Browning Black Magic Carp 11M pole review
Now in their third decade of production, Browning’s evergreen multi-award-winning Black Magic poles rank among the most popular of all time.
The originals were no-nonsense tools to cope with large fish using hefty elastics and resolute rigs.
As time moved on, though, all Black Magic models acquired a more modern feel, their added section wall strength making them much stiffer and more robust than their predecessors.
They also handle better, and their top-kit packages are designed in keeping with modern commercial tactics. That said, the Black Magic tradition of performance at an affordable price remains unchanged. And to that end, this latest Black Magic Carp is a proper chip off the old block.
This all-carbon 11m pole is reasonably light at 958g, given that its thick section walls defy ovalling or splitting even in the hands of the most Shrek-like angler. Browning uses the same technology brought into play for its European Hyper Carp models, but with a slightly toned-down linear action that allows it to absorb and cushion pressure, rather than destroy all in its path!
Make no mistake, though, it can really dish out the punishment if need be. That I found out for myself on the live test at Decoy’s lump-filled Oak strip lake in Cambridgeshire.
The fish in Oak are big, very big in fact, with the potential to cause you much grief and lose you a lot of tackle if you don’t come properly tooled-up for the job.
With that in mind, I prepared the Black Magic by cutting 10ins or so off the top of its supplied Power top kit, stiffening it right up.
More importantly, that made it possible to fit it with a large internal diameter PTFE bush.
Next I threaded through what must be the mother of all elastics… Browning’s 30mm Xitan Microbore Rocket Red, which laughably carries a 17-21 rating.
If your car breaks down on your way home from fishing, just take this stuff out of your top kit, tie it on to your bumper and get someone to tow you home.
To see this type of pole perform at its best you have to take it as close to its limits as you dare. I reckoned if the Power top kit could stand the pounding it was likely to get on Oak, using the car breaker’s choice of elastic, then surely it could subdue just about anything else that took a pull at it!
While tying up a suitable rig I had thrown a few handfuls of soaked micro pellets and corn down the margin. Goodness... glancing down, all I could see were whale-like tails waving at me, and feeding vortices large enough to capsize a canoe.
Wondering why on earth I’d tied on one of my favourite floats, I lowered the double corn-baited size 16 hook into the maelstrom.
To quote A Question of Sport: “What happened next?” Well, I didn’t actually see the bite, just an awful lot of bright red elastic between me and whatever was was charging headlong up the pond.
One moment it was slowing down, the next it was coming up in the water and running towards me. Yet there I was, shipping back with nothing broken. Guess what? I had the top kit back in my hand (as you can see from the image, right) and the rest, as they say, is history.
This Black Magic Carp is a great power pole at an affordable price, well capable of dealing with double-figure fish without so much as a creak.
Oh, hang on, it’s the phone. “Hello Sue, yes of course, I would love to come on A Question of Sport... if I can bring my pole!”
Verdict: By my reckoning one of the best Black Magic poles yet, this does just what it says on its butt section – ‘Specialist Carp and Big Fish Pole’.
It’s not the stiffest pole I’ve ever handled, but it doesn’t need to be, as it’s a proper workhorse that will last you for years.
The reinforced joints won’t let you down, it ships well enough, and its 11m length puts you well within reach of the nearside shelf and, on most commercial fisheries, the next vacant platform.
My sole criticism is that I would rather it came with two spare top kits rather than just the one.
Price: £249
FRENZEE PRECISION FXT 6E POLE Review
I had two very good reasons for wanting to get Frenzee’s new flagship pole in my sights.
Having live tested the awesome powerhouse FXT Edge pole a couple of seasons ago, then handled the original 16m Frenzee Precision FXT long pole, I was keen to pinpoint any improvements made.
Equally important to me, my old Essex County team mate Jon Whincup, a man with more big match wins under his belt than Alex Ferguson, has been banging on about how damn good the new FXT 6E is. He recently wielded one brilliantly to brush aside a very talented Decoy winter league field, myself included!
So arrangements were made to live test the Precision FXT 6E at Decoy’s fish-stuffed Six Islands Lake. However, rather than ask Frenzee to send along a shiny new pole, I thought it would be much more interesting to get the man himself to come along with his well-used example and talk me through why he thinks it’s the bee’s knees. He did, after all, have plenty of input into its design.
Okay, I hear you say, as a sponsored Frenzee angler surely Mr Whincup is bound to sing the pole’s praises. Fair comment!
However, this quietly spoken and very modest giant of a man, who has trousered more match winnings in a single season than anyone else in the history of our sport, wouldn’t use anything he wasn’t 100 per cent satisfied with, and much the same can be said for all the top boys!
Plenty of banter set the tone of the test. Which one of the seven dwarfs was the height my seatbox set for? Then, of course, ‘Whinny’ just had to single out the only pole rig in my entire box with a bent stemmed float and a slightly dodgy hook.
This was always the Essex County way – everything perfect, nothing left to chance. Jon had lost none of his perfectionism.
He told me that significant improvements in wall strength have been made to all the butt sections, which I know first-hand cannot be ovalled or squashed in the hand – basically they are bullet-proof.
This does increase the overall weight, but there’s a case to be made for slightly heavier poles performing better in the wind, as they are inherently more stable.
However, the new FXT 6E is pleasingly crisp and responsive at its tip-end, making easy work of connecting with fast bites and controlling short line rigs, even at its longest lengths.
The super-slick finish kicks in from its third section, helping to slide the pole through the hands faster than a soapy stoat.
Precision marker points, equally spaced along every section from the fifth downwards, definitely make it easier to judge fishing and feeding distances. Another big plus point is the ‘one top kit does it all’ side-fitted Eeze Glide arrangement. This certainly helps to simplify which elastics to carry.
That said, it’s also worth noting that the new light-coloured ‘Stubby’ No1 kits that fit on to the second sections are also available. These pre-bushed 3.2mm, 4.3mm and 5.2mm tips provide you with a wickedly stiff top kit that’s just the ticket for F1s and big carp alike.
Our Verdict:
Clearly, this is a pole for all seasons, built to last and able to withstand as much punishment as you care to dish out.
A bagger’s delight, it’s every bit as much at home being used at its shorter lengths to plunder nearside cover for margin munters as it is splashing shallow rigs for F1s up in the water.
Actual lengths are on the generous side – 13.1m (13m stated), 14.8m (14.5m) and 16.5m (16m). Weights are 1,055g, 1,305g and 1,520g respectively.
For my money, it’s more of a top-end commercial pole. However, as Mr Whincup was quick to point out, he’s won plenty of silver fish matches using his.
Price: £2,799
browning xitan advance 716L 16m pole review
Browning's third generation flagship Xitan Z16L pole is a bit special – hardly surprising, considering that the Xitan range (starting in 2008 with the Z3 and Z4 models) has been a pace-setter ever since.
The company was the first to introduce long butt sections, pre-cut and bushed top kits (and top-kit package choices) – not to mention factory-fitted side pullers.
Now, anglers in the upper echelons of match fishing tend to stick with their favourite make of pole… or rod, or reel, for that matter. I have half-a-dozen or so mates who all own Xitan poles. They love them to bits, catch loads of fish with them, and rarely break sections in the process. They think these poles are brilliant, and nearly all these characters have upgraded their Xitans every time a new model appears.
I was lucky enough to have a quick waggle with a prototype Advance Z16L late last year when I visited Browning’s Bremen factory, and for my own reasons I was desperate to get out on the bank with the finished product. Here’s why...
Let’s not pull any punches here, this is a top-end flagship pole costing around three grand, not cheap by anyone’s reckoning. But here’s the rub. Browning already has a top-end flagship pole in the Sphere Zero, that I rate as one of the top three poles in the world today. The Sphere is a bit dearer than the latest Xitan, but not by much. So I was intrigued to find out how, if at all, the two flagship poles differ.
As far as top kit, spare and short fourth sections and mini extensions go, both come with more than enough to divvy up among your friends. The real clue to how and why these two exceptional poles are completely separate entities became apparent even before I wet a line.
It just so happened that I had a Sphere Zero pole in the car with me as I pulled into Steve Gregory’s Rushfield Lakes car park. Putting this, and the Xitan, together, it’s apparent they are built on completely different mandrels.
As for performance, the Xitan Advance Z16L would make a perfect all-rounder but is the ultimate pole for commercial carp fishing. Its long sections impart a real feel of sturdiness, enhanced when you fit the square-sectioned ergonomic pole protector.
It’s also clear that Browning has used the experience gained from developing the Sphere to make the Z16L significantly lighter and stiffer than any previous model, without sacrificing any of the strength and reliability that Xitan poles are renowned for.
The Z16L is a true length 16m pole without the need for mini-extensions or extra-long top kits to reach its full length. With its pole protector fitted it measures 16.7m, and, with further extensions available, that can go up to 18m.
The Z16L package also includes a radical new multi-length top kit design, which allows the same kit to be used as a conventional 2.6m two-piece item or as a one-piece kit of 1.95m – perfect for F1s, fishing shallow or when using short elastics for silver fish.
Even when taking the one-piece route the pole still reaches a true 16m. The pre-bushed and side puller fitted Multikit it comes with is an ultra-stiff top kit that should meet your every need in the elastic department.
Our Verdict: On the day, I handed the Xitan Z16L Advance over to Steve Gregory, a Sheffield lad who has caught as many big carp on a pole as anyone you’ll ever meet. He certainly doesn’t mess about!
I left him while I had a walk round the lake, all the while keeping an eye on what he was doing with the precious Xitan.
His verdict on the pole couldn’t have been better if he’d owned and fished with a Xitan for years, and was just what others had told me: “Brilliant!”
Price: £2,999 (16m UK set)
Daiwa’s new Yank ‘n’ Bank Pro Power pole review
Spurred on by the success of its iconic Yank ‘n’ Bank rods and poles, Daiwa has extended the range.
Among several new items, the 14.5m Pro Power Pole is the subject of this week’s live test. It comes with enough spare top kits to cover every commercial fishery scenario and is built around the same fast-taper mandrel as the new 13m Power Yank ‘n’ Bank pole, with sections that fully interchange with the current 9.5m Yank ‘n’ Bank model.
The Pro Power pole is designed to be that little bit more robust than its stablemates and is built from the same high-modulus carbon fibre cloths as many of Daiwa’s far more expensive poles.
However, the cloth from which it is cut has different specifications to give added power and awesome section wall and joint strengths.
Built like a tank it may be, but it certainly doesn’t handle like one – it’s as nimble as a sports car, with a fair turn of handling pace.
I discovered that and much more while testing the pole at Miracle Baits boss Steve Gregory’s super-popular Rushfield Lakes complex – although with the car’s temperature gauge reading minus two, it was never going to be an easy day. Ice was forming at an alarming pace across the surface of Canal Lake and I found my confidence rapidly ebbing away.
However, this L-shaped lake is jam-packed with fighting-fit carp, which put up a devilish scrap even in the coldest of water conditions.
I rigged up with a 6mm disc of punched bread set to fish at dead depth in the deepest water – no feed, just the hookbait.
Just to make things even more interesting, it started snowing (that Beast from the East again!).
Luckily, before hypothermia could disable me, the float gave a little waggle and disappeared from sight. Oh joy! With a lightly-set No8 hollow elastic streaming from the pole-tip, the fish charged straight underneath the ice.
I was reminded of something my Angling Times predecessor Dave Woodmansey once wrote – he described a carp pole as having ‘enough pulling power to drag a snarling Alsatian from its kennel’. This time around it was a very angry carp that needed extraction.
Playing a decent fish underneath ice will exert an awful lot of stress on a pole. You need to keep piling on the pressure, but you can’t see where the elastic is going – all you know is, you need to keep it and your rig line well away from the razor-sharp edges of that ice.
At this point you learn the strengths and limitations of a pole. And I can happily report that the new Yank ‘n’ Bank Pro Power does exactly what the name suggests.
Should you have a recalcitrant Alsatian that needs dragging out of its kennel, get yourself a Yank ‘n’ Bank Pro, tie some hefty elastic to the dog’s collar, and give it go. Trust me, the dog will move first!
Price: Expect to pay around £765
Our Verdict: the 14.5m Pro Power is a chip off the old Yank ‘n’ Bank block. It has many of the build qualities of its thoroughbred Daiwa stablemates, and it comes with a more than handy selection of top kits and accessories. All this makes it an outstanding one-stop commercial weapon, quite capable of delivering a super power play performance both down the margins and at longer range.
Tri-Cast Trophy X-Type 80 pole review
Tech Spec
Price: 14.4m £1,499.99
16.1m £1,749.99
Standard package: One Match top-4 kit; three Match top-3 kits; three Big Bore top-2 kits; one Interex short No3 section; one reversable power mini butt 8-9 section; one stiff top-2 cupping kit with two cups; deluxe holdall complete with all tubes; Tri-Cast baseball cap and towel
We don’t mess around at Angling Times, so when the very latest long pole from Tri-Cast arrived in the office it was elasticated and on its way to the bank just a couple of days later.
The Trophy X-Type 80 is built on the same mandrel as the flagship Excellence Pro model, although it uses a slightly different carbon, and Tri-Cast says that a new light resin has altered the way the fibres have been laid out, improving overall performance.
The operative word here is ‘reinforcement’, and as I put the pole together I couldn’t help but notice how well protected all the ends of the sections are.
This is something Tri-Cast has a reputation for. Its super-reinforced wraps eliminate wear and chipping, especially at the female ends. The top kits also feature wrapped areas to drill a hole for a puller bush, although I’m not quite sure why they feature on the top half of the top kits as well.
For the test I selected an end peg on the canal-style lake at Stretton Lakes near Stamford. If you’re going to sit on a peg, it might as well be a good one! It would have been all too easy to go out to the island in front of me, a ‘mere’ 13 or 14 metres away, and have a comfortable day.
But I decided to test the pole a bit more by fishing to the island in front of the next peg to the left, a full 16m away with the handy half butt added. No way was it going to be easy, as there were loads of branches overhanging the water and a slightly naughty cross wind that decided to get up shortly after I began fishing.
A massive plus point is the Super Slip finish. I haven’t actually sat down and fished with a Tri-Cast pole for a long while, so I was pleasantly surprised – it’s very easy on the hands. You can ship it at speed, and as I started hooking the carp of Stretton Lakes I began to appreciate this.
Most were small commons, but what they lacked in size they made up for in enthusiasm. They were soon trying to swim around the gaps in the small islands to the other side of the lake, meaning I had to have my wits about me in getting the pole back swiftly.
At its 13m and 14.4m lengths I found the pole good. At the full 16.1m there are stiffer poles out there for the price, but it was still perfectly acceptable. I fitted a Kinder pot to mimic a fishing situation and there was a little bit of bounce. Putting the short number three section in solved this somewhat, and if I didn’t need to fish at the absolute full length then I’d recommend making full use of this short piece, especially if you want to fish up in the water and slap the rig on the surface.
There’s no doubt that this is a solidly strong pole too, with the sections barely willing to budge when squeezed. I’d be happy to fit a grade 20 elastic. I can’t sign off without mentioning the total spares package here, as it’s impressive as standard (see panel).
If it’s not absolutely perfect you can tailor it to your own needs by contacting Tri-Cast first. You might want more big bore, power orientated kits, for example, so you can’t say fairer than that!
Our verdict: A good solid pole with a very nice finish. Everything about the sections inspires confidence, from the wraps to the overall feel, leaving no question about its strength. There are probably a few stiffer poles than this in the price range, but are they are as strong or as well made? I doubt it!
Drennan Acolyte Pro pole 16m Review
After four successful years as Drennan’s best-selling flagship pole ever, the Acolyte hands the reins to the Acolyte Pro.
The newcomer, designed from the ground up, will handle everything from carp and F1 bagging on commercials to whipping out silverfish on natural lakes, rivers and canals.
Five-times World Champ Alan Scotthorne has been heavily involved in its development, as indeed he was with its predecessor, and with more than 12 months of rigorous field-testing on every conceivable pole venue, you can rest assured the new Pro won’t disappoint.
The changes are more significant than mere cosmetic tweaks, as can be the case with flagship models.
Like cars, poles are to some degree slaves to fashion, and some manufacturers prefer ‘go-faster stripes’ to genuine technical innovation. Not Drennan!
Advancements in carbon technology have given the Pro greater section strength and improved linear rigidity without any significant difference in overall weight at any length.
The major change, though, is the use of an updated mandrel for the No5-No11 sections of this perfectly balanced powerhouse of a pole. However, owners of the original Acolyte pole wishing to upgrade need not fret, as existing top-2, top-3 and top-4 kits will all still fit.
True, the new pole’s butt sections are fractionally wider, but less than a millimetre’s increase in diameter is barely noticeable. Drennan, in fact, says the change improves tip end recovery.
This, I have to say, was quite exceptional, as I discovered while live testing the pole on Decoy’s Six Islands Lake. Having fished with the original Acolyte I feel I can cut straight to the chase.
The Pro is a very different beast from the original. It’s a hell of a lot meaner, with improved section wall strengths coupled with hexagonal patterned reinforced joint ends. And there’s little, if any, post-strike movement.
But it’s when you hook something that pulls back a bit that you really appreciate the Acolyte Pro.
It’s downright powerful, but not in a pokey, over-gunned way. Steely strength with subtlety is what it’s all about, making it bang on the money for any UK venue you care to mention.
Our verdict: Yes, the new Acolyte Pro is another beast entirely from the original pole, but only in a good way. Teamed with lightweight Drennan A top kits, it shows superb silverfish form.
Its core of steel instils confidence in the user to take on the largest fish, and it’s more than up to commercial bagging tactics. This is Drennan’s best pole to date, perfectly combining a modern build with top-end performance, and multi-venue versatility.
Price: £2,995
Drennan D-S7 Combat Carp 14.5m pole review
THE PACKAGE
• D-S7 Combat Carp 14.5m pole (including standard Drennan top-2 kit) • Two top-2 Carp kits • Double 2 Carp kit • Double 2 Ghost Carp kit • Top 2 Cupping kit• Two reversible mini-extensions (fitting 13m and 14.5m and sections
6 and 7) • Five Roller Cones • Extractor rod
• Five Skid Bungs • EVA nose cones • 36 PTFE bushes • Six intermediate bushes • 40 Side Puller Beads • 250ml pole pot • Extra Cupping kit adaptor • Drennan Visi Case
• Drennan 4-6 tube holdall
Launched around 2003, Drennan’s Series 7 range of rods, reels and – of course – poles has become a benchmark name for classy fishing kit at affordable prices.
With superb design, quality fittings and Drennan’s deserved reputation for durability and reliability, it’s little wonder the Series 7 range is so popular.
Its designers have the happy knack of keeping their finger on the pulse of the latest tactics and reacting quickly to market trends in rods and poles – in other words, Drennan gives its customers exactly what they want, when they want it.
All this brings me nicely on to the latest member of the clan, the D-S7 Combat Carp pole – the abbreviation, obviously, stands for ‘Drennan Series 7’.
This is a modern style of pole with a true 14.5m length, ideal for bagging match carp on commercial fisheries. It does have more than one string to its bow, though, being light and responsive enough to target silver fish too.
Many manufacturers claim their poles combine equal degrees of strength and finesse, but few actually achieve this. However, the Drennan development team are experts in both areas, and having fished with the D-S7 Combat Carp at a mixed commercial fishery I wouldn’t refute their claims.
And so to the live test at Decoy, where sport at the fish-packed Willows Lake was somewhat slower than it should have been. A nasty side wind didn’t help, doing its damnedest to wreak havoc with my presentation.
This, I hasten to say, wasn’t the fault of the D-S7, which remained straighter than a fireman’s greasy pole. It was more down to the lightness of my rig, and the fact I was trying to lower it tight up against a reed bed at 14.5m on a very short line.
The odd F1 and skimmer hung itself on my hook, demonstrating the pole’s balance at full length, and a faultless shipping performance.
Even when I had to break down twice, due to lack of room and poor swim selection on my part, there was no discernible bounce, and the sections came apart easier than I would have expected with a brand-new pole.
I had also fed a margin line against the reeds, in hindsight rather too far away for comfort. However, the pole comes with two reversible mini-extensions. One, at 60cm, fits on to the end of the sixth or seventh sections and the other, at 64cm, fits on to the 13m and 14.5m sections, giving that bit of extra length when needed. I found this particularly handy when targeting that margin swim.
The pole has a more than generous selection of spares, and all its top kits are fitted with the Drennan Roller Cone side-slot puller system – in my opinion the best there is.
That spares package consists of two Double 2 Carp kits, one for use with shorter lengths of elastic and perfect for margin and up-in-the-water work, and the other with a light grey Ghost tip, also ideal for shallow water tactics.
You also get an array of skid bungs, nose cones and Roller Cone accessories, PTFE bushes, a cupping kit and cups… in fact with this package you’ll be armed with everything you need for carp combat.
Our Verdict: In my opinion by far the best pole Drennan has released in the Series 7 range. Easy to use, it’s a pleasure to fish with and would make a perfect addition to any keen club or pleasure angler’s holdall. The depth and quality of the spares package lends itself to all types of venue, and helps to make it an outstanding pole at its price.
Price: £599
Daiwa Power Carp 13m pole review
When I first heard that Daiwa was launching a 13m Power Carp pole I wasn’t sure which of its best-selling ranges it would join – Tournament, Team Daiwa, Match Winner or Yank-n-Bank.
As it turns out I was wrong on all counts. The newcomer is a stand-alone model with a very modest price tag. This puts it within reach of the newbie pole buyer who fancies a crack at some really big commercial carp, and wants to do it with a branded Daiwa pole.
This is quite a shrewd move by Daiwa, the leading seller of poles in the UK and reckoned by most discerning match anglers to make the best top-end models. Over the years I’ve lost count of the conversations I have had with people whose very first pole was a Daiwa. ‘Once a Daiwa man, always a Daiwa man (or woman)’ is not far off the mark.
So, if you choose to tread the jewel-strewn Daiwa pole path, what performance and build can you expect from this latest 13m, nine-sectioned model? Well, clearly power, strength and reliability are written large on the specification sheet.
Beefy anti-ovalling joints and super-tough sections give the impression of the pole being bulletproof. Its brawny fighting action spreads across the top five sections, leaving the angler in no doubt as to who’s in charge.
Rated to a 20 elastic, it can be used with heavy hollows and generates enough fire-power to see even the largest commercial fish wave the white flag. Having this unbridled stash of munitions at your disposal does come at a price – but in this case, not a particularly high one.
Yes, it’s undoubtedly easier to fish with at 11.5m than at 13m. But it remains reasonably well balanced and easy to handle at its full length, and there’s no hint of a droopy stick of rhubarb when all sections are put together.
A bit of post-strike bounce and wobble doesn’t interfere all that much with the pole’s action, which remains more than angler-friendly considering all that pulling power.
Weighing in at 1,250g, it isn’t the lightest power pole I’ve ever handled. You need to adopt a good firm posture on your seatbox, with the pole’s downforce weight spread over your knees or across a bump bar, then it won’t feel uncomfortably heavy.
Although the Power Carp is designed to be a cold steel ‘they don’t like it up ’em’ sort of weapon, Daiwa has been clever enough to throw in a few sweeteners – so along with all that power come pleasantries such as alignment arrows, which ensure you are always using the pole at its optimum stiffness.
Pre-bored side puller carbon reinforcements on the second sections are nice enough, although I have to say that it’s high time all Daiwa top kits came with factory-fitted side pullers as standard.
A pleasing slide-easy matt tape finish makes for speedy, painless shipping, while a super-robust mini butt comes as standard and fits into the eighth and ninth sections, giving that little bit more length if and when you need it.
Live-testing this type of pole is not always that simple – to get the best from it you need to subject it to some serious grief without actually smashing it to pieces.
However, the first couple of pegs on Decoy’s Beastie Lake are fringed by a huge bed of Norfolk reed that houses many of its largest residents. Barbel and carp abound here, and both need a fair degree of persuasion to quit their lairs.
So, rigging one of the Power top kits with a size 16 hollow elastic, and attaching a 0.18mm line and size 16 hook baited with a banded 6mm pellet, fight-time was here.
A steady stream of carp and barbel close to double figures were duly extracted with the minimum of fuss and bother, and the pole did its job faultlessly. Who could ask for more?
Our Verdict: Pretty much as its name suggests, this is a no-frills pole that won’t win any beauty contests. But then it doesn’t need to. It is what it is, a reliable branded Daiwa pole with a more than half-decent spare top kit package, at an absolute steal of a price.
Mark Sawyer
Price: £299
Browning Hyper Carp Brutale Review
Browning's 6m-long Brutale margin pole is the toughest member of the Hyper Carp family.
All are built to cope with the stresses and strains of tackling French ‘Carpdrome’ venues where the playing and landing of 20lb-plus carp on the strongest of tackle and heaviest of elastics is the name of the game.
The four-section Brutale, as its name suggests, is a proper ‘take no prisoners’ weapon, quite capable of taming the largest carp under any conditions, in any swim.
The ultra-strong pole comes ready to fish with no cutting back of the tip section required, while an unlimited elastic rating gives you some idea of its fish-stopping qualities.
For those of you that may already own a longer or higher spec Browning Hyper Carp pole, however, it’s fully section-compatible with all five of its family members.
It’s difficult to know just where to live-test a pole of this ilk – double-figure carp are more of a happy coincidence that turn up late on in matches than a regular occurrence, unless you’re a
boilie-bashing bivvy dweller.
If you fall into that category, of course, you are hardly likely to be even vaguely interested in the merits of this pole, other than to use it with great big baiting spoon attached to the end for carpet feeding the margins!
One of the best big-fish waters I know of is the Oaks strip lake on the Decoy complex. The lakebed is paved with elastic-stretching brutes averaging over 8lb, and each one you hook seems to be even angrier about it than its predecessor.
Big baits always sort out the better fish, so lowered gently into the margin went two cubes of gravy-dripping catmeat on a size 12 hook. Surely a ditch-pig of a carp would oblige?
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the thick-bristled float disappeared and out flowed yards and yards of size 14 hollow elastic.
The pole, which to be fair isn’t at all brutal, just dead strong, is surprisingly light at just 285g, and comes up nicely on the stiff side of rigid. It is neither clumsy, bendy, nor top-heavy when it comes to playing fish.
The section walls, of course, are as tough as a gendarme’s riot shield, as are the super-resilient reinforced carbon joints – but the Brutale is definitely not over the top in any department.
The Verdict: Don’t be fooled by the name, this isn’t a scaffold pole wrapped in carbon. Yes, of course it’s strong, but in a Bruce Lee rather than a Chuck Norris sort of way, and it can be comfortably used all day long without resorting to a back brace. Big fish from snaggy swims are what the Brutale is all about, and faced with such power, even double figure carp tend to come quietly…
Price: £149
Sensas Power Match NanoFlex 875 16m Competition UK pack
Tech Spec
Sensas Power Match NanoFlex 875 16m Competition UK pack
RRP: £2,399 SSP: £1,999
- NanoFlex 875 16m pole
- Two Top-5 Competition kits
- Two Top-4 Competition kits
- Two Top-3 Competition kits
- Cupping kit
- Two-pocket London Holdall
Sensas Power Match NanoFlex 875 16m All-Round UK pack
RRP: £2,399 SSP: £1,999
- NanoFlex 875 16m pole
- Four Fighting Big Fish Top-3 kits
- Two Match Top-3 kits
- One match Top-4 kit
- Cupping kit
- Two-pocket London Holdall
I first took a peek at the new Power Match NanoFlex 900 range of poles during a visit to Sensas HQ just before Christmas.
They were one of the first products that UK boss Mark Downes thrust into my hands, enthusing about what he said were the best poles to come from the French company so far.
That’s a big boast when you consider that Sensas has made some timeless classics down the years, many of which are still going strong today.
However, in keeping with advancements in pole technology across the board, the new NanoFlex range sees stiffer, stronger and lighter models than their predecessors, all made with the UK fishing market in mind.
There are six poles in the range, from the entry level 825 to the
top-of-the-range 895. All have the same characteristics of stiffness, strength and lightness, even at their maximum length.
Of particular interest to me were the revolutionary new Inter Extensions which all NanoFlex poles come supplied with.
These extensions are classic long butt sections, but rather than fitting into the back of a pole section and then being held by the angler (increasing the overall diameter, weight and balance of the pole), each extension is cleverly designed to fit into the front of the pole’s butt section.
This ensures that the diameter and stiffness are not affected and weight is kept to a minimum – very clever stuff, as I’ve lost count of the number of poles I’ve slapped an extension into, only to see them droop alarmingly.
Mark suggested I test the 875 model, which is mid-range at a shade under £2,000 for a full-blooded 16m match pole with an impressive range of kits and extras. The main body of the pole is an ‘all-rounder’ for carp and silverfish work on natural venues.
You get reinforced joints and a comforting wall strength that shows little sign of give after a good pinch and squeeze. Then simply add the top kit that relates to the kind of fishing you do (carp or small fish) – neither kit, I was assured, adversely affects the pole’s overall performance.
All good stuff, so off we went to Stretton Lakes in glorious Rutland to give the 875 a good going over.
The Carp Lake is home to fish of all sizes, with every chance of a double, so I fitted one of the Fighting Big Fish top kits with a strong hollow elastic to let me give it the big ’un when I hooked a carp.
Fishing open water at 14.5m with one of the Inter Extensions in place, I could see how Mark was right about the balance not being affected. In fact, if I hadn’t known that I had the extension in place I never would have guessed.
They’re far from a gimmick, and do help you when fishing longer ranges over time. Carp number one wasn’t far off coming, and a crisp strike set the hook with no trouble at all before the fish roared off. I stood my ground, held firm and let the pole take the strain. It bent well but not stupidly, suggesting there’s plenty of flex through the sections to prevent hook-pulls or breakages.
The fish was netted with minimal fuss and in the next few hours a dozen of his mates joined him in the net. I quickly that the 875, fished with a Power kit, offers strength in all the right parts and great stopping prowess when you hook a fish. I liked it a lot and never felt in danger of a section folding, nor did I have that nagging feeling that the pole wasn’t up to the job it is intended to do.
If you go for the Competition pack you get two Top Five Competition kits, a pair of Top Four Competition kits and two Top Three Competition kits. The All-Round option gives you four Fighting Big Fish Top Three kits for carp work, two Match Top Three kits and a Match Top Four. If I had to choose one I’d go for the All-Round pack.
You’ll also find a cupping kit, a pole holdall and, as with all Sensas poles, the Joker Card promise – if a section breaks within the first 12 months of use, Sensas will replace it free of charge!
Angling Times says:
The new Sensas NanoFlex 875 is a true all-rounder which can be purchased with a choice of either match (Competition UK pack) or commercial (All-Round UK pack) top kits. Having said that, because of its robust nature, section wall strength, reinforced joints, and solid performance at 13m and 14.5m lengths, for me it leans more towards being a top-notch commercial fishery pole.
Price: £2,399 (but shop around)
Daiwa Tournament Pro XLS 16m
FEATURES
• Choose between More Power or More Match kit packages
• Integral taping system on
sections 5, 6 and 7
• Diamond Satin slide-easy paint on sections 8, 9, 10 and 11
• Supplied with Air XLS holdall
Arguably the most iconic pole of all time, Daiwa’s legendary Tournament Pro has been refined to meet the exacting demands of modern match fishing.
The new Tournament Pro XLS combines reliability you can stake your life on with a proven track record. Such is its reputation that if you draw next to someone using one it’s a racing certainty that you’ll be in for a tough match – as long the workman is even half as good as his tool, that is.
So why would Daiwa even attempt to fix something that clearly isn’t broken? The fact is, the 100 per cent UK-built Tourney Pro has been re-worked with cutting-edge carbon advancements. These include integral taping on its fifth, sixth and seventh sections, a Diamond Satin slide-easy paint job on sections eight, nine, 10 and 11, and extended length 13m, 14.5m and 16m butt sections – albeit by only 10cm in each instance.
Despite these improvements from Daiwa nothing particularly earth shattering has happened to the overall feel of this, its latest incarnation. Instead, minimal advancements add in small increments to the pole’s overall performance.
Elongated butt sections help to shift the pole’s fulcrum point further down towards the butt, reducing its downforce. This means more responsive handling, with a more rapid tip speed and recovery rate. The latest Diamond Satin slide-easy finish on the larger sections makes shipping in or out at any length a super-slick operation, so long gone are the days of the infamous Tourney Pro ‘sticky squeaky’ effect.
Integral taping on the top sections sees them fairly rattle through your hands, something to make the silver fish speed freaks hug themselves in delight.
But the new model isn’t all about shipping speed, as proved on the live test at Decoy’s carp-rich Six Islands Lake. Pinging pellets long is currently the in method at Decoy, so that’s just what I did.
At 13m (nine sections) there is no mistaking that this pole is a chip off the old block – just a stiffer, quicker, easier-to-handle chip! The unmistakable steely feel of the original is still there as you ship it out to 14.5m, and at its full 16m it remains a joy to fish with.
Feeding accurately with a catty, using a short-line rig and holding the pole was not a problem, despite a nasty side wind. Its linear rigidity and balance is up there with the very best.
Its strength comes through in abundance when you lean into a fish that doesn’t wish to go in the direction you want it to. It also seems that Daiwa has sorted out the irritating joint-sticking that had been known to accompany its new poles. Not once during the test did any section even threaten to come apart, and they came together with a reassuring swish.
When the Tournament Pro was introduced in 2004 it came with six spare Match and Power top kits and cost £3,999. This latest version has exactly the same price tag, but you have a choice of eight Match or Power kits, making it even better value for money than the original, the performance of which it matches and then surpasses.
Price: £3,999
Angling Times Says: The go-to top-end pole for discerning match anglers, the latest Tourney Pro has improved technical specifications and spare kit packages. A true all-rounder in every sense, it’s more than capable of snatching silvers at speed, bagging commercial carp, or running a long line down a river. It’s an iconic pole with a proven track record which, just like a fine wine, only improves with age.
Mark Sawyer