yo-yo fishing reel

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StJon

Nomad
May 25, 2006
490
3
61
Largs
Would be illegal, for freshwater you must use a rod and line, waiting for the flames from the poachers ; )
jon
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
over here yes but they now make them in plastic which helps. in the states they use them to get catfish and will string a bucketfull up overnight. the idea is that the yo yo plays the fish and tires it out so you find in alive but on the surface when you come to collect in the morning.

you can get the same effect using branches and making a light spring snare type trigger if you were staying in a location long enough.

I got half a dozen a few years ago but havent really got around to using them.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,392
2,409
Bedfordshire
Something to be borne in mind is that American fish are dumb! ;) Many things that catch bucket loads of fish in the USA don't work so well over here. I don't know about these yo-yo reels, I bought one many years ago in the US and, not knowing any better, being only a kid, tried it on the local canal. All I suceeded in doing was feeding the fish when they stole the bait right off the hook without triggering the device. After a couple of trials I gave it up as a bad job.

Given that in a US lake my worms would have caught bass, crappie, bluegill or catfish, all good eating, whereas over here the choice is rather more limited, even if you assume that you ARE going to be poaching. Mmmmm tench...:yuck: . Since the device is meant to be tied to an overhanging limb and the length of line is limited, I don't see it as an effective method for fishing in the sea, unless you have a pier handy.

The size and weight hardly make it something you would pack for "survival" use.

Sooo. How exactly are folk going to use these?
 

mick miller

Full Member
Jan 4, 2008
520
0
Herts.
Something to be borne in mind is that American fish are dumb! ;) Many things that catch bucket loads of fish in the USA don't work so well over here. I don't know about these yo-yo reels, I bought one many years ago in the US and, not knowing any better, being only a kid, tried it on the local canal. All I suceeded in doing was feeding the fish when they stole the bait right off the hook without triggering the device. After a couple of trials I gave it up as a bad job.

Given that in a US lake my worms would have caught bass, crappie, bluegill or catfish, all good eating, whereas over here the choice is rather more limited, even if you assume that you ARE going to be poaching. Mmmmm tench...:yuck: . Since the device is meant to be tied to an overhanging limb and the length of line is limited, I don't see it as an effective method for fishing in the sea, unless you have a pier handy.

The size and weight hardly make it something you would pack for "survival" use.

Sooo. How exactly are folk going to use these?

Pretty much what I thought...can I also remind folk that fishing with anything other than a rod and line in freshwater is illegal in the UK, as long as you know that you won't be surprised when the EA bailiff hands you a fine. An individual case of using a handline I remember from 3 years back landed a not inconsiderable £750 fine! I'll get my fire retardant coat now...
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
I ordered mine to make an order up from the states, the catfish is a big meaty fish so they probably wouldn't work so well on whats left in british waters.

little point in running them off the back of a boat in place of an existing trailing line

speedhooks are a different matter and work well with any size of fish, somebody said they were invented by a one handed bloke but having had them stuck in my fingers by accident then there is no way you could comfortably set them one handed.

a combination of the two would be interesting :)
 

SteveW

Forager
Dec 10, 2006
202
0
Launceston,Cornwall
I imagine they may be useful for catching wrasse or Pollock once suitably anchored, while you go about doing other things.

Globetrotter, where did you see them for £4.00? I had a quick look on the web and found a shop in the states doing a box of 12 for less that $20.00 P&P would maybe be a killer though, + a shop on UK ebay doing them for £5.00 + P&P.
 

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