C&F Designs Line Pallet Road Test
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:03 am
C&F Designs Line Pallet Road Test
The conditions at time of my first trial was an exceptionally fast running incoming tide near the main traffic bridge in Mandurah. Baitfish were busting up all around and the Herring were on the bite.
The Line Pallet works on the principle of laying the line onto the pallet amidst the cones, rather than trying to contain it in within a basket. Initially it appeared to work very well with absolutely no tangles when casting. The Pallet is suspended from a belt (not provided) by two straps. A third elastic loop goes around your thigh. The first problem I encountered was that the loop can’t be attached any higher than your crotch. Wearing waders, as I was means you have sagging crotch. (As do many height challenged fishermen). This meant that it was fixed at a point a few inches above my knee. Wading any deeper or wash from boats caused the floating pallet to pivot on this loop causing it to lift up like a toilet seat. Not only was this very annoying but my stripping hand kept knocking against the cones which popped out of the sockets they were supposedly fixed into. Luckily they float and I was able to catch most of them but still lost 3 of the little blighters in the fast flowing water. Even so, the line was still being contained by the device and released without tangles. At this point I was getting very pissed, trying to fight fat, angry Mandurah Herring on a six weight with one hand and gather up the little black cones as they floated away with the other.
It was very frustrating so I decided I would wade back to shore and not use the device till I obtained more cones and stuck them in with some strong glue. It was at this time that I realised that I had not fully pushed the cones into the holes. (Always read the instructions first).
With the cones now fully secured, I carried on fishing in shallower water.
The line pallet performed surprisingly well. Stripping the line and just dropping it on or along the foam base it just sat there, any loops that hung into the fast moving water just stayed put. In a conventional stripping basket these hanging loops tend to drift off and pull the rest of the line out. Casting was a pleasure as the line came off the pallet freely every time without tangles.
Closer study of why the line stayed on the pallet, even with only seven of the ten cones fitted in place, showed that the line “stuck” to the base when wet. It was the same effect as spaghetti sticking to an upturned plate. The surface tension of the water held the line to the flat, slightly coarse surface of the pallet, unlike the slick mesh base of a stripping basket which causes the line to continuously skid out at the first opportunity.
Wanting to return to the deeper water I detached the leg loop around and was amazed how readily the pallet just floated on the surface beside me attached by the two straps to my waist belt. It just bobbed up and down on the surface even as the biggest of boat washes came past.
The second test was a couple of days later in almost identical conditions. All I can say is that I just forgot I was using it and got on with fishing, which is a strong indictment from a person who hates using stripping baskets. In all the time I have been using the line pallet I have never had a line tangle as it comes off the device.
Yes I am very satisfied with its performance. The R.R.P. is $110.00 which is not cheap, especially as it comes without a waist belt. It looks and feels like a quality piece of kit, but for what is essentially a flat piece of foam, ten plastic ice cream cones and a few small straps it is very expensive.
I feel the most important feature of the line pallet is that it works very well
The conditions at time of my first trial was an exceptionally fast running incoming tide near the main traffic bridge in Mandurah. Baitfish were busting up all around and the Herring were on the bite.
The Line Pallet works on the principle of laying the line onto the pallet amidst the cones, rather than trying to contain it in within a basket. Initially it appeared to work very well with absolutely no tangles when casting. The Pallet is suspended from a belt (not provided) by two straps. A third elastic loop goes around your thigh. The first problem I encountered was that the loop can’t be attached any higher than your crotch. Wearing waders, as I was means you have sagging crotch. (As do many height challenged fishermen). This meant that it was fixed at a point a few inches above my knee. Wading any deeper or wash from boats caused the floating pallet to pivot on this loop causing it to lift up like a toilet seat. Not only was this very annoying but my stripping hand kept knocking against the cones which popped out of the sockets they were supposedly fixed into. Luckily they float and I was able to catch most of them but still lost 3 of the little blighters in the fast flowing water. Even so, the line was still being contained by the device and released without tangles. At this point I was getting very pissed, trying to fight fat, angry Mandurah Herring on a six weight with one hand and gather up the little black cones as they floated away with the other.
It was very frustrating so I decided I would wade back to shore and not use the device till I obtained more cones and stuck them in with some strong glue. It was at this time that I realised that I had not fully pushed the cones into the holes. (Always read the instructions first).
With the cones now fully secured, I carried on fishing in shallower water.
The line pallet performed surprisingly well. Stripping the line and just dropping it on or along the foam base it just sat there, any loops that hung into the fast moving water just stayed put. In a conventional stripping basket these hanging loops tend to drift off and pull the rest of the line out. Casting was a pleasure as the line came off the pallet freely every time without tangles.
Closer study of why the line stayed on the pallet, even with only seven of the ten cones fitted in place, showed that the line “stuck” to the base when wet. It was the same effect as spaghetti sticking to an upturned plate. The surface tension of the water held the line to the flat, slightly coarse surface of the pallet, unlike the slick mesh base of a stripping basket which causes the line to continuously skid out at the first opportunity.
Wanting to return to the deeper water I detached the leg loop around and was amazed how readily the pallet just floated on the surface beside me attached by the two straps to my waist belt. It just bobbed up and down on the surface even as the biggest of boat washes came past.
The second test was a couple of days later in almost identical conditions. All I can say is that I just forgot I was using it and got on with fishing, which is a strong indictment from a person who hates using stripping baskets. In all the time I have been using the line pallet I have never had a line tangle as it comes off the device.
Yes I am very satisfied with its performance. The R.R.P. is $110.00 which is not cheap, especially as it comes without a waist belt. It looks and feels like a quality piece of kit, but for what is essentially a flat piece of foam, ten plastic ice cream cones and a few small straps it is very expensive.
I feel the most important feature of the line pallet is that it works very well
