishing at long range, or in windy conditions or when fishing in current. In those situations you may need to add additional weight to the end of your line to keep it taught.
How heavy should it be?
Heavy enough to maintain tension in the line, but light enough to indicate a strike.
With the rods fishing close in, a light indicator gives you the most sensitive set-up. When there is wind, undertow, flow, or a lot of line out at distance, the line will pull the indicator up on its own. That’s why most hangers and swingers come with extra weights. Add weight until the indicator sits still between bites.
A few other things
- Colour. Match the indicators to the colour of each alarm so you can see at a glance which rod is going.
- Night visibility. Many indicators have a slot for a small isotope light, so you can see where the indicator sits in the dark.
- Line clip. The clip should hold the line firmly but let it go cleanly on a take. A clip that grips too hard is one way to lose fish.
Bite indicators work with your bite alarms and attach to your rod pod or bank sticks, so check they fit what you already have.