DV8 Field testers DVice casting capsules fishing surfcasting

Hi,

First quick session with the new DVice Gripper and tubes as supplied.

Tried to add new tube to old broken stubby, have to say that the slots in the spare tube are not easy to push the "stem " through. In the end had to use the handle of a pair of nail cutters to try and open the hole up, also did wonder if I tried too hard the slot might run in the soft plastic. Once the stem was through both holes and the tube was trying to fit over the weight, began to wish I had dipped the end of the tube in boiling water to make it slip over the lead more easily. In the end have to say that to get a good fit was quite a struggle first time but with the right method next time might be easier.

Whilst out on Sheppy a fellow fisherman came up to chat and right away noticed the tube I was retrieving, he said " what's that ? I have never seen a DVice with that tube, did you make it yourself, it looks far better end stronger than the ones I have ! I said to him to look on your website for news of the new designs.

The new 170 gm gripper is for me a winner so far, after many a time having to cast the heavier 190 gm unit with real care, I found the new one far more suited to my rods casting ability. If I had to note any slight drawback it was that when using a large fillet of bluey or a good size whole squid, with 2 large hooks, the diameter of the tube could have been a couple of mm wider. The new tubes seem far less likely to fracture at the join with the lead, or to break when being pounded in a big rolling surf.

Those stickers are amazing at night! the one on top of my rig box acted like a beacon ! Now all I want to see is some sort of branding/finish on the exterior of the tube to make it look less like a bit of water pipe, and most of all the release of the DV8 with the break-away wires. Hope to get out again soon and catch something a bit more exciting than doggies !

Regards,

Ken Crook

Hi Barry,

I gave 2 of the extra 4 150g DGrippers to Neil that you sent me -thanks for that.

We fished the CSAC match at Orford from low water up to high tide and then 3 hours down. I only used the 150g DV8s with the new wires and chucked mackerel fillets, whole squid, rag, lug and variations of each at range for most of the match.

You'll be pleased to hear that I had no problems holding bottom at all with the new DV8 even though the tide was ripping through during the ebb and other anglers next to me were having difficulty holding bottom with standard Impact Leads. I've never held bottom at Orford with 5oz of lead before

The tube also seems to handle small baits a lot better than the older version (maybe the new ones have a different surface area that provides a bit more cohesion?) but I didn't need to pack down small rag baits with weed.

Distance wise - it was impressive - but the DVB still has the edge on it as I think the smaller, stiffer wires on the DVB reduce the air resistance and buffeting as it travels through the air.

So in summary - its brilliant.

The DV8 Gripper

170 gram

RRP £2.85

updates:

New Tougher tube

New Tougher wire

New Aero nose

Excellent flight stability

Incredible grip

Large paload capacity

Outstanding durability

Available

Online

NOW!

HERE>>

Callum Scott. Batch 1 tester. Scotland.

Initial thoughts.

I have to admit I am new to Dvice and all that has gone before it,so withthis in mind I'd like to begin with some initial thoughts. what interested me was the thought of presenting a large bait in one piecewithout the need to compromise my casting technique. For too long myselfand i am sure many others have to adapt a much maligned and unwanted'softly softly' approach to throwing out a whole squid/mackerel etc etc.That tide rip sometimes is just a stretch too far.My postwoman dropped off teh package and I couldn't wait to get into itand see exactly what i was getting. I'll start with the grip wires themselves. To misquote the song 'bendthem, them shape them anyway you want them. you can do just that. Aperfectlength to give full confidence of holding steadfast and sure. These aremy type of grip lead. I am a great believer in scent attraction and Ioften target tide rips to get my offering to a fish and most importantlyit's snout. with these grips the fish will have no problem homing in onit's EXACT location. Now 'the grey tube bit' warm it up in your pocket, leave it on the windowthe info says to get it to mould round the lead. if it says it will do itthen its an obvious test to carry out. All I can say is that it passed anddid exactly what was claimed. There is enough room to withhold a perfectly presented bait and decentsized hook. In my utility room i pottered around with some 6/0's, wholesquid and some joeys. AGAIN it passed for me and I will have everyconfidence in my bait reaching out to my target. Most importantly I reallydo believe that any bait i do cast out will reach my target destinationvery much like the way it left my hands during the baiting process. The sticker is my only negative and i can only say this after being soimpressed with my initial inspection. I really feel that because thesubject is big enough to be noticed by other anglers on the beachthen tehDVICE guys shoudl really be using it as prime advertising space. Get somecolours on it to scream out your product. the grey and gold wont be eyecatching from a distance, in fact some might look at it for teh first timeand think its a home made contraption by whoever is using it. Catchpeoples eyes on the beach or boat and get them talking about it! I've deliberately left out the lead At this moment in time as i feel Iwould be better to comment on it after a session using it. i have something special up my sleeve for it coming soon and I really dohope the fish are not shy in this particular area. big fish in bigcurrents that is all i am saying for now. Watch this space....... Callum Scott

Callum Scott. Batch 1 tester. Scotland.

Following on from the initial thoughts........I promised something special and I have sort of delivered. I really was hoping for something with a huge dorsal fin, teeth and the need for a theme with sinister stringed instruments forcing its way into your head. I had to settle with an equally magical fish with a flat body and many, many thorns.Outwith catching fish this was my experience of the DV8 170g in a fishing situation.Fast tide race.....checkrough ground.......checkmackerel fillets....check3/0 pennel paternoster....... check170 DV8 170g.........checkFirst up I thought i would throw out half a fillet of mackerel and note how it performed after casting.My rig flew sweetly away from my reel towards the channel targeted, out of 5 attempts the bait stayed inside the capsule right up until the moment that it hit the water. the aerodynamics are spot on. The bait is protected and it is similar to just throwing a sinker out on its own with minor drag from the paternoster snood. I was using 30lb at the time.Next up was observations about the retrieval.This bit didn't perform as well unfortunately. Not bad but could use some improvements.My main concerns with this were that only %80 of the time was my bait retrieved outwith the chute. Again not too bad, but its hard to tell whether your bait is effective while in the water. is my bait in perfect conditioinsidede or outside of the chute i found myself wondering. It was a bit of a concern but i will say that whether it was inside or out, idefinitelyly was in perfect condition so that it is a huge plus for me.Another thing I noticed was that upon retrieval the chute would fill up with solid mudThissi gave me more work when trying to retrieve the device over rough terrain. In theory the chute should act like a lead lift but this would not bpossibleel if filled up with mud.Effectively it is just adding anotherOz'szs to your retrieval. I will try again over a more sandy bottom though as fishing on a mud bed will cover most end tackle as it will just sink and sink.Did it hold bottom? of course it did...... those big wires held just nicely and throughout my session My end rig stayed rooted to the spot where it had landed despite the raging current of a tide in full flooding mode.A final niggle was that with the obvious need to leave around 8 inches loose on the snood to aid the bait being ejected from the chamber. i found that if you got this too long the baited hook and snood would sometimes get wrapped in and around the grip wires. It did not happen all the time but woulddl say roughly around 20% of the time it did. Different rig styles would combat this I'm sure but I was going for simplicity at this venue.I was really happy with the overall performance of the DV8 and would definately recommend it for use. A mud bed certainly gave it a test and will give the developers something to work on in future with regards to the chamber filling up.One more question needs to be answered though.....Does it help catch fish????see for yourself.......Callum Scott SW Scotland

Graham Byford. Batch 1 Tester. DV8 Gripper 170g. Kent.

Dear Sir/Madam

I've now used the 170g DV8 gripper on three occasions now and I'm now able to provide some feedback on my experiences.

Firstly, out of the packet the DV8 gripper appears like a well designed and thought out item, the gold DV8 print branding looks nice, overall a professional looking product and about as good as it gets for a fishing lead.

Now on to the actual testing, I tested the DV8 gripper at the Admiralty Pier, Dover and Dungeness Beach in Kent. In terms of materials, all stood up well, the new type DV8 tubing seems very tough and is stronger than it looks. The grip wires are also of good stiffness and provide a very good level of grip, although not as stiff as say a Gemini yellow head fixed wire weight, it provided a good compromise between grip and retrieve when fishing from piers. From the beach I found the wire too be a bit too stiff for a comfortable retrieve, and had to use a pumping action which can be tough on rods/reels and the angler, so a softer wire option could be useful (*see later paragraph on flexibility).

In terms of casting potential, very good, although fixed wire weights are hardly ideal for casting due to the drag created by the wires. In terms of balance, the DV8 remained stable in flight with little or no wobble like other fixed weights can suffer from. In terms of distance the DV8 gripper could outcast a Gemini fixed weight/Impact Shield rig, especially into a headwind due to the tube reducing drag. The Breakaway Impact Softy fixed weight was very similar in distance to the DV8 gripper which is no surprise as it's a smaller weight overall, with shorter grip wires, however I found the Dvice helps to protect the bait better.

Regarding the clip on sinker, I did find this useful fishing on the Admiralty pier when the tide ripped through, adding the additional 3oz did help the DV8 to sink and grip faster. On the beach I probably would never use it due to drag, and balance issues when distance casting, on the pier this doesn't matter so much as casts are short.

In terms of limitations of the DV8 gripper, firstly the slots in the tubing especially the slot at the bottom of the tube did manage to catch the hook the odd time, even with the hookpoints facing away from it. Therefore the hookpoint must have moved either during casting, in flight or upon release. The only other thing was in extreme tidal flow I found the DV8 gripper too not quite match a Gemini yellow head fixed wire 170g weight, probably due to the stiff wire it uses and I believe the tube of the DV8 catches the tide more, I also found the tube a bit of a magnet for collecting weed in rough conditions. Other than that I had no other problems with the DV8.

Now when it come to flexibility, this is where I think the DV8 fixed gripper could use some improvement. Firstly the fixed wire heads are not changeable due to the lack of a thread, this means having to carry more leads for different conditions. This is somewhat confusing because the standard breakout type Dvice products all have a thread, so any gemini head can be added even a fixed wire head. And that for me is the problem with this product, I would rather purchase the standard breakout type Dvice and buy some gemini fixed wire heads in there various colours of blue/red/yellow.

That way to fish on very strong tide on a pier I could fit a gemini yellow fixed wire head, where as on the beach when a breakout type lead won't hold, I could fit a soft gemini blue fixed wire head that would be easier to retrieve. Together with a breakout head I'd have all conditions covered, and this is in fact what I have already done with some standard Dvice breakout type weights I've purchased in the past.

If the DV8 gripper design with the non-changeable heads is here to stay then offer some options with different wire stiffness to suit different tide/retrieve conditions.

The only other thing to note is rig selection, by the way the Dvice works your slightly limited by rig choice as conventional three paternoster rigs using cascade style bait release systems don't work due to slack in the snoods. Also three baits and hooks in a Dvice may be an issue upon release, and could result in tangles on the retrieve due to having three overlapping hook snoods. Two hooks and bait is as much as I would want to use with a Dvice, and is most suited to a bomber type rig with it's overlapping snoods, for me this has been the most effective rig.

I would definetly use a Dvice product from a beach with strong tides due to the casting performance which is particularly impressive protecting and casting large baits, however I would not use a DV8 gripper, I would buy a breakout type Dvice and then use different Gemini fixed wire heads to match conditions. From the pier I would still mainly use Gemini leads as they hold slightly better, and there is less need for casting distance or bait protection due to short casting distances. However if I was using very fragile baits from the pier then I would use a DV8 gripper for the extra bait protection it gives.

Thank you for the opportunity to try out the DV8 grippers.

Regards

Graham Byford

Steve Kinning (Ireland)
I took delivery of my DV8 170g grippers approx. 2 months ago but I only
got to give them a full testing this weekend when a few of us went to
wexford

See Report http://www.worldseafishing.com/forum...d.php?t=264559

Initial thoughts when it arrived. The flexibility of the tubing. I, like
other fishermen like our tackle to look the part and for the most part I
hated looking at the scratched and cracked perpex of the older models.
I have had a couple of wiggles with it on clean beaches to see what it
casts like and it does fly true and straight with a decent cast.

First off I took it to a place, now infamously named as Bass Alley where
the current rips through. The weed here is everywhere. The DV8 gripper was
holding but the weed on the line was too much for the rod.

We went to a place called Rosslare point. Using an up and over rig I
placed a peeled crab into the DV8 170g gripper, The crab was lightly
whipped with elastic and the capsule was cast out. The DV8 170g sat nicely
in the current and with confidence I knew the bait was sitting nicely in
the tide just waiting for the smoothhound to take the fresh peeler crab. I
used the DV8 gripper all night and picked up approx. 14 smoothhounds and
1 tope. The other fellas were not using any DV8 170g grippers and caught a
maximum of 11 smoothhounds...

I have now took delivery of the new DV8 120g which I will be testing this
weekend. I would use these weights more because all our competitions are
on clean ground and only occasionaly I fish big tides for Rays and Hounds.

I will also be heading to Fahan soon enough to try and catch some
Thornback Rays. Fahan has a big tidal rip threw it as well so fixed
grippers are the order of the day with low water the best time becasue of
the slack water. I am confident that the DV8 170g will allow me to fish
fahan beyond slack water and still hold bottom.

Darren House (Somerset)
went out in the bristol channel last night with the intention of trying
out the 170g dv8gripper on a big 13m spring tide. the venue i chose was a
deep waer mark that is known to have a very big tide run which will sweep
away a 7-8oz breakout lead and anything less than 6oz wont hold past 50
yards. well the d gripper did struggle a little bit at the peak of the
tide run (let go once or twice) at about 90-100yards but as the tide
started to ease a bit (still bleddy strong!) the dgripper found a home and
stayed there every cast. the release is great and only didnt release the
bait once and that was me being a muppet by having the hooks faceing the
slits in the tube so they got caught (not so bad if you use circles as the
point is turned in). amazing flight, i hit it quite hard and it just
sailed away with no wobble which was very impressive as i took no real
care in bending the wires! the tube itself is so much better than the old
tube, i tested this by jumping up and down on it in my rigger boots while
waiting for bites and it just popped back into shape every time where as
if i did that to an old one it would be very broken and i would be crying.
the last point that really got me interested in future purchases of this
truely awesome product is the price, old dvice £3.50ish new dgrippers are
£2.85 and the mini dv8 is £2.49 so a massive improvement in price! get my
vote so far and the next test is the very shallow beach where the tide
goes out well over a mile so i can test the bait release in shallow water.

thats all for now

Darren House (Somerset)
Hi Bob, Tried the dv8's on a shallow beach in the bristol channel next to
brean down where the tide goes out well over a mile with mixed results.
firstly casting distance is number 1 because of how shallow it is and
again the capsules performed faultlessly , putting the baits at range
every time without ejecting mid flight. the dgripper was put out at low
tide and left right up until high with the hope of a ray (which didnt
happen!) but still got it back with a ton of bristol channel mud in it....
which brings me to the only problem i had with fishing this mark with the
capsules, i found even though they plain to the surface well on the
deeper water marks, they tended to drag bottom and made it hard work to
retrieve on the shallow beach, even with a posh slosh with a 6:1 retrieve
and winding like a nutter. once or twice with the dvb i brought the baits
back still in the capsule and once with the dgripper but the water depth
is only about 40" at my max range (about 120m) so for me they suit the
deeper water more and i put the fact they didnt release down to this and
not the product. still i managed a schoolie and a common eel on this trip
but not worth photos. i will keep whacking them out on different channel
marks to see if there is any variation. the next mark is a strong tide mud
pit with a good depth at low tide known locally as lower light (burnham
on sea) so will let you know how that goes then its chesil on a bream hunt
with the dvb's. oh i forgot to mention that i lost a dvb that got buried
in mud and broke 20lb line! oops! sorry!

cheers for now

Stephen Kinning (Ireland)

Barry

Please find below another report using the DV8 gripper. Again very successful result using the gripper. Brilliant bit of kit.
Fahan, Co Donegal 9th July 2010

Venue- Fahan, Co. Donegal

Duration- 11.00am - 2.00pm

Tide- Low Water @ 11.30am

Weather- NW 15mph at the Beginning then died off at 1pm (NW 7mph)

Rigs- Up & Over Dvice Rig

Baits- Mackerel, Sandeel, Crab

Moon Phase: Last Quarter 4th July

With a small tide I decided to drive to Fahan (1 ½ hour journey from Belfast). From previous experience it is only possible to fish Fahan for Thornback rays on a low tide to reach the deep channel. Other Species include Gurnards, Flounder, Turbot and Plaice.
Fahan is a small village located on the banks of the Lough Swilly. Lough Swilly has a very strong tidal force with 7oz grippers required most times.

This was also the day I got to try my new Penn Affinity twin tip and Daiwa Emblem pro.
I arrived a little later than hoped but instantly got set up and with-in ten minutes I had fresh peeler crab on an 'Up and Over Dvice Rig' and cast into the channel about 60 yards out. Up and over rigs with a 60lb main body and 30lb snood are perfect for fishing rays. The thicker snood works as the tide catches the line and brings the baited hook further away for the Dvice 170g gripper. From my own personal experience, if the snood is also to short and the Ray feels the gripper it will not stay. I like a nice snood of 5 foot (1.5m).

With the first rod out I turned to get the other rod ready and bait up (Zziplex HSM with 7ht mag) and I seen the first knock. Watched the 2 knocks… lunge… then slack line. I didn't strike…. just lifted into the fish and I could feel the fish straight away. Within a couple of minutes the first ray was landed.

Already I knew the Dvice DV8 170g had done the job holding bottom. There was no wobble during the cast and obviously released the bait and caught my 2010 Fahan ray.

I fished on for a couple of hours landing 7 more small Thornback Rays. I used the DV8 gripper on each rod and caught 3 on the HSM and 5 on the Penn Affinity.
I am thinking about getting another Penn Affinity twin tip. They are one of the best rod I have ever used.

Graham Byford (Kent)

To DVice

I've used the new DV8 mini 120g on a number of fishing trips and I'm now able to provide some feedback which I hope will prove useful.

Firstly, my initial impressions of the mini DV8 are very good, another nice product with a professional look and finish, the gold livery looks good and still remains intact after four trips.

Much like the previous DV8 products I tested, the new tubing is strong yet flexible and I much prefer it to the tubing on the existing Dvice range as it's more robust.

In terms of performance the mini DV8 casted very very well in no or light wind conditions, or with a following wind, it just seemed to keep on going going making 120 yard fishing distances easy to achieve with a lazy off the ground cast. Obviously due to the fairly light weight it struggled somewhat into a moderate headwind compared to a 6oz sinker, but that's to be expected in such conditions where a heavier lead would be used to tow baits further. I think this sinker is best suited for calmer conditions during the summer months especially for Bass and Smoothhound, in the Autumn/Winter season a heavier lead would be better to combat windier and rougher conditions.

I found the mini DV8 to grip well for a breakout design lead of only 120g, I preferred the lead fitted with the beads, as it made the wires easier to engage when setting them as the bead fitted nicely into the slot on the lead. I also think it gripped better as more wire tension could be set without the wires breaking free thanks to the bead/slot. If I was being really picky a round bead may fit into the slot better than the aero type bead supplied. Also having the wires bent slightly at the factory would make sure the beads stay on the wire in transit, and make sure the wires are bent in the correct position to engage properly (bent below where the tubing starts).

The only other thing I would mention as with all other Dvice/DV8 products is more detailed instructions on how to load bait into the capsule, simply having snoods with 5 inches of slack isn't enough to keep the bait in the capsule. I find the capsule has to be filled out to stop early ejections, using lugworms baits I have to fold the bait over so it doubles over and place it in the tube to fill it out. The hook is then inverted so the hook point is hanging over the end of the capsule with the bait doubled over inside, this works well. With bunches of Ragworm this is less of an issue as they fill the capsule better but when using fully threaded lug up the snood you have a much slimmer bait.

Unfortunately I'm unable to provide any decent catch pictures yet, and abundance of Whiting in July is making it very difficult to get to the the Bass, Sole and Dabs that are usually around this time of year. When I do catch something of note I'll send in a picture.

I have a general question about the existing DVice range, will it continue or be replaced by the DV8 range? As I find the DV8 tubing much tougher, and the cheaper price makes it more appealing. I notice there is some overlap now between certain products such as the 130g stubby Dvice and the 120g mini DV8, I would buy the later as it's cheaper and tougher.

Ideally it would be good if all the DVice range now came with the DV8 tubing, and at all weights. I'd really like to see a 170g threaded or/and breakout Dvice/DV8 as there isn't one yet. Also is it possible that each weight of sinker say 170g be available in either a threaded/gemini nose cone, breakout or fixed gripper design, all with DV8 tubing with the new lower price points? This gives the angler more options to suit there style of fishing, for me personally I'd like a 170g threaded sinker with full length DV8 tubing, then I can add any one of the gemini wire heads to suit conditions e.g a breakout for calm conditions or a fixed yellow head for faster tides and rougher weather. This would also mean I could carry less weight in my tackle box.

Regards

Graham Byford