"To reap the benefits of Pole Fishing including the fun of playing fish on Elastic - keep things simple."
The cheapest Poles are made of 'glass-fibre' and the most expensive out of 'carbon fibre'. In between are 'carbon-glass composite' Poles. The higher the carbon fibre content, the lighter and thinner the Pole.
Look for a Whip that is stiff in the bottom sections but has a soft Tip. If it is sloppy all through you'll have trouble using it on windy days and will miss bites. Conversely, if the tip is too stiff you'll 'bump' fish off on the strike and have problems with bigger fish.
When buying a Long Pole, look for lightness, stiffness and balance. All Long Poles sag slightly towards the Tip, but avoid ones that sag near the Butt. The sections should take apart smoothly and not stick. For this reason, choose one with 'put-over' joints - where the top of one joint fits inside the bottom of the next.
Buy from a dealer who will fit the Elastic for you and show you how to do it yourself when you need to replace it.
Pole fishing has really taken off in -recent years and is now almost as popular with pleasure anglers as it is with match men.
Poles are used to catch 'small to medium' fish close in on a fixed length of Line. Their main advantages over running Line (Rod and Reel) are better Float control and Bait presentation and an improved 'fish-to-bite' ratio. There are two basic types:
Whips are short, telescopic poles with fine, flexible 'flick-tips' for casting and playing fish. You use them with line slightly shorter than the pole and attach the line direct to the tip so that hook and fish come direct to hand.
Whips come in lengths from 2-7m (6 1/2ft-23ft), but one of 4m (13ft) covers most of the beginner's requirements. Such a Whip usually has four sections, including the Tip. You can fish with it at full length or, by using only the top two or three sections, at 2m (6 1/2ft) or 3m (10ft).
Long Poles have stiff tips with elastic fitted through the top one or two sections. The Line is attached to the elastic, which then takes the strain of the fish. Having 'take-apart' - not 'telescopic' - sections you can fish a Long Pole at various lengths simply by adding or taking off sections. You can also fish it with any length of Line up to its full length — you just take off the necessary number of sections to net fish or re-Bait the Hook.
Long Poles come in lengths from 6m-14m (20ft-46 1/2ft), but one of 8m (26ft) covers the requirements for a beginner. Anything longer and you must spend a lot of money to get a good one, though it is a worthwhile investment as you can learn to handle, say, an 11m (36ft) Pole at 8m (26ft) before progressing to using it at full length.
1. Telescopic flick-tip pole 4m (13ft) long.
2. Take-apart pole 8m (26ft) long.
3. Pole rest.
4. Medium pole elastic.
5. 0.75g cane-stem pole float with
a 'teardrop' balsa body.
6. 0.75g cane-stem pole float with
an inverted 'teardrop' balsa body.
7. 1.25g wire-stem pole float with
a 'teardrop' balsa body.
8. 1.25g cane-stem pole float with
an inverted 'teardrop' balsa body.
9. Pole float winders.
10. Rubber pole float winder anchors.
11. Length of silicone pole float
rubber.
12. Weights: some 0.7g and 1g non-toxic 'Olivettes'.
13. Size 10 shot.
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3.
Pole Top Section (Top End)
Pole Top Section (Bottom End)
Special Pole Elastic is run through the top one or two sections of the Long Pole and fixed in the base by a plastic bung. At the Tip it passes through a low friction PTFE 'Bush'. It is kept under tension by a plastic connector, to which the line is fixed.
When you hook a fish the Pole Elastic stretches out of the Pole Tip. The bigger and stronger the fish, the farther it stretches.
The Long Pole has take-apart sections, allowing you to fish with a length of Line that is shorter than the Pole. After you have hooked a fish you simply take off the necessary number of sections to land it.
Pole Floats are smaller and more sensitive than ordinary Floats. Most have Bristle Tips which offer biting fish minimal resistance. Those with 'teardrop' balsa bodies are for still water, those with inverted 'teardrop' bodies for flowing water. All are attached top and bottom, by passing the line through a tiny metal eye at the top of the body and fixing it on the stem with small pieces of silicone rubber.
Pole Float rigs are 'shotted' exactly so that only the Float Tips show. You store the Rigs on Winders, winding them on from the Hook first. Each Rig has a Loop at the top (for attaching to the Pole): a rubber anchor secures this loop to the winder.