Long Term Test: Nisa Open-Ended Feeders and Plummets - 23/04/2009

In all that time, and after using them on a variety of stillwaters and rivers, I’ve never had a single one break or crack despite giving them plenty of abuse and even standing on the odd one or two! What I like about these feeders is that apart from coming in a variety of sizes, they’re also available with many different loadings.

The feeders come with a shock-absorbing rubber ‘O’ ring and link swivel so they can be quickly changed to suit conditions. You can buy the biggest one with up to 4oz of lead fitted on the side, and if you need more weight to hold the bottom on a fast-flowing river you simply fit another lead alongside the original one. I’ve used up to 8oz with this feeder and caught barbel from a river that was carrying eight feet of extra water.

A relatively cheap accessory like a plummet might seem like an odd thing to include here, but if you fish with heavy elastic on stillwaters and/or deep rivers I’d recommend you to get hold of some of these as they are the heaviest commercially available plummets I’ve found. Whether it’s on pole or running-line gear you will ‘feel’ the heavier-than-normal weight touch bottom much more positively than with a lighter plummet and your depth setting thereafter will be much more accurate. I always make sure that I’ve got at least a couple of each size in my box.      

• Dave Harell