Daiwa Tournament Pro X 16m
PACKAGES
More power kit package:
Daiwa Tournament Pro X 16m pole
Five Interlastic power kits
Two Interlastic match top three kits
One match top four kit
Two Super 4th sections
Tournament cupping kit
Phex Half Extension
Daiwa holdall
More Match kit package:
Daiwa Tournament Pro X 16m pole
Two Interlastic power kits
Three Interlastic match top three kits
Super 4th section
Match top four kit
Two match top three kits
Tournament cupping kit
Phex Half Extension
Daiwa Holdall
PAY AROUND
£3,999
Pole only £2,999
Can you improve on the legendary? You might not think so where the Tournament Pro is concerned but Daiwa have managed it with the brilliant Pro X 16m model, boasting enhanced recovery and responsiveness at its fuller length, which is all down to the use of innovative materials used in the latter sections the latest ‘Tourney Pro’. Top kits are well covered too but if you wish, you can buy the ‘Tourney Pro’ as a pole only and then add either Daiwa’s new More Power or More Match kit choices, which have a bias towards match or Interlastic power kits depending in your persuasion.
Daiwa Multi Margin 9m
PAY AROUND
£699
The Multi Margin is a top quality 9m power pole designed to be completely compatible with all of Daiwa’s current UK-made poles - built with premium grade carbons to ensure durability and power but with plenty of responsiveness on the strike. Supplied with two Daiwa Interlastic power top kits.
Daiwa TDZR Margin 10m
PAY AROUND
£299
If you think your standard pole might not be up to the job of margin fishing, Daiwa has that base covered with the TDZR Margin, a thoroughbred 10m pole that’ll work just as well fishing slightly longer into open water as it will down the edge and that extra length also makes it a winner when you need to fish a long way down the side to empty pallets in the next door peg.
Hugely powerful and compatible with the TDZR 5 and 4 poles, the Margin comes fitted with a pre bore ready power top two kit plus two more in the bag and features incredibly high wall strength on all sections with an elastic rating of No 20.
Daiwa TDZR range
PACKAGES
Team Daiwa ZR5 16m package:
RRP: £1,399
Team Daiwa ZR5 pole
One match kit fitted in the pole
Three spare match top three kits
Four pre bore ready power top two kits
Cupping kit with cups
Reversible mini extension
Pole holdall with tubes
Team Daiwa ZR4 16m package:
RRP: £1,199
Team Daiwa ZR4 pole
One match kit fitted in the pole
Two spare match top three kits
Three pre bore ready power top two kits
Cupping kit with cups
Reversible mini extension
Pole holdall with tubes
Team Daiwa ZR3 14.5m package:
RRP: £899
Team Daiwa ZR3 pole
One match kit fitted in the pole
Four pre bore ready power top two kits
Cupping kit with cups
Reversible mini extension
Pole holdall with tubes
Team Daiwa ZR2 13m package:
RRP: £599
Team Daiwa ZR2 pole
One match kit fitted in the pole
Three pre bore ready power top two kits
Cupping kit with cups
Reversible mini extension
Pole holdall with tubes
Team Daiwa ZR1 Plus 13m package:
RRP: £450
Team Daiwa ZR1 Plus pole
One match kit fitted in the pole
Two pre bore ready power top twos
Cupping kit with cups
Reversible mini extension
Pole holdall with tubes
Team Daiwa ZR1 11m package:
RRP: £199
Team Daiwa ZR1 pole
Two pre bore ready power top two kits
Pole holdall with tubes
The mid-range pole market is a fierce world as for around £1,000 anglers expect a lot from what they get and that means a lightweight, strong, responsive and balanced end product which years ago would have cost the earth, but not anymore, and certainly not with Daiwa’s new TDZR range!
New for 2015 and with six models to suit every budget, you know just what you’re getting from the Daiwa name; quality, superior design, rigorous testing and a pole that’ll leave you grinning like a Cheshire cat – so what makes the TDZR range the star of Daiwa’s new releases?
The upper sections of each pole have gone back to the drawing board for a redesign, which has greatly improved sharpness and response on the strike compared to their TDXR predecessors but not an ounce has been added to the overall weight or balance on the pole when fished at its maximum length. Wall strength is also impressive, which is important when striking hard or letting a big fish power off!
Sections feature colour-coded alignment arrows for easy shipping out and an improved slide easy finish on all sections while the Pre Bore power top kits allowing you to drill holes for side puller systems if you wish. These power kits are also designed to be compatible with the TDZR Margin Pole, turning it into a great power pole for close range fishing on carp lakes.
Top kits are rated to a 20 elastic and there’s also match tops included for silverfish work alongside a cupping kit with cups and mini extension in all but the ZR1 package, all packed away in a Daiwa pole holdall.
Browning Xitan Z All-Rounder Power
PAY AROUND
13m pole £499
14.5m pole £699
Some poles fall down when it comes to living up to an ‘all-round’ billing but not the Z All-Rounder, the result of a lot of hard work from Browning’s engineers to answer anglers that wanted a pole to do the lot over 12 months of regular UK fishing.
Packing extra strength compared to other poles in the Xitan range, the All-Rounder will easily handle a summer of big weight commercial carp action but it’s not so unwieldy that changing to light gear for river and canal work becomes impossible. That’s because the overall weight has been kept deliberately low despite the injection of power and the same can be said for the rigidity and balance when fished at its full length.
Available as 13m or 14.5m models, you’ll find five Single Length top kits in each package plus innovative Pole Protectors, cupping kit and cups, all bundled up into a deluxe six tube Browning pole holdall.
Browning Xitan Z Ultra Power
PAY AROUND
13m pole £569
14.5m pole £749
Fed up with coming off second-best against massive commercial fishery carp? The sad fact is that many ‘power’ poles turn out to be as much use as a chocolate teapot when put to the test but slip this monster of a pole into your hands and you’ll struggle to put the Z Ultra Power into that category.
A dedicated, out-and-out tool for battling fish carp using strong lines and big hooks, the pole is built on the same mandrel as all Xitan poles meaning great stiffness, balance and response on the strike but a vivid spiral carbon wrap on the middle sections adds plenty of backbone to these key areas, thus giving the pole its immense power.
Packing pre-bushed wide diameter Single Length Power Kits that have a puller kit drill band to convert them into puller kit systems, you’ll also find all the extras that builds the Ultra Power into the complete commercial fishery pole package.
Browning Xitan Z6 Power
PAY AROUND
14.5m pole £999
16m pole £1,199
This is the pole for the angler that spends 99% of their fishing time on mixed commercial fisheries where carp can turn up in amongst smaller F1 hybrids and skimmers and where the ability to land both with the minimum of fuss is an essential.
Competitively-priced, the Z6 is incredibly strong but light and balanced meaning you can throw it around and give big fish some welly with total confidence, the Xitan Nano-technology being the key behind the pole’s impressive strength and low overall weight.
Supplied with six pre-bushed Single Length top Kits in the 14.5m pole and eight in the 16m model, both poles have three Browning Pole Protectors to prolong the life of the pole, power and short third sections plus cupping kit, cups and a holdall.
Browning Xitan Z8 Power
PAY AROUND
14.5m pole £1,499
16m pole £1,799
A real ‘do all’ for the serious open match angler or the pleasure angler who wants to invest their hard-earned cash into a pole that’ll give them years of service. Built using a slightly different mixture of Nano-carbons, the end result is a strong pole with low weight when fished at the full length but what’s most noticeable about the Z8 is the stiffness, making it a dream to fish with at 16m, greatly reducing tangles and speeding up your fishing.
Included in each package is a cupping kit and cups, holdall, Pole Protector sections, power and short third sections, the 14.5m model having seven Single Length Top Kits that are already bushed and ready to elasticate while the 16m pole has nine tops.
Browning Xitan Xtreme Margin Revolution 9.5m
PAY AROUND
£299
A lot of fishing on commercials takes place at distances less than 13m so there’s not always the need for a pole with multiple butt sections to fish at range, let along the extra cost that comes with them. If you mind that much of your fishing is done in the margins or only five or six metres out then for a pound under £300 you’ll not finds a better answer than the Xtreme Margin Revolution.
Although billed as a margin pole, the Xtreme will perform just as well when fished at its full 9.5m length into open water, the middle sections being re-inforced for added power while retaining an overall lightness to the pole. Further strength is found in the supplied Pole Protector that fits into the pole between 7m and 8.5m, two wide diameter pre-bushed Single Length Power Top Kits able to take the thickest elastics on the market.
Browning Z10 Revolution
PAY AROUND
17m Pro Set £2,399
15m Set £2,099
Following the success of the Z12, Browning developed the Xitan Z10 for 2014, built on exactly the same mandrel as the Z12 and with the same core design and advanced features but producing a very different beast.
Sections are constructed using a different mix of Nano-carbon and the result is a high-performance pole for anglers that need an extra degree of strength and durability in their pole, perhaps those that fish commercial carp waters every weekend or use heavy float gear on big rivers.
Normally, the strengthening of a pole results in added weight to the finished model but weight gain has been kept to a minimum while the balance and stiffness of the Z12 is retained thanks to the innovative long-section design of the Revolution range of poles. Available as a 15m or 16.8m package, the Z10 can be extended to more than 18m with the purchase of extra extensions and like all Xitan poles, doesn’t need to be cut back so the 15m standard package means you’ve got a pole that’s nearly as long as most 16m poles of other companies once they’ve been cut-back.
The extras in each package are mind-blowing and comprise of Browning’s innovative Pole Protector sections, designed to give the angler a tougher mini extension for several sections of the pole, this reducing wear and tear on main sections from striking and unshipping plus an array of top kits, cupping kit and cups and deluxe pole holdall.
Browning Z12 Revolution
PAY AROUND
16.8m package £2,799
18.6m Pro package £3,099
Still the pole that so many are measured against today, the Z12 is purpose-designed as a hybrid pole, which means it can handle all types of fishing from power carp work on commercials to catching roach on canals, state-of-the-art materials and manufacturing techniques producing a pole with a fine balance between weight, rigidity and strength, three features that every angler looks for in a top level pole.
A high performance, professional level competition pole, Browning’s Nano-carbon technology has been incorporated into the Z12 Evolution to ensure that ample strength comes as standard to add complete confidence to your fishing.
Re-engineered section lengths have optimised pole stiffness making the Z12 ultra-stiff when striking or fishing in the wind but have been designed to have some action in the lower sections when under extreme load to absorb the pressure from hard fighting fish and powerful strikes.
Available as the standard package of a 16m pole plus a host of top kits, for an extra £500 you can upgrade to the Professional package that takes the pole to 17.5m and gives you extra top kits and power sections but whatever package you go for, you’ll get all of Browning’s new innovations including their Pole Protection System, Single Length Kits and Optimised Section Lengths.
Browning Hyper Carp
PACKAGES
13m package:
13m Hyper Carp HC60-130 pole
Section 7/8 Pole Protector
Three Hyper Carp pre-bushed multi-purpose power kits
Pole holdall
11.5m package:
11.5m Hyper Carp HC40-115 pole
Section 7 Pole Protector
Two Hyper Carp pre-bushed multi-purpose power kits
Pole holdall
PAY AROUND
13m model £749
11.5m model £449
Browning’s strongest pole yet! Originally built for extreme fishing on the continent after massive carp, the new Hyper Carp poles are sure to find favour in the UK on venues boasting snag pit swims where huge fish live and where standard power poles aren’t quite up to the job.
Available in 11.5m and 13m models, high grade carbons are used in the construction process to keep weight down and maintain stiffness at the pole’s full length and the power comes from re-inforcing key points on the pole, including joints and section walls as well as the middle parts of the pole. Of course, there is extra weight to fit in all of this power but the end result is still pleasing to fish with.
Even if your water doesn’t hold 20lb fish, the Hyper Carp makes a good commercial fishery pole for when you want to pile the pressure onto carp and catch quick and at the price is well within the range of pleasure and match anglers alike. Supplied with new Hyper Carp multi-purpose power top kits that come pre-bushed and can take thick hollow or solid elastics, you can also invest in a two-hole side pulla kit if you want to use a different style of elastication.
Daiwa Connoisseur G50 16m
PACKAGES
MORE MATCH KIT PACKAGE
Two Interlastic Power kits
Four Match top-3 kits
Super 4th section
Tournament cupping kit
MORE POWER KIT PACKAGE
Four Interlastic Power kits
Two Match top-3 kits
Super 4th section
Tournament cupping kit
PAY AROUND
£1,850
The improved Connoisseur G50 is now a degree sharper than its predecessor, especially at full length. However, it is now even easier to get what you want via the pole-only option and kit package selections –which basically gives you the choice of having more Power or more Match kits.
The pole comes with a match kit fitted, but these are also available separately at 3.2m and 4.7m lengths.
Maver Elite Carp Series 4
PAY AROUND
£2,650 (shop around price £1,999.99)
Occupying pole position in Maver’s Elite Carp line-up is the impressive flagship Series 4 model which is being live tested this week. But before getting down to the nitty gritty of how this 16m carp tamer performs it’s worth mentioning just how the Elite Series first came about.
The original 14.5m pole proved to be a revelation when it first appeared on the commercial match scene, teaming a carp cruncher’s power and strength with the feel, balance, stiffness and handling qualities of a match pole. Its build technology was said by Maver to be cutting edge, with some pretty impressive technical data to back up that claim.
Nothing has changed in that respect with the new Series 4. The nine-sectioned mandrel is wrapped in the highest possible 850 grade carbon cloth before being reinforced with super vibration-damping epoxy and 4Mat resins to enhance strength and rigidity.
The pole weighs in at just 795g at 13m – an impressive statistic for any top match pole, never mind one with carp-hauling credentials.
It boasts a classy looking grey Sun Core finish that prevents sections from becoming too hot to handle on warm, bright days, and improves its shipping qualities. And you get the latest Maver Powerlite top kits, rated for use with up to size 20 elastics and equippedwith side puller slots and factory-fitted PTFE bushes.
So, technically the Series 4 is clearly a very advanced pole, but how does it shape up when pitted against hard-fighting commercial fish? To find out I spent a few happy hours at Decoy Lakes’ prolific Six Islands Lake, which is a real melting pot of fish species.
On arrival, what immediately struck me was how smoothly the joints came together with a reassuring swishing noise, then locked firmly into position with nothing more than half-a-turn required.
Section walls just above joints take some stick with this type of pole, especially on the third and fourth sections, as they are the ones you are most likely to be unshipping when netting a fish. Those on the Series 4 are fairly flexible, and certainly not indestructible as they would be on carp poles with less breeding but more muscle.
However, you need to remember that this is a commercial pole that can be comfortably fished with at 16m all day long. So impregnable section wall strength and the added weight this entails has been tempered, resulting in a very well-balanced pole that at its full length will twirl a slapping rig like a Dervish on steroids without either bouncing you off your seatbox or whacking the water every time you flip the rig.
Anyone who fishes mixed stock commercial venues that respondto long pole tactics should take a long hard look at this Maver thoroughbred. Only once you’ve used it as I have can you appreciate its overall rigidity, especially over the top five sections that are all but bounce-free. Accurately potting in feed, even at the full 16m becomes a doddle.
All that, plus a very impressive spares package that means you won’t have to dip into your pocket for more top kits, makes this pole a very impressive investment indeed.
MAP TKS Competition Carp 1
PAY AROUND
£399.99
Around 20-years ago I took my first steps into the world of pole fishing and to say the industry has come on leaps and bounds since then would be an understatement.
My first purchase back then hit my dad’s wallet to the tune of around £400, with the 13m offering requiring a fair bit of strength to wield it at its full length for long periods of time. It also had more bounce than a trampoline when you struck at a bite, with a series of eerie noises running throughout the sections whenever a big fish made a surge for freedom.
A spares package for anyone on such a budget was also virtually non-existent, with extra sections and top kits reserved for those with a sizeable wallet.
Fast-forward to the modern day and a 13m pole in the same price bracket is a totally different animal. The new MAP TKS Competition Carp 1 pole is the perfect example of how things have changed for the better.
It comes with a brace of power kits that are capable of taking a carp crunching solid 20 elastic and also a match kit. The hassle of having to get the hacksaw out and cut your top kits back to suitable size has also been removed, with all of them coming pre-bushed.
That isn’t the end of the spares package though, with a mini-extension provided to give you little bit of extra reach for when those fish-holding snags are just inches out of reach with the pole at 13m.
A smooth finish has also been applied and for times when you are really bagging and need to ship in and out at pace, this piece of kit will slide through your hands with ease.
One criticism that many poles receive is that they cannot be realistically fished at their full length for long periods of time, with the final butt section often adding a little too much extra weight for it to be used the whole day.
That is something that certainly can’t be levelled at the TKS Competition Carp 1 and during the live test it performed admirably and left me in no discomfort when used at full distance.
Carp and F1s to around the 4lb mark were the main target and as they resided in around 12 inches of water, there was no doubt they would test the pole to its limits as they bolted out of the swim once hooked.
Each time a fish was hooked it instantly motored off into the deeper water and ripped out several feet of 12-14 hollow elastic. At no point did I cringe at the thought of an expensive breakage, with the pole giving me the upper hand from start to finish of each battle.
The MAP TKS range have proved popular since its creation several years ago and the team have once again hit all the right notes with the latest addition to the impressive collection.
Daiwa Match Winner 14.5m
PAY AROUND
£999
The latest in a long line of high quality Daiwa designed and built poles, the Daiwa Match Winner comes from a thoroughbred stable that includes the Flagship Air, Airity and Tournament Pro X.
However, at just a penny under a thousand pounds, this latest offering is a lot more of a pound-stretcher to the keen match angler than any of its more rarefied relations.
So, what do you get for parting with a grand of your hard-earned? First, and probably most importantly, the Match WInner is built around exactly the same tried and tested nine-sectioned mandrel as used to make all the top-end Daiwa poles – although it should be noted that the MSG (Multi Strand Graphite) cloth is not of quite the same high specification.
Don’t let that lead you into thinking of the Match Winner as the poor man’s Tournament. If anything, its characteristics offer the modern match angler a far more powerful performance, whether brawling with big ’uns or putting together a baker’s dozen of pasties. The fact is, if you already own a Daiwa Tournament pole and suffer a broken sixth section, that is going to cost you an eye-watering £350 to replace – a whole third of the price of the Match Winner. For the saving on spare sections alone, the new budget pole earns its keep.
What’s more, it comes with a distinctly handy spares package that includes a standard Daiwa Match kit inside the pole, four Interlastic Power kits and a cupping kit.
The Match Winner’s performance is pleasing solid and dependable, although not overly exciting. It generates enough bend when put under stress to handle a big fish without feeling as though it might snap in half at any moment.
Kitted up with light elastics, there is sufficient crispness along its top four sections to make it responsive enough for smaller fish. Basically the Match Winner is the ideal all-round pole for the type of angler who spends much of their time fishing mixed stock commercial fisheries.
Shipping along the sections is seamlessly quick, thanks to Daiwa’s Diamond Satin easy glide finish on the number 8, 9 and 10 butt sections. Sections 5, 6 and 7 all incorporate Daiwa’s unique ITS taping system that helps to speed things up during shipping.
There is little discernible difference between using it at its full 14.5m or 13m lengths, which is testament to the amount of rigidity it has, and for the money the Match Winner is up there with the best poles available at this price.
MAP Power Margin
PAY AROUND
£169.99
Improve Your Coarse Fishing deputy editor Dave Woodmansey reckons the new MAP TKS Power Margin is amongst the best poles of its type he has handled. That, coming from a Yorkshireman with over 20 years of tackle testing behind him, is quite an accolade. The super slim model weighs in at just 488g at 8.5m, yet has power in spades. Perfect as a stand-alone short pole, its top kits interchange with those of all earlier TKS models, and it comes with its own pre-bushed Power top-2.
Maver Signature 800 16m
PAY AROUND
£1,799.99
The 16m Maver Signature 800 is the fastest selling model of a series of four poles, believed by the Redditch-based tackle firm to be the best that its Italian manufacturing partner Reglass has ever built. There is indeed some very serious carbon innovation going on here.
An 850 high modulus grade of carbon cloth has undergone 4MAT pre-preg treatment with a catalysed resin that bonds to the fibres to maximise the action. Pre-preg cloths need to be stored at incredibly low temperatures, down to -20ºC, to prevent them from curing before the fabric is even wrapped around a mandrel.
Additionally, the carbon is reinforced with a super-tough aerospace epoxy resin, and its Nanolith Technology provides it with multi-directional fibres that increase linear rigidity and strength. All four Signature poles boast an elegant Black Suncore finish which, as well as providing additional wall strength to each section, makes for effortless shipping in all weathers.
Yes, that’s a lot of technical information to take in, but the poles really are a bit special. And the 800 model, which retails at £1799.99 and can only be purchased from one of Maver’s impressive ‘centre of excellence’ retailers, has become the most popular pole in the highly competitive mid-priced area of the market.
How does all this 21st Century excellence translate into performance? To find out I spent a few hours pleasure fishing with it at Northamptonshire’s picturesque Wold Farm fishery, close to the Santa Pod racetrack.
Assembling the 800 up to 13m it feels much like many other poles, although its Teflon bonded joints ensure that every section glides reassuringly into place and can be locked into position with little more than a simple half twist.
But once you put the 14.5m and 16m butt sections into place you begin to appreciate just why so many matchmen have made this the pole of their choice.
It’s fabulously stiff at both these lengths, and an absolute joy to handle. It ships in and out without so much as a hint of bounce, and instinctively you know this pole is ‘just right’. The section walls feel robust enough to handle the heaviest of elastics, and although this is more of an all-round pole aimed at the accomplished match angler, it certainly wouldn’t shy away from a session of commercial carp hauling.
Maver is hardly likely to thank me for my only other observation, though. Undoubtedly one of the other major reasons behind the success of the Signature 800 is that it is can brought for not much more than half the price of the top-end flagship 1000 model, yet it shares the majority of its super-expensive stablemate’s qualities. Add to that an exceptional spares package that gives you more than enough top kits without further investment and you can see why this pole is a winner through and through.
Matrix 8m X Carp Margin
PAY AROUND
Matrix X Carp Margin 8m £179.99 (pole only)
Matrix X Carp Margin 9.5m £279.99 (includes spare top-3 and mini extension)
Fox International’s match brand Matrix has come a long way in a very short time under the guidance of former Preston Innovations managing director Ricky Teale.
With two of the biggest purse winners in match fishing as its senior consultants – Les Thompson and Warren Martin – Matrix is not afraid to take calculated risks. Last year, for example, it launched its first-ever carbon pole, the top of range Nemesis, retailing at a cool £2,999.99. Many wise heads in the angling trade thought the price was somewhat overcooked, especially from a fledgling brand. They were wrong – the Nemesis soon found favour with the UK’s top match anglers, mainly because its strength and all-round capabilities made it the ideal companion for the open circuit.
The latest Matrix carbon pole offerings, due in the shops mid-June, are far more affordable and middle of the road than that wallet-sapping 16m flagship model. They come in the form of 8m and 9.5m Carp Margin poles. Both have top-3 kits that will happily interchange with the Nemesis, but there the resemblance ends.
That doesn’t mean, though, that these new poles are underwhelming poor relations. They are perfectly built for what they are meant to do, and by their very nature that means they need to be both flexible and durable to withstand pressure from very big fish and steer them firmly away from snags.
So, with prices of £279.99 for the 9.5m model and just £179.99 for the 8m version, what do you get for your money? Kit-wise they are both a bit on the shy side. The shorter 8m pole (as live tested) does not come with any spare top kits at all, although they can be bought separately for £69.99. The 9.5m model is accompanied by a single spare top-3 and mini extension. Okay, so they are not particularly well endowed in the package department!
This shortcoming, though, is more than made up for in performance. The super-slim put-in sectioned poles demonstrate sheer unbridled brute strength when it’s needed, thanks to thick-walled sections that give you the confidence to heave away with all your might.
Every joint has been reinforced with an extra carbon wrap, so even when they are under severe stress they will still come apart without sticking. Matrix gives both poles a recommended maximum 20 elastic rating, and I wouldn’t argue with that. However, I would recommend, since the top kits come with an undrilled reinforced side puller area, that you make use of these, with the top sections cut back sufficiently to house a large internal PTFE bush.
Sensas Margin 604 Carp
PACKAGE
Fighting Carp top-2 kit
Pole bag
PAY AROUND
£199.99
A fabulous addition to the Sensas Series 4 stable that will interchange with any other pole in the range, as well as the Sensas 5 Series models. Super-strong, hardwearing and quite capable of handling anything you are likely to hook.