A few weeks ago I was talking to one of my Dutch friends on the phone, when I asked quite innocently if their National Cricket Team were awarded Dutch Caps. As this went right over his head, metaphorically, he decided that a trip to England was in order to help improve his English. Isn’t it wonderful the lengths Europeans will go to save English people the difficult task of learning another language?
A date was duly set and when it arrived three Dutchmen and a lorry load of tackle and bait turned up at Dover. The three of them passed the time while waiting for their escort by practicing the English they had learned from English Carp anglers on the local residents, thus offending almost everyone.
Back to the plot! They arrived at the lake and swims were chosen. After a bit of rudimentary plumbing their rods were cast and groundbait was very accurately applied with a Cobra Multi Baiter. This baiting tool is far more popular on the Continent than it is in this Country, but if British anglers realised what a superb piece of equipment it is that would rapidly change.
The Dutch lads baited up very accurately with a mixture of various particles to a range of about thirty yards, for ranges beyond that up to about sixty five yards they used balls of particle that were held together with stiffish groundbait. The whole procedure was very quick and very effective, but more importantly, it caused far less disturbance than the usual spodding techniques.
The versatility of the Multi Baiter is such that I find it hard to believe that I have never owned one. Not only can it be used for putting balls of groundbait, loose particles, or combinations of the two into the swim but can also double up as a lead slide for power casting.
For the predator angler frozen balls of minced fish and groundbait can be launched to a range of anything up to eighty yards, while match anglers would be able to reach the same distance with balls of maggots or blood worm mixed with stiff groundbait. The possibilities are almost endless.
The Multi Baiter comes with the choice of two handles, one at 17cm, the other at 85cm for short range accurate baiting. The complete set retails at about £30-00 in the UK, and to my mind this much overlooked piece of equipment is now an essential part of my tackle and has various uses. I used the spoon, coupled to an extending landing net handle to put my end tackle and feed right under some overhanging branches, where it would have been impossible to get a bait any other way and caught a Carp that thought it was fireproof. I then made a cup of tea in the spoon, as I had left my mug at home, something unforeseen by its designers, I am sure.
Tight Lines,
Nick Buss
10th June, 1999
