Gardner Stalking Sticks & Bars

UKMA have recently put the Gardner Stalking Stick and Buzzer Bars through their paces on a session, and what are our views? Read on.

Gardner are synomynous in the world of innovation within specialist angling circles, and the Stalking Sticks are just the ticket to show that there is still some innovation that can be put into the simple bankstick. The Stalking Sticks, are essentially a lightweight, alloy, extending bankstick, which is available in packs of two sticks per pack in either 12” or 6” lengths. What is so different though? Well, the clever chaps at Gardner have made the Stalking Sticks so that they can be used in multiple ways.

At the pointed end of the outer, the point screws off to leave a 3/8” BSF thread. This allows the stalking sticks to be fixed together, to make a longer stick. Also, Gardner have threaded the actual outer part of the stick itself, so the extending inner section can be removed and buzzers, buzzer bars or back rests can be fitted directly into this section. The inner section main shaft, is finished with a point that allows a super slim stick to be used if require on hard ground, as well as allowing the bankstick outer to be screwed into it if required.

The thumbwheels that lock the extending part of the bankstick are made from solid brass and have been fitted with nylon tips to stop marking of the inner. We did find that a slot would have been beneficial to tighten up fully in cold or wet weather, but we managed to tighten the screw up adequately by hand. The Stalking Sticks are powder coated in a lovely “carpy” olive green colour that really do look the part on the bank.

To compliment the Stalking Sticks, Gardner also do a set of Stalking Bars. The Stalking Bars are a twin rod buzzer bar setup manufactured from a high tensile Aluminium, The Stalking Bars are also finished in the same “carpy” olive green powder coating. The alarms screw into a nylon bush that can rotate a full 360 degrees to allow perfect alignment of the alarms. This alignment system is fixed in place, by very user friendly thumb screws located at each end of the buzzer bars. This system also allows the alarms to be removed from the bars if required at the end of each session, and quickly located at the start of a session. The nylon bushes that the alarms screw in to have a slot on the lower side, to allow a flat screwdriver to be used to tighten them right up. Also provided with the Stalker Bars are leather washers that allow the Stalking Sticks to tighten up to the bars solidly so they do not rotate loose.

All in all, UKMA liked the Staking Sticks and Bars so much, that they will become a permanent part of our armoury here. Very highly recommended, and we would love to see a 3 rod version at some point down the line (if it is possible).

The Stalking Sticks are supplied in pairs (6” version) at a RRP of £ 13.99, individual 12” sticks at a RRP of £9.99 each and the Stalking Bars are provided as pairs (20cm & 25cm) at a RRP of £34.95.

Gardner Bug Indicators

When the Gardner Bug indicators arrived at the UKMA office, the response was superb as it was a competition to see who was going to actually review them! The Bug indicators are an extremely versatile piece of kit that will cater for almost every indication eventuality the angler will encounter. The line clip is variable in tension by the use of a small rubber O-ring, and even at the tightest setting, the line can easily discharge when picking the rod up.

The end parts of the clips can also be used to fix the line into solidly meaning that the line is not free-running through it and helps to eliminate false bleeps. The body itself, is made from a hard wearing material that is also lightweight for its size, and is available in all the popular colours as well as black and carbon (we particularly liked the black at UKMA). On one side of the body, a machined groove is present to house an isotope. The body is connected to the indicator bracket by a slim ball chain, that has been anodised black in an anti-rust coating. The ball chain is perfect for use with both slack or tight line situations and is extremely robust given its slim nature.

As a standard the ball chain is 15cm in length, but a 30cm ball chain is also available as an extra. The under alarm mounting bracket is constructed from a high impact plastic, that is as tough as anything else we have seen in the same genre. This also keeps weight down for the mobile angler.

During our testing, we could not fault the Bug indicators at all, and we had to toss a coin at the end of the session to decide who would be using them from now on. For pricing and colour availability of the Bug indicators, we recommend visiting the Gardner Tackle website at www.gardnertackle.co.uk where the full range of indicators are there to view. Top marks to Gardner for entering into the saturated indicator market with such a superb piece of equipment.