Daiwa Multi Margin 9m pole
TECH SPEC
Rated to a size 20 elastic. Diamond Satin slide-easy paint on 6th and 7th section. Compatible with all current UK Daiwa poles.
Weight: 447g
Spares: Comes with two Power top-2 kits with side puller fittings
PAY AROUND
£699
Priced at £699, the new 9m Daiwa Multi Margin will have some match anglers shaking their heads in disbelief.
And, judging by the comments about this pole I have read on fishing websites, it is already being dismissed (by those yet to use it) as suitable only for Daiwa groupies with fat wallets.
Remember, though, that all seven sections will fit on to any one of Daiwa’s premier models – Air, Airity, Tournament Pro X, Whisker and Connoisseur – and that these time-served poles share the same mandrel as the Multi Margin.
Before anyone else has a moan about overly expensive fishing equipment, it’s worth noting that Daiwa is based in Scotland and manufactures nearly all its carbon poles and rods on tartan turf. They are more Irn-Bru than chow mein or spaghetti bolognese.
I have spoken to Daiwa about the construction of this pole, and while I won’t bore you to death with technicalities, suffice to say that it’s made with a unique mix of carbons and resins to provide an altogether different type of fish-playing action to a normal long pole.
So, if you own any Daiwa pole from its elite stable and are unlucky enough to break a fourth to seventh section (top kits are identical), the Multi can be used as a stop-gap, if not a permanent replacement.
What exactly is the Multi supposed to be used for then, I hear you ask? To find out I took it, complete with its three top kits fitted with elastics from 12 to 20, to the Woodpecker Pool on the day-ticket Oakfield fishery near Aylesbury.
As soon as you put this pole together its quality shines through. Weighing only 447g, no other margin pole comes close in terms of lightness or crispness at the tip, while its typical steely Daiwa stiffness just oozes class.
Its fish-playing action kicks in when anything over a couple of pounds is hooked. Despite its rigid feel, quick tip recovery speed and handling qualities, the degree of elasticity and shock-absorption is astonishing! You have more than enough power to stop the largest of fish dead in its tracks with no worries about the pole snapping.
Even with the lighter elastics bottomed out, it took on everything thrown at it without so much as a creak of protest. It is fabulously well designed, something you almost take for granted with Daiwa these days.
I have no doubt some of the world’s most renowned anglers, such as William Raison and Steve Ringer, have had a capable hand in its development – but is it worth the money?
For me, yes it is. This is a pole unlike anything else on the market and it’s a joy to use, even with the heaviest of elastics. Remember that sections are interchangeable with those of other top-flight Daiwa poles and you might just decide to splash out.
VERDICT
Few would argue that Daiwa has cornered the market in top-end flagship poles, and the residual value of this high-performance model should always remain strong. Daiwa confirms that spares are guaranteed for at least five years, even if the Multi is discontinued. This proves how much the company has invested in this pole.
Mark Sawyer
Middy Nano Core XP35-2 16m fishing pole review
Kits: Middy Pro-16 Match top-3 kit, two Middy G-22 Karp kits, Middy G16-F1 kit, Middy Cupp Kit
Sections: Extra-short No4 section, reversible dolly butt section
Extras: Middy holdall, elastication kit containing four different elastic grades, four bungs, four connectors, four PTFE bushes and a seatbox sticker, instructional DVD
PAY AROUND
£1,375 at 16m, but shop around for the best prices.
Hands up how many of you out there own a 16m pole but rarely, if ever, fish it at that maximum length?
I bet the answer is ‘not many’ and a lot of that is down to the modern commercials offering anglers carp to catch at less than half that length.
However, the time will come when those extensions need to be added to the pole to go to its maximum reach, and I reckon this is one of the greatest tests that a pole can undergo.
With this in mind, I was pleased to be given the chance to test the new XP35-2 from Middy. Part of the new Nano Core range, the XP-35 comes off the back of the well-received Shock Core Fusion range launched back in 2012, and if the new steed was half as good as those originals, it’d be a belter!
The Mk2 version has enjoyed a full upgrade with new Nano Core carbon fibres to make it lighter, stiffer and stronger – it weighs just 870g at 13m.
The package that sits alongside the main pole is also impressive and covers a lot of fishing styles, packing two of Middy’s G-22 Karp kits for use with thick elastics, a Pro-16 Match top-3 kit for silverfish work, plus a new single length G-16 F1 kit, designed for speed fishing when using shallow or short rigs with puller systems.
A neat little addition is an extra short No4 section, and there’s also a dolly butt and a Cupp kit included as well as an elastication pack boasting four grades of elastic, bungs, connectors, PTFE bushes and an extraction rod, all fitted neatly into a smart holdall.
So the XP-35-2 looks good, but how does it fish? With an island at 16m, the Kestrel Lake on the Westwood Lakes complex near Boston was a logical choice for the test. Full of hard-fighting carp and F1s, some massive barbel and lots of smaller fish such as skimmers, ide and tench, it’s your typical commercial water and I was particularly interested in using the G-16 F1 kit to see how it stood up to mixed fishing using No10 elastic.
One of my biggest issues with long poles is a poor finish on each section, which results in that annoying squeak when shipping out with hands caked in groundbait or fish slime – a juddering motion that can often tangle the rig around the pole-tip before you’ve even got half way. Thankfully, the XP35-2 has Middy’s S-Slide finish lavished on it, and that means a pole that slides through the hands like a greased eel.
Now, anyone who has fished Westwood before will know that it’s often windy, and today was no exception. All 16m poles will struggle when blasted by the wind but their beauty is almost always demonstrated by how quickly they recover after being buffeted and how well you can present the bait and strike at a bite.
True, the wind did at times drag the pole wildly off to one side, but the bait was soon back in position and fishing, and holding the full 16m against the gusts kept the carbon arrow-straight and ready to strike.
My first bite saw the pole ‘clonk’ into something big and not very happy!
Off it steamed, but the XP-5-2 didn’t groan or moan and even with the relatively short length of elastic in the top kit, I never once felt any danger. Changing the angle of the pole mid-battle was easy enough and soon a football-shaped common carp of around 8lb popped up to be netted.
Next drop in, the float dipped and the elastic roared off again. I was getting to like this pole! A smaller mirror was next to find the net, followed by its mate on the next drop in and then another. When bites are coming thick and fast you naturally want to be in and out quickly to make the most of it, and the XP35-2 allows you to do that.
A big ide was the next fish to test the pole before a nest of small perch and skimmers rocked up. Bites from these fish were faster and less pronounced.
A few were missed but the bulk were hit, and that’s credit to the pole’s balance. I was surprised at how good the strike rate was, given the wind, and at times it was possible to forget I was even fishing at 16m.
Take a couple of sections off and fish at 13m and the pole is a dream that even the most inexperienced of pole anglers wouldn’t struggle to use.
So if you’re the sort of angler who recoils in horror when the words ‘fishing at 16m’ are uttered, slap the XP35-2 in your hands and you can take on the fishing world. It’s light, perfectly balanced, super strong but not so delicate that it won’t take a fair bit of stick, something Middy is famed for. It’s one company that makes top-quality gear aimed squarely at the UK market.
Richard Grange
Maver Invincible 215 14.5m pole
PAY AROUND
Invincible 215 13m RRP £799.99, SSP £599.99
onInvincible 215 14.5m RRP £935, SSP £699.99
NEVER before have so many power poles been available to those fishing commercials – then again, the carp in most fisheries of this type aren’t exactly wasting away.
So Maver’s launch of the third generation of its Invincible pole at the recent Big One tackle show was understandably well received. Me? I couldn’t wait to get out on the bank to see just how well the 14.5m version (it’s also available at 13m) would shape up against some quite literally stiff opposition.
The original Invincible, which I live tested about eight years ago, was as strong as an ox… except for the top kits, which didn’t always stand up to the strain. Maver, of course, addressed that problem with the introduction of high performance Powerlite Power kits, which come ready-slotted and bushed for use with the Invincible 215.
These will take more stick than Tony Blair at a WI meeting, and for my money they rank right up there among the best top kits available.
As for the live test, as luck would have it we have a fishery not a million miles from the Angling Times office which is spot-on for use with this type of pole. The day-ticket Kingsland Reservoir, just outside the outside the village of Coates in Cambridgeshire, is home to some proper units. As man-made lakes go, this one is deep, very deep in fact, which means that the fish are most easily targeted in the margins.
However, once the sun comes out they also really enjoy being up in the warmer water, and like all commercial carp they are hugely attracted by the sound of pellets hitting water. Love or loathe this tactic, it does make them highly susceptible to a spot of furtive dobbing. Okay, I agree, it’s definitely not cricket, but I defy any match angler to tell me he hasn’t dropped a bait on the nose of the odd cruiser at some time… enough said!
It doesn’t take an awful lot of skill to pick out the larger specimens, and as long as you single out a fish that is swimming away from you, so it can’t see either the pole or the baithanging from it, plonk a bait just in front of it and it’s pretty much odds-on it’ll get snaffled.
The problem with dobbed fish from an angler’s point of view is the shock factor –a hooked fish reacts with lightning speed, running hard and fast and putting immense strain on your kit. Elastics, rigs and of course the pole itself all need to be up to the job. Maver’s bright orange 12-20 Hollow elastic is great for taming big fish in open water – it has a nice soft starting point but powers up quickly when you need it to, at the net.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that elastic of this diameter could be fitted into the Powerlite top kit without cutting it back. This, matched with a 0.17mm hooklength and heavy-duty size 16 hook, I was confidenty would handle just about anything that swims.
So what of the Invinclibe, which will set you back just a penny under £700 of your hard-earned? Well, for a serious power pole it’s not poker-stiff or particularly quick at it tip, and I found it much easier on the back muscles at 13m than at its full 14.5m.
Those minor points aside, it’s one hell of a whopper-stopper. The extra weight oozes strength and stability, especially when it’s being fished in a side wind. The joints are tougher than reinforced rhino hide, while the section walls offer more support than Madonna’s pointy bra.
Maver has got this pole absolutely spot-on. It will graft all day like a shire horse, but unlike those gentle giants you won’t need to feed it when the sun goes down.
Tri-Cast Venom Pro Competition 14m
PAY AROUND
£829.99
Owners of Tri-Cast rods and poles don’t just see them just as fishing tools, but as trusted companions on the bank. Indeed, one of my office colleagues has used an Arrowlite carp rod for nigh on 20 years for his margin fishing, and still reckons there isn’t a rod to touch it. That’s loyalty for you.
So I’ve little doubt that Tri-Cast’s latest 14m Venom pole will soon attract an army of starry-eyed followers. After all, the company specialises in the manufacture of composite tubular products (including poles), and is acknowledged as the European market leader in this field.
I wouldn’t claim to know diddly-squat about the scientific side of Tri-Cast’s business – in any case, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it’s classified information. But one thing I do know is that working with carbons and resins on a daily basis puts the company – the only one in England to actually manufacture carbon rods and poles – right at the cutting edge of material development. That’s why its products improve year by year without fail.
Yes, many moons ago some anglers felt that Tri-Cast poles were overly heavy and a tad unforgiving. But the weight issue, which may once have held water, is an issue no more. These days Tri-Cast poles measure up in all departments to their non-home-grown competitors, and the new 14m Venom Pro Competition is a classic example.
This pole combines high modulus carbon fibre cloths with newly developed resins, resulting in a lightweight, poker-stiff and super-powerful tool. Handily, it shares its top section mandrel with the Iconic Pro and Trilogy Pro 2 models, meaning all the top kits are interchangeable – a very handy feature.
Tri-cast says that the Venom Pro Competition will handle ‘anything that swims on a commercial fishery’. Well, that’s a bold claim to make, but if you discount the occasional matchman in possession of a 25-yards certificate who accidentally performs a backward-facing platform dive, it’s probably not far off the mark. The Venom Pro is said to accommodate everything from skimmers and F1s right through to the largest carp.
That would make it Ronseal in a pole holdall, so to ensure that it could indeed do ‘exactly what it says on the tin’ a trip to a well-stocked commercial was in order. Where better than Peterborough’s Decoy Lakes? On the day of the live test, despite a bitterly cold easterly wind to contend with, anglers were out in force – a sure sign that spring was just around the corner.
Assembling the 10-sectioned Tri-Cast Venom, I couldn’t fail to notice the exceptional wall strength and generous joint reinforcement – forgiving of the occasional user slip-up, but giving no quarter to big, bruising carp.
I had fitted the pole with hollow size 10 elastic, strong enough to handle Decoy’s feisty carp and barbel, but the Venom will actually take a size 20-plus. Its fish-playing action is relentless, and spreads through the top three sections. The pole seems pretty much impervious to windy conditions, and you can safely throw your shoulder into a fish knowing it won’t let you down.
At its full length its stiffness makes hitting fast bites or fishing up in the water an easy business. But what it does best of all is land fish quickly. It’s a bully boy rather than an all-rounder, yet it’s not overly heavy or difficult to manoeuvre. It does exactly what Tri-Cast says it will – handle anything that swims in a commercial fishery.
Drennan Series 7 14.5m pole
PACKAGE
13m or 14.5m pole, including standard top-2 kit
Two spare top-2 Carp kits
Spare Double 2 Carp kit
Top 2 Cupping kit
60cm and 64mm reinforced extensions
Four Roller Cones
Extractor rod
FIve skid bungs
EVA nose cones for No3 and No4 sections
Six each of PTFE bushes: 3.5mm (1.8mm internal diameter); 3.5mm (2.3mm ID); 4.5mm (1.8mm ID); 4.5mm (3.2mm ID); 5.4mm(1.8mm ID); 5.4mm (4.1mm ID)
Intermediate for No2 section
Four side pull beads
Polemaster pole pot
Two spare cupping kit adaptors
Visi case
4-6 tube Drennan holdall
AVAILABLE SPARES
Additional ST (Standard) top kits, Carp kits, Double 2 Carp kits, extension to 14.5m. All sections can also be purchased separately.
PAY AROUND
13m £649.99; 14.5m £799
Drennan International’s latest mid-priced 13m and 14.5m Series 7 poles are billed by their creators as all-rounders, equally at home catching carp or silverfish.
Now, that in itself intrigues me. Some months ago I was lucky enough to handle an early prototype of this pole. I thought it was well balanced and stiff, and its assembled length was spot-on accurate, not something that can be said of many poles. Nor did it need any cutting back to take the PTFE bushes, so no complaints on that score.
However, the pole I handled was definitely more geared toward silverfish than carp. I thought that it lacked a bit of brawn across its top sections, although it was well balanced and perfectly fishable at its full length.
In a similar vein to its award winning Acolyte Carp pole, Drennan supplies the Series 7 with top kits featuring its unique roller cone side puller system, along with a box of pole accessory paraphernalia that offers many elastication options. Skid bungs and EVA nose cones, which help to keep the pole in tip-top working order, complete the list of goodies.
What I was most excited about, though, was to discover whether the Drennan team had tuned the Series 7 up a bit from the prototype so it was able to handle much bigger fish. The Drennan way is to dot every ‘I’ and cross every cross every ‘T’ before a product is released on to the market, so I had few doubts that the pole’s ‘all-rounder’ tag would prove to be correct.
To put it through its paces I took the 14.5m Series 7 along to one of the best live test venues I know of. Oxfordshire’s famous Rolfs Lake is packed with big carp that have seen it all before, and are renowned for being battle-hardened. Believe me, over the years I have seen some seriously expensive and supposedly super-strong Match kits completely destroyed by these finned devils, originally stocked the creator of the lake, Rolf Wobbeking, and now lovingly tended by John Bennett.
With these Rolfs Lake fish having such a reputation for mayhem I chose a Carp 2 side puller top kit with fairly hefty Drennan Pink Bungee elastic rated 14-16 – despite this being winter, when fish are supposedly lethargic.
I kicked off the session with maggots fished on the drop at full depth, and caught a few small roach – not particularly exciting, as I had hoped for the odd big chub to put in an appearance. Still, it proved the pole had enough stiffness to generate a quick tip speed at its full 14.5m length, proving its worth for silverfish.
A change to a single grain of sweetcorn brought about an altogether different response from the Rolfs fish. I didn’t have to wait long for the float to disappear, and in an instant the pole hooped over as a carp, less than chuffed about having its lip pulled, used its tackle-snapping cocktail of strength and speed to attempt an escape. Now we would really see how powerful the Drennan team had ended up making the Series 7 pole.
Clearly, as you can see in the photograph, its flexing action still spreads across its top five sections, and while this clearly isn’t an out-and-out power carp pole, the section walls are beefy enough to instil an air of confidence, should you hook up with a unit.
When under stress the section joints all pull apart quickly and cleanly, and just to give the pole the full Rolfs treatment I even foolishly attempted to play a few fish off sections 5 and 6, just to see if it would collapse under the strain.
I can happily report that even when subjected to what would have to be classed as bad angling practice, the Series 7 remained firm and reliable, turning in a good all-round performance…. just as Drennan said it would.
Team Daiwa ZR1Plus 13m pole
PAY AROUND
£350
Having recently run the rule over Daiwa’s turbo-charged top-of-the-range ZR5 pole, I was keen to find out if the rather more modestly priced entry level ZR1 Plus could generate a similar high-octane performance.
Obviously lengths and prices would need to be taken into account, since the ZR5 16m will set you back just shy of a grand, while the 13m ZR1 Plus relieves you of less than half that, at just £350.
All poles in the Team Daiwa ZR range are pitched by Daiwa as credible all-rounders with a leaning towards commercial fishery work, but with typical thoroughness the company hasn’t taken the easy route and built the ZR1 Plus on the same mandrel as its less aristocratic relation. Too many companies, it seems, use the same mandrel with an inferior carbon cloth wrapped around it for their introductory models – not Daiwa.
The entry level TD ZR1 Plus is built to a unique set of specifications, ensuring just the right degree of balance, flexibility, power and stiffness through every section.
Some of those accreditations I went on to prove during a bitterly cold and windswept live test session at the recently reopened and restocked East Delph fishery near Whittlesey in deepest, darkest Fenland.
“What?” I hear you cry. “Catching carp from a recently stocked lake is like shooting fish in a barrel!” But let me tell you this. When the waters freezing cold and there’s a penetrating easterly wind blowing across the Fens straight from Siberia, nothing with fins wants to eat, even fish that may never before have seen a hook.
In conditions like these breadpunch is really your only option – the bait should be set to fish a couple of feet off bottom. Then it’s a matter of throwing down the prayer mat before sitting and waiting to see if something inquisitive swims along and knocks into it. Feeding anything at all only lessens your chances of catching but bites, if they do come, are rarely missed. The fish suck in the soft, swollen dough and virtually hook themselves.
Pole set-ups should involve the use of softishelastics, and mine on the day was white Hydro. Don’t fish too light a rig, as you’re never quite sure what you’re going to hook into. This was exactly what happened during the live test. After two hours of bone-chilling torment, out of nowhere the float simply disappeared, followed by a streaming ribbon of white rubber.
The Team Daiwa ZR1 Plus took on an unexpectedly beefy fighting curve and showed off its big fish power-playing action that kicked in over its top four sections. No bouncing around wildly like an unruly décolletage, the pole was snappier than a crocodile handbag and tighter than a duck’s rear end.
I had already been impressed by its rigidity while shipping it out and now I was mega-impressed by its loutish nature.
It certainly isn’t the lightest pole at 13m I have ever handled, but it couldn’t be classed as overly heavy or unwieldy. Nor is it top-heavy, as so often happens with a cheaper pole. The section walls are sturdy enough to instil angler confidence without appearing to have been chiselled from granite.
But, most importantly, Daiwa has cleverly built a pole with a very fast taper. Not only does this impart impressive stiffness, it also helps to give it a top-end feel.
To its smart build specifications you can add top kits with reinforced side puller kit areas, section alignment arrows, and a reversible mini extension that fits its eighth and ninth sections.
All in all the ZR1 Plus stacks up very well against its much more expensive flagship stablemate.
Middy XS5-2 8.5m Dual Action
PACKAGE
Slide-out flick tip, extra Karp2 G-25 kit, Safe-Zone Karp reversible mini-butt, one full Hi-Viz elastication kit.
PAY AROUND
8.5m package RRP £199.99, shop around price £139.99
In its silverfish guise, this super-slim 8m pole’s telescopic flick tip kit allows you to whip small fish from the water. However, an additional Karp2 G-25 top kit with Pull-It facility fits into the fourth section, transforming it into a short margin tool. At its full length, the XS5-2 pole fits on to the sixth section of all other Nano-Core poles.
Middy XR-8 Margin Carp Xtreme 10m
PACKAGE
Extra Karp2 G-25 kit, Safe-Zone Karp reversible mini-butt, two full Hi-Viz elastication kits.
PAY AROUND
10m package RRP £249.99, shop around price £149.99
The XR8 has an awesome amount of pulling power, with the backbone to cope with really big units. Rated to a 25 elastic, it would likely handle up to a size 30 if it existed. There’s the option to take this pole up to 13m with a generic extension.
The XR8 offers low-cost entry into the Middy Nano-Core club, and top kits are all compatible with those of other poles in the range.
Middy XM10-2 11.5m Power Carp
PACKAGE
Two full Hi-Viz elastication kits, extra Karp2 G-25 kit, Safe-Zone Karp reversible 10m/11.5m mini-butt extension.
PAY AROUND
11.5m package RRP £364.99, shop around price £225
The original Middy XM10 model sold in its thousands, and this new version is even lighter and more responsive. You won’t believe how rigid this pole is. It comes fitted with a Match3 G-16 kit.
Middy XT15-2 13.5m Competition Carp
PACKAGE
Pro 2-kit, extra Karp2 G-22 and F1 G-16 kits, Safe-Zone reversible mini-butt, three full Hi-Viz elastication kits.
PAY AROUND
13.5m package RRP £589.98, shop around price £349.99
The 13m XT15-2 is a great all-round pole with enough finesse for silverfish work when required – hence the inclusion of an F1 top kit.
You get all the features of the top-end Nano- Core models in a package rated to a 20 elastic, and all sections and top kits will still fit the original model.
Middy XP35-2 16m Competition Pro
PACKAGE
Three top kits, cupping kit, extra short 4th, Safe-Zone Pro reversible mini-butt, four full Hi-Viz elastication kits.
PAY AROUND
16m package RRP £1,375, shop around price £799.99
The XP35-2 is a tough, competitively priced pole rated to a size 18 elastic and suited to hauling commercial carp while retaining enough finesse for silverfish and F1 work. The original XP35 sold in its hundreds, and this new XP35-2 version won’t disappoint, with its Safe-Zone mini-butt with EVA soft rubber ends to protect the pole when shipping back.
Middy XK55-2 16.5m World Pro
PACKAGE
Five top kits, cupping kit, Pro Extra-Short 4th, Safe-Zone Pro reversible mini-butt, six full Hi-Viz elastication kits (including one side bush).
PAY AROUND
16.5m package RRP £2,335, shop around price £1,499.99
Even better than the earlier XK55 Carp Competition pole, the new XK55-2 is lighter and stiffer but with no loss of power or strength.
The F1 Pro top kit will be appreciated by fans of these hybrid carp. Distance numbering along the butt sections make for accurate feeding, and the S-Slide fast shipping surface makes the pole a dream to handle.
Middy XZ65-2 – 16.5m World Elite
PACKAGE
Seven Hi-Viz elastication kits (with one side bush) all with Pull-It reinforcement, cupping kit, Pro Extra-Short 4th, Safe-Zone Pro mini-butt included. Worth over £670 in total.
PAY AROUND
16.5m package RRP £3,299.99, shop around price £1,899.99
The flagship XZ65-2 is described as ‘world class’ and weighs just 775g at 13m. Incredibly stiff and well balanced, it ranks among the best top-end poles currently available.
Stillwater Pro Matchstix 16m Competition
PAY AROUND
£349.99
A cold and blowy winter’s day isn’t exactly ideal for live-testing a 16m pole, and when the implement in question is not the easiest one I have ever had to wield over water, the process turns into a battle of wills – Man V Pole.
Face it, the sun doesn’t always shine when you’re out fishing, but to be brutally honest I would rather be sitting stark naked in the snow, fighting it out with an unruly pole while wearing nothing more than flip-flops and a paper hat, than French polishing chairs. That’s what I used to do for a living when fishing was merely my hobby.
The wind-lashed Elm Lake at Decoy was so rough when I pulled up in the car park that froth covered its far end, pushed there by the galloping white horses racing over the surface. This was slightly unnerving, considering that deputy editor Kevin Wilmot, basing his judgement on a quick glance out of the window from the comfort and warmth of the office, had described the weather as ‘pretty much tropical’.
What’s more, from Kevin’s experience of fishing a club match here the previous day, he reckoned the far end of the lake was ‘absolutely solid’. He went further: “You’ll empty it!” he said. Kev should know, as these days he’s so much a part of the scenery at Decoy, he’s been given a permanent peg number.
Undeterred by the near-hurricane conditions, I set up to have a go with the 16m Stillwater Pro Matchstix Competition pole. As often happens late on a December afternoon, the low winter’s sun was guiding a few of its golden rays between the scudding grey clouds, making for a glowing end to an otherwise gloomy grey day.
So, to cut to the chase – as soon as you start assembling this pole, you realise that at some point it’s likely to turn into a bit of a brute. Every section has a wall strength and thickness that wouldn’t look out of place wrapped around an armoured vehicle. This gives it enough stopping power to halt a charging rhino, but at some point this means it is going to come back and bite you on the bum. In the case of this particular pole, that bite starts to kick in at 13m.
Heavy and uncompromising it certainly is, but it remains just about fishable at all lengths. At 13m it’s powerful but ponderous, at 14.5m it’s even heavier and slower to move, and at its full 16m it would be the perfect tool for Shrek if he ever took up fishing.
However, a pole of this type should really be judged on it price and its plus points.
So, for a penny under £350 you will get a 16m carbon pole. No, you absolutely won’t want to fish with it at that length all day long, but it’s there for the odd time when you might need to.
It’s very usable all the way up to 13m, and would be perfect for heavyweight commercial fishery hauling tactics with really powerful elastics and super-heavy rigs. I can think of at least two venues off the top of my head where the locals would find a use for it, especially when the entire pole costs less than a replacement mid-section on many flagship models.
The reinforced carbon joints are ridiculously solid, refusing to oval even a tiny bit under pressure. One thing the Matchstix isn’t is weak or unreliable. It might not be the prettiest of poles, but it certainly won’t let you down in a fight.
It also comes with its own take on a Suncore finish, called Climate Control which, as well as amusing me greatly on such a foul day, does make it fairly easy to ship around. As for my afternoon’s fishing – well, for those of you who remember comedian Les Dawson, it was a cheque book and pen for me.
More information: www.chapmansangling.co.uk
Daiwa TDZR5 16M Pole
PAY AROUND
RRP £1,399.00 Promo Price £999.00
New for 2015, the TDZR5 pole is the top model in the latest Team Daiwa range which replaces the original, affordable and very popular TDXR series.
There are six long poles in the range, plus a margin pole which is compatible with the power kits of both the new TDZR4 and TDZR5 poles, so if you’re looking for a super-strong second pole that matches with your long pole, than you need look no further.
Improvements to this latest series include a small overall weight reduction on the two most expensive 4 and 5 models, as well as a better slide-easy finish which now goes all the way down to the fifth section. All of the poles in the range have also been re-designed across their upper sections, providing an enhanced responsiveness. In addition, all the TDZR poles are now supplied with Daiwa’s new Pre-Bore power top kits. These have a reinforced carbon wrap which allows them to be fitted with side puller kits which definitely make the playing of boisterous fish much easier, especially when using lighter elastics.
I was very keen to test one of the new poles for myself as improvements such as these are not easily achieved without either adding extra weight, or making the pole a bit flimsy. So Daiwa’s claim of actually having 65g less weight would make for a very interesting session.
So, on an incredibly mild Christmas afternoon, I rolled-into the car park of the day ticket College Farm Lake at Aynho on the Oxfordshire borders to see if I could tempt some of its hard fighting and very pretty inhabitants with the Daiwa TDZR5 16m pole.
Now I have been a dyed-in-the-wool Daiwa pole fan for many years and I know that those Dawa poles with silver coloured butt sections are in fact more than likely to be a wallet sapping. The brilliant Tournament is a good example, but – and here’s my point - butting the sections of this TDZR5 model together and looking along its length, it looked every bit as stiff as a Tournament model.
It isn’t all that far off from handling like one either. All the claimed additional stiffness is there in spades, with plenty of grunt and grind available when and if it’s needed. The tip speed and recovery rate is understandably that little bit sharper and quicker to settle at 13m and 14m than it is at 16m, but that’s being a picky; it’s more than fishable at its full length, with more than enough rigidity and quickness to be used for rat-holing up the far-bank.
I am not exactly in love with the change of carbon finishes between matt and gloss over the pole’s top five sections, but it certainly doesn’t detract from its shipping abilities. It’s clean and quick through the hands, and not once did the sections come apart while fishing, which is an often criticism levelled at new Daiwa poles.
The pre-bore power top kits will handle the heaviest of elastics, while the match kits are ideal for lighter set-ups. Due to the amount of stiffness and easy handling qualities of this pole, it definitely has an all-round usage that would make it every bit as much at home on a river or canal as it would bagging-up with commercial carp.
Browning Xitan Z14-1 Advance
PACKAGE
16m Xitan Z14-1 pole
Three Xitan Advance square pole protectors
Spare full-length C section
Short C section
Eight single length top kits of your choice
Two 1.9m one-piece top kits
Cupping kit and three cups
Z14 pole holdall
PAY AROUND
16.8m Standard Package £3,099
18.6m Pro Package £3,699
18.6m Super Pro Package £3,899
The first exclusive live test of 2015 kicks off in fine style with Browning’s jaw-droppingly good new flagship pole.
When the company launched its Xitan Z12 in 2012, you could have been forgiven for thinking that the boundaries of pole design couldn’t be pushed any further. After all, the Z12 had the lot in terms of strength, balance, stiffness and performance, and won rave reviews.
But push the boundaries Browning did to produce the re-vamped Xitan Z14-1 Advance, at a price significantly lower than for many other top poles.
Extensive research, development, and rigorous field testing have gone into creating this pole, and only when Browning was satisfied that it had hit the target on all fronts was it happy to release it on to the market.
In almost every category that you would look for in a pole the Z14 excels, and it’s all down to a highly resilient silica-reinforced carbon and resin production process, the first time this has been used in pole manufacture.
But leaving aside the technical wizardry, what’s it actually like to fish with?
On a bitterly cold and windswept but bright winter’s morning at Kidderminster’s Moorland Farm fishery I was soon to find out. To make this an even more enjoyable tackle testing session, I’d arranged to meet up with my old friend and match foe Des Shipp – there was never much love lost between Essex County and Dorking. Des was extolling the virtues of retro match tactics to catch most things that swim our commercial fisheries these days for an Angling Times feature.
While I was putting the Z14 together, the mighty Shipp muttered something in pure Bristolian about having heard this pole was ‘something a little bit special’ from his local shop, and that’s praise indeed coming from him.
The pole shares the same long section configuration as the original Z12, but this should not be frowned upon as it helps to give exceptional linear rigidity and tip speed – they just take a bit of getting used to. I know more than a few proud Browning Z12 owners, and not once have I heard a word of complaint, or indeed seen a mid-match section breakage. This speaks volumes for the pole’s mandrel and basic design specifications.
At its full 16m, and in fact at any length, the Z14 is exceptionally quick, with a virtually non-existent tip recovery bounce, so connecting with lighting-fast bites from F1s is a virtual certainty. It can be shipped faster than the proverbial greased whippet.
Extra carbon reinforcement on the male and female section ends inspires confidence and makes them easy to take apart every time. I would guess this solidly built pole, with fortified stress points, has a very long lifespan ahead of it.
As a flagship model there is little (if anything) that this pole could not, or would not handle. It has more than enough power and flexibility to confidently cope with hauling commercial carp, while its stiffness and tip speed, matched with its ease of handling, makes it a killer pole for silverfish.
All areas of the pole have been upgraded from its predecessor, including the spares package. These include the revolutionary square pole protectors that make fishing long more comfortable on the forearm and elbow without damaging the pole sections, as can happen with standard round parts. Three are included, and fit on to various parts of the pole depending on the length you wish to fish it at.
Top kits are plentiful. Choose from standard 2.6m single length kits or Browning’s latest two-hole Side Pulla top kits, which have a directional PTFE bush for ultra-smooth and reliable elastic performance. For tackling shallow swims, Browning has also provided a pair of 1.9m top kits that still let you fish at the maximum length if used with pole protectors.
Spare C sections are there to fish deeper water when needed, and a short C section serves for carp work. You also get a cupping kit and cups and a deluxe Xitan Z14 pole holdall.
Buy the Super Pro package and you also get Browning’s 9.5m Xitan Xtreme Margin pole complete with two Power top kits. This is fully compatible with the Z14.
Tri-Cast Trilogy XRS Power Margin 9.5m
PAY AROUND
£329.99
The name Tri-Cast means power and nowhere is that more true in their pole range than the frighteningly-strong Trilogy XRS Power Margin pole!
Carp on commercials are getting bigger with double figure brutes a guarantee rather than a surprise and tackle needs to keep pace with this. Tri-Cast certainly haven’t been left on the starting blocks in this respect and if much of your fishing is based around fishing the margins or short pole lines for big carp, this is the pole to take a serious look at.
At the price tag it certainly isn’t the cheapest margin pole but if you take your fishing seriously and are tired of coming off second best using under gunned tackle, you’ll fish with far more confidence with this beast in your hands!
The latest multi-lateral carbon materials and ultra-light infused resins combined with Tri-Cast’s very own unique XRS (Xtra Re-inforced System) production process creates a remarkable pole that’s slim, stiff, responsive and super light – in fact at 9m the pole weighs just a mere 466g, making it feel like you’re holding a long match rod but the power that this pole delivers will leave you in utter disbelief!
Margin poles are designed to do one job; hit and hold big fish that a normal match pole would struggle with and the Trilogy XRS passes this task with flying colours, even when used tight up to snags that require agricultural-style striking and playing of fish. The carbon shows no signs of creaking or groaning under the pressure.
If you need to fish at long distances down the edge then Tri-Cast have produced two extensions that can take the pole to over 12m without affecting the action or performance and on the top kit front the pole is supplied with two power top two kits inside the padded single pole holdall. These kits can take the thickest of elastics with ease.
Tri-Cast Iconic Pro 16.5m pole
TECH SPEC
Length: 16.5m
Elastic rating: 20
PACKAGE
Match top four kit
Three match top three kits
Three big bore power top two kits
Interex short number three section
80cm mini butt extension
Re-inforced cupping kit number two section
Re-inforced cupping kit number one section (short for use with match kits)
Re-inforced cupping kit number one section (long for use with power kits)
Two pole cups (one small/one large)
Angler’s towel
Angler’s baseball cap
Super deluxe pole holdall complete with tubes
PAY AROUND
£1,549.99
Mid-range it may be but there’s nothing middle of the road about the Iconic Pro, a pole aimed squarely at the competitive £1,500 pole market with the serious club and open match angler who wants versatility, top performance and a huge choice of extras for his hard-earned cash in mind - and that’s just what this pole delivers for a penny under £1550!
Constructed using the same production processes and new mandrels as the top of the range Trilogy Pro 2 but with a single step down in grade of multi-lateral carbon material, don’t run away with the idea that the Iconic is any less outstanding as it retains incredible levels of lightness, stiffness and responsiveness.
With a terrific combined package of extras, you won’t be short of top kit options either alongside plenty of added extras including a deluxe pole holdall, cap, towel, mini extension plus two pole cups and a great innovation is the two different lengths of cupping kit that match up to either longer match kit or shorter power kit to make sure your feeding is on the button every time. The top kit list includes three power kits for heavy hollow elastics and three match top three and a match top four kit for small fish work.
Each main joint has an over wrap for re-inforcement and every section has the Tri-Cast super slip finish that makes for easy and smooth shipping and unshipping while each top kit has been designed on a steep taper to ensure extra stiffness with the added extra of over wrapped and re-inforced areas ready for drilling to accommodate puller systems.
Tri-Cast Trilogy Pro 2 16.5m pole
TECH SPEC
Length: 16.5m
Elastic rating: 20
PACKAGE
Match top four kit
Three match top three kits
Three big bore power top two kits
Interex short number three section
80cm mini butt extension
Re-inforced cupping kit number two section
Re-inforced cupping kit number one section (short for use with match kits)
Re-inforced cupping kit number one section (long for use with power kits)
Two pole cups (one small/one large)
Angler’s towel
Angler’s baseball cap
Super deluxe pole holdall complete with tubes
PAY AROUND
£2,249.99
The Trilogy Pro 2 pole remains the thoroughbred of Lancashire company Tri-Cast’s range, a deluxe 16.5m model aimed at the serious angler and one which leaves no stone unturned in terms of top kits and extras, meaning that fishing with something very special indeed.
Extras and looks only go so far to creating the best pole money can buy however and it’s in terms of strength and rigidity that the Trilogy Pro 2 really weighs in. Using a new and unique multi-lateral high modulus carbon combined with ultra-light resins infused in a specialised production process, you’re left with a pole that’s far superior in all aspects to its predecessor, the award-winning Trilogy XS Competition pole.
However, don’t think that this pole is merely an upgrade of an already outstanding pole – far from it! The Trilogy Pro 2 is a brand new model using the latest technology, materials, production processes and mandrels to leave the user not only pleased, but damned well astonished too.
Light with a balanced feel, even at the pole’s full 16.5m length, stiffness and response on the strike outstanding, with an instantaneous action with no bounce using either match or power kits. This is achieved by the introduction of new kits produced on a steeper tapered mandrel and every top kit has re-inforced double wrapped areas, which allow you to drill and fit your own puller kit system.
As you’d expect from Tri-Cast, strength is there in abundance, combined with a quality build and re-inforced joints, super slide finish on all sections giving you utter reliability and years of trouble free fishing.
But anglers have also been listened to, something reflected in the spares package of this pole, with the introduction of a short number three section plus an extra cupping kit top meaning the angler now gets two cupping kits, one for use with longer match top kits and the other for longer power kits, ensuring pinpoint feeding at all times. All of this comes complete in the burgundy and black Tri-Cast super deluxe pole holdall and with individual tubes for each spare top kit and pole section.
Preston Innovations Absolute Whips
PAY AROUND
2m SSP - £23.99
2.5m SSP - £26.99
3m SSP - £36.99
3.5m SSP - £43.99
4m SSP- £48.99
Whip fishing is enjoying a bit of a rebirth on natural waters stuffed with small fish and while you may not need one every time you go out, a decent whip should be a part of every angler’s rod bag and few are as good as the Absolute range. The range of telescopic models are available in 2m, 2.5m, 3m, 3.5m and 4m sizes and feature a solid spliced-in carbon flick tip for fishing with light hooklengths but which are soft enough to land bonus fish without the line giving way! Fast-actioned with stiff lower sections, which aids swinging in fish quickly and cleanly, they won’t cost the earth either.