Cagefeeders.com Swim Feeders
Whilst having one of many browses on the www, I discovered a top quality range of hand made river feeders. This range of feeders looked totally different from any comparable products I had personally come across. Unlike the standard mass produced river feeders that we all see on the shelves of the majority of retail outlets, the Cagefeeders.com range has an individuality that is achieved by the noticeable quality of craftsmanship and materials that are combined to produce their individual range of cage feeders.
With it becoming increasingly harder to find top quality British handmade terminal tackle, that is readily available to the masses and at realistic prices, you’d be daft not to pay attention to these feeders. So when I by chance stumbled upon these specialist feeders, without any hesitation, I made contact with the company owner and feeder making maestro, Andy Whitham, whom after a couple of phone calls and a cup of tea, agreed to send a selection of these extremely hardcore cage feeders to our office for review, here are our thoughts.
Vital Statistics
Cagefeeders.com, specifically build feeders that can handle the demands of big fish tactics on big powerful rivers, they use only the very best materials available in the manufacture of the feeders. The bodies are formed out of 22swg 6mm stainless steel weld mesh simply because this material is far superior to conventional galvanised steel mesh that has a reputation for not holding its shape.
When designing a big feeder, one of the most critical components is without question the feeder link. Using the usual power gum and swivel attachments found on standard feeders is simply inadequate and potentially hazard considering the weights the link will have to suspend when the feeder is fully loaded, the forces during casting and the rough treatment they will receive when a big fish is being played.
Cagefeeder.com eliminated these problems and many others by using 80lb nylon covered stainless steel as the chosen material for the feeder’s link. To ensure no tangles accurse during casting and to keep everything looking nice and tidy, a Carp Alley multi use rig end is fitted, to sleeve the link wire. The links are fitted with a large eye swivel which makes connection to a lead safety clip that much easier.
TOP FISH SAFETY FEATURE - The fitting of a large eyed swivel gives you the angler the piece of mind that if the fish takes you into an underwater snag and the feeder gets well and truly snagged up. The feeder will be safely released from the clip, enabling you to continue playing the fish or in the worst case scenario, you get broken up but the fish is no longer tethered to the snag by the feeder.
All the feeders are finished in a textured matt coating that is available in three different coloured coatings; these are camo brown, camo green and camo lime green. These three colours will enable you to use a feeder that no matter what size or shape, it will be able to blend into to its environment and dramatically reduce the chances of the fish being spooked of by the feeder’s attendance near your hook bait.
The cage feeders in the range have been tried and tested by anglers all over the UK with outstanding results. This comprehensive range of river feeders are manufactured incorporating weights from 2oz which are suitable for smaller rivers with a medium paced flows, right up to the mighty 10oz floodwater specials, which are designed for real extreme flood water angling situations.
Cagefeeders.com sent us numerous feeders for review but to keep thing simple we have selected the three most original feeders from the range for you to have a good look at, and here they are:
 The 10mm Big Mesh Block End Cage Feeder
This cage feeder was originally requested by several customers and ended up as a permanent part of the range.
This 45mm x 35mm feeder is made from 13mm x 13mm 19swg stainless steel mesh after the feeders have been coated the finished hole internal dimension are10mm x 10mm aprox.
On the end opposite the link the feeder is fitted with a mesh cap, making the feeder suitable for numerous bait applications.
Available in Sizes: 65g (£1.70), 75g (£1.80), 85g (£1.90), 130g (£2.00), 165g (£2.10) & 185g (£2.20)
 The Black Plastic Feeder
Designed for extreme angling situations and favoured by the serious Barbel anglers for use in severe floodwater conditions.
If getting a lot of bait down to the bottom quickly, in heavy flows on big rivers is your normal angling situation, then this 65mm by 35mm beast of a feeder may be just the ticket for you.
This power house feeder is without a doubt one of the strongest feeders I have ever seen or used.
Available in Sizes: 5oz (£1.90), 8oz (£2.25) & 10oz (£2.50)
 The 75mm x 35mm Cage Feeder
These are serious feeders for the serious die hard anglers (psychopaths) who will fish in virtually any conditions.
They offer the same characteristics as the Black Plastic Feeder but have the capability to carry a larger payload of bait to your swim.
The mesh is the standard 6mm stainless mesh which makes the rate that bait is released slightly slower than the Black Plastic Feeder above.
Available in Sizes: 5oz (£1.90), 8oz (£2.25) & 10oz (£2.50)
First Impressions
One real problem has arisen whilst writing this review, and that problem was trying to find a fault in the feeders. OK, one or two of them may have had some blobs of coating blocking a couple of holes on the finer meshed feeders admittedly but that just me being over picky. Every feeder I received was ideal for the job it was designed for and built to a standard that made it strong enough for the job.
The big eye swivel being fitted to the feeder link as standard, showed beyond doubt that www.cagefeeders.com had made the effort to consider fish safety as well as insuring the reliability of the feeders overall construction. My only possible niggle is with the long term reliability of the textured coating but we will update the review if the long term testing produces any negative results. (Hopefully that won’t happen).
UKMA asked Andy Whitham at cagefeeder.com “what does the future have to offer your company and your clients” to which he replied;
"We are constantly working on new products for the future, to keep the range innovative and up to date. Our customers are very important to us and we are always available to deal with any enquires regarding personal preferences and we will do our very best to help out”
If you are looking at purchasing some of these superb feeders, contact Andy direct to order on 07792 002034 or via email at andrewwhitham@hotmail.com
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