There is no other fish that has its own reel, but if you’re aim is to bag one of these monsters from the deep a carp reel couldn’t be a more important piece of fishing kit. The unique way that carp take the bait gave rise to a whole new genre of fishing reel altogether which long before it they became a member of the ‘carp reels’ group were known as baitrunners. The ‘baitrunner’ type of fishing reels were first introduced to the market in 1986 and were a patented technology by Shimano. At the time it was revolutionary and you’d now be hard pushed to find a manufacturer of fishing reels that doesn’t have a ‘baitrunner’ type carp reel in its range.
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LINEAEFFE VIGOR GUNSHIP RD50 REEL COARSE, CARP AND LIGHT SEA ANGLING £9.70 Auction Ends: Saturday Feb-04-2012 16:19:52 GMT | Watch this Item |
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Okuma Interceptor IBF 65 Big Pit Baitrunner Pike/Carp Fishing Reel w spare spool £35.00 Auction Ends: Saturday Feb-04-2012 16:29:26 GMT | Watch this Item |
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2 x 7 B/B LW50 LINE RUNNER FISHING REELS + SPARE SPOOLS FOR CARP / PIKE FISHING £19.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Saturday Feb-04-2012 16:30:05 GMT | Watch this Item |
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Shimano Baitrunner DL 6000 RA Carp Coarse Fishing Reel £67.45 Auction Ends: Saturday Feb-04-2012 16:32:08 GMT | Watch this Item |
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Shimano Baitrunner DL 10000 RA Carp Coarse Fishing Reel £63.95 Auction Ends: Saturday Feb-04-2012 16:32:54 GMT | Watch this Item |
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NEW PADDED 6 ROD & REEL BAG HOLDALL FOR CARP FISHING £22.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Saturday Feb-04-2012 16:34:53 GMT | Watch this Item |
What is this Baitrunner technology that all Carp Reels Should have?
In essence a carp reels have two clutches:
- The first clutch is one that you would use under normal fishing conditions that is setup to match the breaking strain of your fishing line.
- A second clutch that is much lighter that the first clutch – it’s so light that a fish taking the bait should find little or no resistance.
So the ‘Baitrunner’ name is really just a short way of saying it is a fishing reel with two clutches. Although they may not work in quite the same way any reel that is branded a carp reel will have a variation of this mechanism – they will all have two clutches.
If your new to the sport, never caught a carp, or never caught a carp using any of the carp anglers specialist rigs you will probably not understand the significance of this development in carp reels. The ‘bolt rig’ as it was known became a very fashionable type of carp rig, most carp anglers will still use a variation of this rig today for a very good reason – it works. A bolt rig is a rig where the fish picks up the bait, feels the resistance of a large weight and bolts and therefore manages to hook it’s self. This sounds like a fantastic idea as carp are wise old beasts that are prolific picky bait takers – the slighted hesitation in striking at the right moment will result in them ejecting the hook and bait before you have chance to make contact. The bolt rig solved this problem but gave rise to others.
A large powerful fish like a carp bolting would cause two problems on a non carp specific type of reel – it would either:
a) Snap your fishing line immediately with it’s powerful initial run
Or
b) It wouldn’t be powerful enough to snap the line so it would drag your rod and reel in to the water – as ridiculous as this sounds this really does happen.
The simple way to get around this was to leave your bail arm off – and this was a fine solution… if it wasn’t windy or you were fishing in moving water. The slightest bit of wind or fast moving water and you’d see line being stripper from your reel. This wasn’t only annoying, but also dangerous – should a fish take your bait you would be unable to strike which could lead to the fish swallowing the hook.
Carp reels solve all of these problems by simply having two clutches. Your normal (first) clutch is set up to match the breaking strain of your fishing line. With this clutch engaged you cast you bait out and set your rod up on a rod rest or pod. Once you were happy with the position of your bait you then engage the lighter (second) clutch – or the ‘baitrunner’ as Shimano call it.
Similarly to the first clutch you would also be able to adjust the tension of the second clutch so if you are fishing in windy conditions or moving water you would increase the tension of the clutch, in still conditions you would have the clutch tension on a light setting. With your clutch set up correctly a fish could take the bait, bolt and would take line from your spool without it getting tangled or dragging your rod and reel in the water.
To engage the second clutch is as easy as picking up your rod and turning the handle of your carp reel. The turn of the handle instantly engages the first clutch which is set up to match your fishing line weigh and hey presto your IN!
Now, you may ask why you don’t have the same problem of the line breaking when you strike in to the fish as you would if you were fishing with a non carp specific reel. The answer to this lies in the angle of the rod, when you bait is in position your rod will inevitable be pointing towards the bait, when the fish takes the bait it is pulling line straight though the eyes of your rod and directly of the reel. When you have the rod in your hands pointing towards the sky and you strike your rod bends, so you rod absorbs the power of the fish in conjunction with the fishing line so it the line is far less likely to break.
Hopefully this article has give you some idea as to why carp reels are such an important piece of fishing kit to any specialist angler.
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