Poles On The River?

[mant01]

A friend of mine was talking about using his pole on the river and I was wondering how many people do this and the success rate with them? I normally use a feeder or trot the bait down the swim with a rod but is a pole a decent option?

[chavender]

it can be very effective ,especially at 8m or less for some marginal fishing ,theres even special floats (lolly-pop floats) for holding station in the flow ,or you can trot a float through .you can have great sport with bleak fishing long lines too hand .can be a bit hairy for the larger species and not recomended in snaggy swims .no many bother these days ,as most matches are held on commercials not running water ,so using a pole on moving water has fell out of faviour .

[mant01]

it can be very effective ,especially at 8m or less for some marginal fishing ,theres even special floats (lolly-pop floats) for holding station in the flow ,or you can trot a float through .you can have great sport with bleak fishing long lines too hand .can be a bit hairy for the larger species and not recomended in snaggy swims .no many bother these days ,as most matches are held on commercials not running water ,so using a pole on moving water has fell out of faviour .

 

Cheers for that I'll let him know. I think I'll stick to my rod and see how he gets on before I think about switching

[Steve Walker]

I used to fish with a mate who sometimes used to use a pole and a stick float to great effect to extract good sized chub from right under far bank bushes - you need a heavy pole for that kind of game, but the things used for commercial carp fisheries should be man enough.

[Worms]

Oops, sorry thought it was going to be a fish theft thread

[Mark Wintle]

For fishing for roach on slow/steady water, up to 12 yards out and 6 yards downstream, it is ideal. It takes plenty of practice but once mastered can easily beat rod and reel in the right hands. The vital thing is to know when to use it and when not to. It's very good for hemp fishing. You need to be able to concentrate the fish in the first couple of yards of the trot. In faster water the lollipop float can work, especially using chopped worm with a bait dropper, or over groundbait.

 

It's surprising how diverse the rivers are where good anglers using the pole have done well but they include the Wye in Hereford, the Thames, the Nene and the Witham. I've won matches on the Dorset Stour with roach, perch, bream, bleak and dace using the pole. go to www.crowood.com for details of a book that I can recommend!