The best margin fishing poles for carp
If you like fishing for carp close in, in the margins, then it's well worth investing in a margin pole. These short models are super-strong and are great with heavier elastics and even extreme situations, when you don't want to risk breaking your more expensive main long pole. Here's a selection of the very best margin models available...
PRESTON INNOVATIONS MONSTER ROLLER PULLA 8.5M, £139.99
WE SAY: Very well balanced, light and manageable but without compromising on strength. A great bit of kit from Preston and we love the addition of the Roller Pulla bush already on the pole, for stripping out elastic to land fish quicker. Whether you're looking for big fish or a big weight of fish, this will handle either with ease.
TECH SPEC:
•Weight 460g
•Pre-fitted with a Roller Pulla Bush
•Mini extension, pole holdall and tubes
DAIWA YANK AND BANK POWER MARGIN 9.5M, £199.99
WE SAY: Forget the slightly cringeworthy name for a second, this is a classy margin pole which boasts some of the features of Daiwa's top end long poles. And what a great package this comes with, involving three separate power kits to give you the option of having different elastics set up.
TECH SPEC
•Slide easy finish
•Section alignment
•785g at 9.5m
•Mini Extension
•20+ elastic rating
•Two spare power top kits
SHIMANO BEASTMASTER MARGIN 850B 8.5M, £159.99
WE SAY: Beast by name, beast by nature! Capable of a 20 elastic or even more, this is a beefy margin pole with a surprisingly thin diameter, making it very easy to fish with. We also love Shimano's famous Ultra Sound Sanding System finish, which is super smooth through the hands. If you need to ship the pole back quickly to pull fish away from snags in the edge, this finish is a serious advantage.
TECH SPEC
•XT60 Biofibre Powered Carbon
•Rated to a 20 elastic
•Ultra Sound Sanding System
•S.A.S. Shimano Alignment System
•Reinforced Joint System
•Weight: 478g
•Supplied with a spare top 2 power kit
•Includes Competition Holdall
MAP TKS POWER MARGIN 8.5M, £195
WE SAY: A light and slim tool for carp crunching and another real powerhouse . A nice touch is that if you own an existing TKS pole the top kits are fully interchangeable! An optional 1.6m Parallel Extension (£59.99) is also available if you need a margin pole that is slightly longer than normal.
TECH SPEC
•Weight 488g
•Ultra Strong carbon
•Anti friction finish throughout
•Reinforced band on all kits for drilling
•Section alignment system
•Pre Bushed Power Kit + 1 Extra
•Pole Bag
•12 Month Guarantee
MIDDY EXTREME M2 10M, £169.99
WE SAY: Length wise this is definitely about as long as a 'margin pole' goes, in fact you can use it for fishing in front of you too at the full 10 metres. This is a seriously strong bit of kit with a whopping 30 elastic rating! A 4m 'M1' version is also available.
TECH SPEC
•Extra power top 2 kit and a mini butt, supplied in carry case
•Free 30 elastication kit
•G-pulse carbon technology with slik-slide finish
•30 strong elastic rating
•Pull it wrap on 3rd and 4th sections
•Weight 699g (excluding mini butt)
ZEBCO XITAN REVOLUTION XTREME MARGIN 9.5M
WE SAY: A real high-end margin pole which is light and stiff, and is equally usable for other types of fishing too, including silver fish. Comes with large diameter 5.5mm kits which don't need cutting back to fit a strong elastic. We also love the half butt protector which fits on the 5 and 6 sections to prevent any damage to the main sections.
TECH SPEC
•Sections 5/6 Pole Protector butt section
•2x 5.5mm SLKP's
•Pole Holdall
•Quality tubes for pole & topkits