Trakker A-Lite Bivvy

At the beginning of this year I decided to upgrade some of my fishing gear. First on the list was some kind of new shelter. For the last 6 years I’ve been using an Aqua Brolly for most of my fishing. It has been a brilliant shelter and I’ve certainly no complaints with my brolly, when the time comes I fully intend to buy another but for now I’ve relegated my Aqua Brolly to day only sessions where I might need to move quickly. I wanted a replacement that gave me a bit more cover than a brolly but still maintained the option of moving quickly. I didn’t want to spend a stupid amount of money on a top of the range bivvy either, I found what I was looking for in the shape of the Trakker A-Lite Bivvy.

Trakker A-Lite Bivvy has a nice open front


The Trakker A-Lite is a kind of cross between a brolly and a bivvy. It’s a pram hood style shelter but the front is quite open like a brolly and there is no door. I like this style of shelter because it offers a little more cover than a brolly but it’s open enough at the front to still be able to see the water comfortably from the Bedchair. The sides of the A-Lite roll back too offering an even better view should it be required. Fishing for carp is actually quite easy, in simple terms, you find the fish and you put a bait in the area they are frequenting and a fishing shelter that allows a good view of the lake is a big help in achieving this, I like to have my eyes on the water all the time and the open fronted A-Lite has certainly helped me to do this.

Carry bag for the Trakker A-Lite, a neat touch


The A-Lite itself is what you’d call ‘self contained’. By that I mean there are no hidden extras to buy. It comes complete with a groundsheet, all the T-Pegs, tension strap and bars to put it up. The pegs and tension bars have their own bags and the bivvy itself comes in a nice carry bag, when you get it on the bank, all you have to do is put it up which is extremely easy to do. Even in heavy winds pram hood style shelters are easy to put up, you simply put it on the floor, slot the poles together, tension it with the strap, peg the back down then lift from the front and peg down!. It’s a one man job no matter how windy it is and as someone who does overnighters even in rough weather, this appeals to me.

My Trakker A-Lite in action on a recent trip to Sandhurst


Price was also a consideration in picking the Trakker A-Lite and being made of 4oz PU Nylon instead of the more expensive Aquatex material, Trakker have managed to keep the price down to a reasonable level. Retailing at £140 all in, this is one carp bivvy that isn’t going to break the bank. There is also an ‘extra’ available for the A-Lite, an over wrap / winter skin which is available for around £100. I haven’t bothered buying the over wrap myself, the A-Lite on it’s own is plenty enough for me to be comfortable but it is nice to have an over wrap option for winter use should the need arise. The A-lite comfortably takes any size Bedchair and unlike my old Aqua Brolly, there is a lot of room overhead. It took me quite a while to get used to the extra headroom, for as long as I can remember I’ve been used to ducking down to avoid the ribs of my brolly so the A-Lite has proved to be quite a luxury for me.

If you are in the market for a shelter that provides enough cover to be comfortable but doesn’t break the bank I recommend you have a look at the Trakker A-Lite Bivvy, I’ve had mine for a while now and I have to say it‘s a top carp bivvy / shelter at a decent price. Although the A-Lite retails at £140 you can find them cheaper. I picked mine up on Ebay brand new for £130 so it pays to have a look around.
Tight lines.
Mark

Viper Icon Bait Boat

Bait Boats, like them or not they are now a big part of the carp fishing scene. There are a lot of anglers out there that don’t like bait boats but I believe it’s the user that’s the problem, not the boats themselves. Owning a bait boat doesn’t give you the right to fish anywhere the boat can reach, you should always stick to the confines of your swim and not venture into another anglers water, if you stick to this simple rule then you will avoid crossed words with other anglers, I’ve actually been the angler without the boat and I certainly didn’t appreciate some knob thinking he could fish in my swim as well as his own, if you own a bait boat, please don’t be that knob!.

Viper Icon Bait Boat


Last year I joined a syndicate lake, the lake in question has 3 sets of power lines running parallel down the lake, it quickly became obvious that the carp where regularly sitting in safe areas of the lake which couldn’t be reached by casting. Any attempt to cast to these fish holding areas always meant a brush with the power lines so I avoided these swims and really struggled to catch. The lads who where consistently putting fish on the bank where all using bait boats and simply sailing them under the power lines and onto the fish. I had no choice in the end, it was either join them or keep on blanking so I had a look at what bait boats where available and eventually settled on the budget Viper Icon Bait Boat.

The viper icon bait boat has a single hopper.


The Viper Icon bait boat is a cracking little boat, ideal for fishing in the UK. There is only one hopper on the Viper Icon so its one trip per rig when getting baits into position. A bait boat is simply a tool to be used when necessary so I only use the Viper Icon when I need to get my baits under the power lines, if I can actually cast to a chosen spot then I will, so one bait hopper is plenty enough for me. Its rare to actually put out more than 2 rods with the bait boat as I usually cover the margins and fish over bait with my third rod.

The battery compartment on the viper icon bait boat


Bait boats all suffer from one problem, they really do hammer the batteries. The Viper Icon is no exception and the battery meter on the front is very handy to have, if the battery meter is showing anything other than green then I wouldn’t risk putting the boat out, I have run a battery flat on the Icon and it was a real pain having to go for the syndicate boat to retrieve it, in fact I was lucky to have access to a rowing boat so be warned and only use a bait boat with a well charged battery.

Bait Boat Batteries, it always pays to have spares!.


The battery problem with the Viper Icon bait boat eventually led me to seek out a couple of spare batteries just in case I had a good session and had to use the boat a little more than expected. I like my fishing tackle to cost as little as possible, that’s why I went for a Viper Icon in the first place and when it came to finding spare batteries that old favourite Ebay was the cheapest place I could find them. There are plenty of 12v 7ah Batteries on ebay but they require a few more little modifications before they will fit the Viper Icon bait boat.

Spare viper icon batteries need Velcro to hold them in place.


The first modification is to add some Velcro Strips to the battery, as you can see from the pictures, the Viper Icon battery velcro’s to the battery holder and fits inside the boat. The batteries come without leads too and again these can be bought off ebay for a pound or two and soldered to the battery terminals as I’ve done in the pictures. The price of a couple of spare batteries, some velcro and a few connectors to fit the Viper Icon boat is not much more than the price of just one battery from Viper themselves so it really is cheap, if you buy more than 2 batteries its even cheaper!.

Solar Charger, worth having if you are fishing long sessions!.


As well as a couple of spare batteries for a bait boat, its also handy to have a Solar Charger if your doing long sessions, I don’t personally fish for more than one night at a time and the spare batteries mean I don’t need a solar charger but I found one on ebay that was so cheap I bought it. Solar battery chargers are the biggest rip off of all, I bought mine from an ebay shop that specialises in camping accessories and they sold 12v solar chargers for caravans, they work perfectly with the batteries required for a Viper Icon bait boat and my little 2 watt solar charger was just £12 and that included delivery!. A 10 watt version nearly as powerful as the ‘solar suitcase’ sold by Viper was just £38 on ebay so again a massive saving . My little 2 watt solar charger takes quite a while to charge up a battery but for me, I’m happy if it gives me that little bit extra in a battery to get one more trip in, that’s all I ask and all I need as I carry a few spare batteries.

Viper icon comes with a nice carry bag.


Having looked at spares for the bait boat, it’s worth remembering that the handset also runs off batteries and that Viper don’t supply rechargeable batteries or a charger when it comes to the handset. Again I found plenty of suitable Rechargeable Handset Batteries and a Battery Charger on ebay really cheap and its worth getting a couple of sets of 8 rechargeable batteries, one for current use and a standby set in case the batteries you're using go flat, there’s nothing worse than running out of batteries, specially when the carp are feeding!.

Radio gear for the viper icon bait boat.


In conclusion I’d recommend a Viper Icon Bait Boat to anyone, it’s a simple no frills bait boat that does what its supposed to. Spare batteries and other accessories can be bought easily and cheaply off ebay and it’s a bait boat that certainly won’t break the bank. Since using it my catch rate on the syndicate has gone up as I can now reach the fish when they are held up in areas I can’t cast too and above all, it means I can put my hook baits and rigs in place safely and accurately, if your thinking of buying a bait boat, give the Viper Icon the once over because it’s a really good buy.
Tight Lines
Mark

JRC Stealth Brolly Review

Spring is well under way now and summer is just around the corner, after a winter of day only carping I’ve started fishing nights again in the last month or so and I’d forgotten just how handy it is having a decent brolly for overnighters.

The JRC Stealth Brolly is my chosen system for overnighters, the stealth covers my Bedchair and sleeping bag easily and leaves me with plenty of room to store my gear at the back of my bedchair. What I like about the stealth brolly is how fast you can get set up, I’m a short session carp angler and I’m always watching the water and looking to move onto showing fish, the speed of which I can put up and take down a stealth brolly really does help me stay on top of things and I can’t recommend this carp shelter come brolly highly enough.

The JRC Stealth Brolly easily covers a Bedchair and Sleeping Bag


The stealth also has an infill panel available to turn it into a bivvy but to be honest, I never used mine such is the protection you get from the standard brolly with sides. You only need six T-Pegs and two Adjustable Bank Sticks to fully secure the stealth brolly, although personally, I rarely use more than the 4 pegs you really need to secure the built in storm sides. These 4 pegs on there own mean the brolly is very very secure and I’d only use the extra two pegs in extremely high winds.

At the moment, Britain is plunging into recession, this doesn’t necessarily mean lower prices for our fishing gear though, our currency is extremely weak at the moment and as such, imported goods are tending to cost more. Most of our tackle manufacturers shipped production to the far east many years ago to help boost their profits and these same companies are now being forced to put up the prices of things like bivvies and brollies. The JRC Stealth Brolly has been around a while now and as such, its price has reduced considerably over the last few years. This makes the stealth brolly an extremely attractive looking investment if your on the lookout for a shelter for winter day fishing sessions and summer overnighters.

My JRC Stealth Brolly from the side, no Bedchair showing means you're nice and dry and 4 t-pegs is usually enough to secure.


The stealth doesn’t cost the earth and its very practical, being a brolly it will fit in the centre of your holdall no trouble at all so there are no extra bags to carry like you’d have with a bivvy, ideal if your travelling light and looking to move quickly. I’ve actually had my stealth brolly for 5 years now and I’ve no intention of changing it. Next time I need a new shelter I’ll certainly be buying another one the same as I need that ability to move quickly and to keep an eye on what’s going on. You can see more of what goes on around you from underneath a stealth brolly than you can sat in a two man bivvy. This itself has the potential to put more fish on the bank, it’s so easy to miss a carp rolling if your inside a bivvy but even lying in your sleeping bag you can still see a lot of water from under a brolly and I find this invaluable when it comes to my short session fishing.

If you’re looking for a brolly, give the JRC Stealth Brolly a serious look, in this day and age its cheap, practical and ideal for a carp angler!.
Tight lines
Mark