Bite Alarms & Indicators

Set to become a firm favourite among the carp and specimen anglers here and woldwide.

Numerous products caught our eye at the Tackle & Guns Trade Show and you lot have plenty to look out for in 2013. However, this year we decided to choose our favourite and give it a bit of coverage. After much deliberation, the Fox Black Label Indicator range edged it as best new product of the show. Following on from the phenomenal Black Label rod support, the indicators are extremely impressive and offer the user a complete bite-indication setup that can be tailored to suit any water and conditions.

Fox has returned to the larger head style of its top-end alarms, with the NTXr at the top of the tree and this, the NXr sitting just beneath it. As far as I can tell, the main difference is that the NXr only comes with a blue LED option and an ever-so-slightly lower spec. So far the NXr has performed brilliantly and I am hugely impressed with the sensitivity in particular. I dreamed, as a youngster, of owning a set of the legendary RX Digitals and, while the head size may be a little large for some people’s liking, these remind of those heady days.

First impressions were that they look great in their waterproof casing, which has been subject to some extremely harsh rainfall and even a brief dip in the margin, yet the alarms continues to work with no problem whatsoever. The heads are simple in design, with two dials, one for volume and the other for tone, allowing the head to be set to silent and only the receiver will alert you to any activity, which is great for when you want to be discreet, as discreet as you can be with the bright blue LED. The power switch operates as the sensitivity function, giving the choice of two settings, which has been more than ample for the scenarios that I have been fishing in. For ease, and being a little bit lazy, I like to keep my alarms attached to my banksticks.

Occasionally we are asked by companies to give fishing gear a more long-term review. A year ago, Fox asked me to review its NXr alarms and receiver set and they have stood up to my punishment and still look virtually brand new. Bite alarms have a hard life, being thrown around in your tackle bag and subjected to rain and splashes of spod mix, so a reliable set is a must. Although I am a small guy, I have a habit of throwing gear around, so they have to be sturdy.

The TC boys get to grips with tackle and bait, testing them to the limit out on the bank. Here’s what they think…Gardner Bug IndicatorsRRP: £8. 99 eachWebsite: www. gardnertackle.