Pole v rod and reel

[Steve Burke]

I'm another who believes it's horses for courses.

 

I had my eyes opened watching Bob Nudd pole fishing for my perch at Wingham. A pole and pole cup allowed pinpoint feeding and improved presentation. On another match at Wingham Nuddy was like a machine and, despite moving swims and thus under the rules having to empty his net, almost caught up the rest of the field in just the final half an hour! Certainly he couldn't have caught as quickly on rod and line.

 

On the other hand you can't fish at range with a pole, neither is the pole suitable for a lot of predator fishing where resistance has to be kept constant.

 

Having said that I'd have given my right arm for a pole when after specimen stripies on one venue when I had to fish tight to rushes.

 

But the biggest downside to pole fishing is that you need two strong arms - and I haven't got even one!

Edited July 19, 2006 by Steve Burke

[A Worm OOE]

Steve

You dont need power to use a pole just a correct sitting position and a roller.

[Steve Burke]

Steve

You dont need power to use a pole just a correct sitting position and a roller.

 

Thanks for the thought but I've a muscle illness and sometimes haven't the power to lift even a rod!

[nitrox]

Its a pole for me Colmic cost £425, make my own rigs, nice just to be able to slide the pole in the under growth.

[markp]

Just a question and im not being ageist but looking at it the vast {not the word vast} magority of you anti pole anglers must be over the age of 40, when you learnt to fish the modern pole wasnt around or in its infancy, i learnt to fishing using the shitteist fibreglass rod in the world for the 1st 5 outings i never caught a fish {bit like now} went to the local tackle shop the recomended a whip and rig, no reel=less tangles as a 9 yr old and 1st cast i caught a gudgeon and that was it i was hooked so i suffered with the dreaded polietis for a fare few seasons. Dont know what the hell this has got to do with rod vs reel debate but im boared {should be cleaning the windows}

[BoozleBear]

Boozlebear -

12.5m Leeda assassin pole £100.00 (Argos!)

Maintenence? I clean my pole AND MY RODS when I've been fishing (doesn't everybody?) and make my own rigs at about 50p each WHAT MAINTENENCE??

 

That's still £100 for one of the cheapest. I have a decent 2.5lb test curve carp rod that is superb and cost me £25 on ebay. I suppose we all have different ideas of what expensive is.

 

A nine foot rod takes less time to clean than a 13 metre pole.

 

P.S. I can understand most sentences without the need of emphasis through capital letters and a liberal dousing of exclaimation marks and doubled up question marks (no need, I heard you the first time) - which could perhaps be seen as BRASH and PATRONISING (!??) and implies my comments were somewhat incredulous. Don't mean to start having a go, but that just puts my back up.

Edited July 18, 2006 by BoozleBear

[markp]

Me thinks Boozlebear got out of bed the wrong side this morning, calm down dear its only a thread {commerical}

[BoozleBear]

Me thinks Boozlebear got out of bed the wrong side this morning, calm down dear its only a thread {commerical}

 

Granted it's a bit hot here in an un-air-conditioned office, and that may have something to do with it. Having said that it is a personal bugbear of mine when people do that, as you say it's just a thread, and I think there's no need to state on opinion in such a brash way.

[Alan Hammond]

When I started out fishing only the posh kids had a rod. The rest of us made do with a handline, or if we had managed to save a bit a small tin centre pin reel. Oddly we still manged to catch a few Grayling from the Avon in Wiltshire.

 

The technique we used was to walk along the bank until we saw a fish in a reasonably accessible spot. We would then lob in a few lumps of bread paste just up stream of it. Once the fish had been seen to take a few freebies in went a piece on a hook. It was all done by sight and it was quite exciting to see your bait drift towards the fish and watch for the take followed by a quick jerk on the line and hopefully supper was brought to the bank.

 

I would imagine that the places we used to fish in those days will be very expensive club or syndicate waters now but back then the farmer who owned the land just ignored us so long as we did nothing wrong.

[Anderoo]

I'm quite surprised that so many of you are anti pole. What's wrong with pole fishing? I get the feeling that it's the supposed lack of skill, but maybe there's more to it - like you associate it with power poles and carp puddles?

 

I have a 9m silstar pole which is pretty old and not too light. I never use it beyond 6 or 7m, and I probably use it once or twice a season. I love the finesse of pole fishing; the extremely light lines, the delicate floats, the tiny shot. It's not about accuracy for me because I only use a short length, but if I'm fishing for crucians I always use a pole. Similarly if I'm fishing the margins for small fish, the pole is so much more enjoyable. Rigs are kept on winders so there's not even setting up to get in the way! I also used to use it in the winter on an old clear clay pit fishing for perch (good ones - 2lb+). It was ideal, it stayed where you put it, you could use light lines and small hooks, and you could change depth very quickly and easily, and you could lift and drop the bait easily to induce takes. And they're huge fun when you hook something!

 

Saying it's just a tool is like a dirty admission that there's something a bit wrong with it - that's the line always trotted out whenever there's a discussion over baitboats, and I really don't think you can put a pole in the same class as a baitboat

Edited July 18, 2006 by Anderoo