Would you take a record player to the bankside? Well, if you were Del Romang, the guiding force behind the impressive innovation that underpins the bite alarm technology of the Delkim brand, you might well do, if only to remind yourself of the simple, humble beginnings of what has become a dominant brand and product across the angling scene.
In the early 1980s, Del Romang threaded a string of fishing wire under the needle of his record player, observed the reactions and interactions, went away, and began a nine-year process of creating the Delkim Vibration System bite alarm; the first product that was wholly Delkim’s own creation, rather than - as had been the case when Romang was running the Delkim brand with business partner Kim Donaldson, the pair having moved on from their bait creation beginnings - an improvement and modification on an existing, though not particularly effective, bite alarm.
It may seem hard to believe now, when fishing tackle innovation is as high-speed and competitive as every other sphere, but, back in the 1970s, when Delkim were first cutting their teeth on the possibilities of bite alarms, a 20yr old bite alarm created by Dick Walker was still considered state of the art, despite several frustrating flaws that Romang picked up, and set to work correcting. Initially, Romang and Donaldson simply used the modified alarms in their own angling, but anglers are observant types, and it wasn’t long before other anglers at the Darenth fishery, in Kent, where Romang and Donaldson fished regularly, started noticing the success the pair were enjoying, and asking about their bite alarms. The original alarm from Dick Walker was called the Heron, and Del Romang soon found himself taking orders for modifications to the Heron alarms of his fellow anglers. At the same time, away from the bank, he was experimenting with creating his own bite alarm from scratch; these alarms, which are still in full working order, although no longer used, became the first Delkim products, and are kept as legacy stock. The fact that those first alarms are still viable speaks volumes to the build and design quality of Delkim bite alarms, all of which will easily exceed the two-year guarantee they’re given as standard.
In the 1980s, a new bite alarm entered the angling arena; the Optronic. As with the Heron, however, this alarm had several major flaws, which Del Romang began to convert to more effective alarms that matched those he and Donaldson were currently using. Unlike his exploits with the Heron bite alarm, however, the conversion of the Optronic alarm did not go unnoticed by others beyond the bank; Del Romang encountered legal issues around his conversions, and was forced to stop making them. Shortly afterwards, he and Kim Donaldson decided to pursue their own ambitions separately, and, together with his first wife, Bev, Del Romang focused his attention on creating the Delkim brand.
In the early 1980s, Del had that game-changing encounter with the record player. Even in those early days, Romang knew he wanted to bring out products that were perfect, rather than the inferior alarms he had improved upon in the early days. To this end, he spent nine years perfecting what would become the first true Delkim own brand product, and the basis for every innovation that followed it.
Delkim has always been a family business, and Bev took a full, active role in the business. In 1998, Bev sadly passed away; however, the family focused element of the Delkim brand lived on, and, today, Del’s second wife, Carol, and her children are all keenly involved in the business.
Del Romang’s decision to take his creative approach to product design away from baits – an area in which he and Kim Donaldson introduced several flavours which are now bankside staples – into the technological area of bite alarm development has proved to be a sound one, with specialism paying off across the range of Delkim alarms and indicators.
View the range of Delkim Bite Alarms here
