Middy reactacore XZ65-3 Pole Review

A top-of-the-range pole you should definitely make a beeline for at fishing shows or in your local tackle shop is Middy’s new Reactacore XZ65-3 World Elite.It’s very special indeed... with a lordly price tag to match.

However, with various deals and finance packages on offer through the shops, owning a pole costing in excess of £4,000 is now a reality for the serious angler, and if you pick the XZ65 it’s doubtful you’d ever need to invest in anything else.

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This pole takes all the excellence of the original XZ65 and its predecessor, the XZ65-2, and builds on it with reduced weight and increased overall length, without an ounce of strength being lost.

Each Reactorcore pole is packed with features, many unique to Middy, perhaps the most important being the use of four-layer Quad carbon technology. Each layer of cloth is precision-placed over the others at specific angles to achieve a fast response on the strike and superb rigidity.

Power and longevity come with the addition of Maximus Wrap to strengthen each section joint while reducing wear and making each section overlap slightly less to give an increase in overall length. But away from the power and stiffness, a few cosmetic features add further to the brilliance of the XZ65-3.

All butt sections (13m, 14.5m and 16m) are printed with numbers spaced 5cm apart so you know the precise distance you are fishing and catching at. Middy has also created Spineline section alignment to get the very best out of the pole.

It’s also well worth talking about the top kits and extras that the Reactacore comes with. They make for impressive reading. Buy the 16.5m pole and you get two Safe-Zone Mini Butts with full Maximus Wrap. Each Mini Butt and all No4 and No5 sections are fitted with soft EVA Dome Top Ends to protect the pole.

For your hard-earned you’ll get six Reactacore Ultra-Control Two Kits, power models with spots that can be drilled to fit a side puller slot, plus a grey-coloured Reactacore Ultra Control Phantom Kit and a Max8-SL Match Three Kit inside the pole. These are unbushed, however, so you’ll need to fit them with PTFEs. All top kits and pole sections are compatible with previous XZ65 and XZ65-2 models too, so if you already own one of the above, your old kits will fit to give you more options. 

Cupping kit issues are taken care of, with the Reactacore Ultra-Control Cupp Kit and Flat Base Click Cup set offering pole cups in a range of sizes. If all that wasn’t enough, there’s a Reactacore Short No4 section.

The final smart feature of the XZ65-3 are the two Reactacore Adapative Q Parallel Short No3 sections, which fit on to the end of a top kit to give you a slightly longer reach when needed without having to add a Mini Butt or longer extension.

To give this thing of beauty of whirl I was off to Jay Lake at Rookery Waters, in the heart of the Fens. A typical snake lake putting the far bank 15m away, this allowed me to play about with the Mini Butts and Adapative Q Parallel Short No3 sections for that extra distance past the standard 14.5m mark.

Whole worms and bunches of maggots fished tight to the far bank soon produced a run of hard-fighting angry carp and the XZ65-3 soaked up absolutely everything, even the never-ending surges of carp hooked in the tail or pectoral fins.

Here’s an admission. I hate fishing really long distances on the pole. It’s hard work, my rig often tangles around the pole-tip, the feed spills out of the tip-mounted cup and I just can’t get into any type of rhythm. I was keen to see if having one of the best poles money can buy would make a difference.

Well, I only occasionally turned the air a royal shade of blue, but none of that was down to the pole. It was more about foul-hooked carp pinging off at the net! Shipping the XZ65-3 out to beyond 14.5m is so easy. The rigidity through every section means no bounce or wobble, so the rig remains just where it should be.

The overall low weight of the pole is pleasing, too, and easy on the arms and back – even in a gusty crosswind, fishing the XZ65-3 one-handed was easy and I could even strike at sharp bites with just the one hand, the pole is that crisp. 

And it’s strong too, very strong, the type of pole you can give the big ’un to without it showing any signs of exploding or even letting out a creak of protest.

Verdict:

Weighing in with a price tag akin to that of a good secondhand motor or a blowout Caribbean holiday, Middy’s flagship Reactacore XZ65-3 pole is well worth the layout of all those banknotes. 

It’s simply faultless in every single aspect that you’d expect a top pole to possess – balance, stiffness, strength, weight, speed on the strike and the package. If you’ve won the pools or have been squirrelling the cash away for a top-end pole, the XZ65-3 simply has to be on your list to take a good long look at. I’d be staggered if you were disappointed!

The Package

• Middy Reactacore XZ-65-3 16.5m pole with Max8-SL Match Three Kit inside

• 6 x Reactacore Ultra-Control Two Kits

• 1 x Reactacore Ultra Control Phantom Kit

• 1 x Reactacore Short No4 section

• 2 x Reactacore Adapative Q Parallel Short No3 sections

• 1 x Reactacore 11.5m/13m Safe-Zone Butt section

• 1 x Reactacore 14.5m/16m Safe-Zone Butt section

• 1 x Reactacore Ultra-Control Cupp Kit

• Flat Base Click Cup set

• Middy pole holdall

Price: £4,134.98 – shop around

16m Preston Innovations Response XS50 Review

The new Preston Innovations Response XS50 16m pole falls into a price category where things start to get serious – writes Tony Grigorjevs.

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Anglers in the market for a pole priced between £1,000 and £1,500 expect something that ticks all the boxes. It’s generally expected that there will be shortcomings in cheaper poles but this is the price bracket where the full kit and caboodle is expected.

A generous spares package, bags of strength and a responsive action are just a few of the essential qualities required.

With that in mind, the 16m Response XS50 needs to impress from the off, and it’s fair to say it did just that when I was lucky enough to get my hands on it.

On opening the bag I didn’t know where to start, there was that much carbon staring back at me! The package includes four Roller Pulla top-2 kits, two Roller Pulla F1 kits and a Match top-2 inside the pole. 

There’s also a cupping kit with cups and three mini extensions that can be used when fishing short or long. As well as giving you that little bit of extra reach, they also provide protection to the ends of the main sections.

Curborough Fishery in Staffordshire was my venue of choice, and the hard-fighting carp in Oak Lake were sure to test the other features.

Shipping out to 16m, the finish was impressive. There was no struggle or stuttered shipping and it was easy to get smoothly out to the full distance.

Although it was perfectly fishable for periods at 16m, it was when I dropped back to 14.5m that I felt I could hold this pole for hours on end without feeling the strain.

Once the float dipped, the 13H elastic zipped to my right – it was inevitable the lily pads in that zone would be an attractive proposition to any hooked carp!

The old M50 pole, which the XS50 replaces, was criticised in part for lacking the required muscle power, and there’s no doubt Preston’s designers have taken this feedback seriously.

There was no indication it couldn’t handle the strain and I had no hesitation in piling on the necessary pressure to win each battle. A quick inspection of the sections instantly told me the walls were solidly built, with little give when I squeezed the end of each one.

As with every Preston pole there were plenty of little extras that win additional brownie points with purchasers.

Each top kit comes pre-bushed and with a Side Pulla already installed. The sections have aligners which enable you keep the spine of the pole lined up, enhancing performance in the process.

Preston Innovations prides itself on creating top-class tackle at an affordable price, and the company has certainly stuck to that mantra. If you are buying a pole between £1,000 and £1,500 you’ll struggle to find anything else that will measure up to the Response XS50.

TONY’S VERDICT

As with every item of tackle I sample from Prestons I had high expectations, and the Response XS50 definitely met them. It’s strong, comes with a fantastic package and ships like a dream. 

There’ll also be no issue with hitting quick bites as it is responsive, even when fished long. You’ll have worked hard to up for a new pole and you can be assured that you’ll have no complaints if you make this your new pride and joy.

Price: £1499.99 | Expect to pay: £1,300-£1,400

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Middy Reactacore XP35-3 16m pole review

If you’re in the market for a budget-priced 16m pole but don’t need to use it at that length every trip, Middy’s latest Reactacore XP35-3 may be just the thing. 

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The two earlier XP-35 and XP35-2 models were very popular, but this new XP35-3 sets new standards for poles of this price. On commercial carp venues, where you need to mix and match your pole tactics with the odd excursion out to 16m, the XP35-3 will cope with anything and everything, from extracting margin munters, through to near-shelf paste tactics, shallow slapping, and fishing long against islands. 

How is this possible? Well, for starters there’s an exceptional spares package consisting of three Ultra Control top-2 kits, an Ultra Control Phantom kit, a Cupp kit, a Short No4 section, an Adaptive Q parallel short No3 and an 11.5m-13m Safe Zone butt.

The short fourth and Adaptive Q parallel sections stiffen the pole up considerably and make it ideal for tackling deeper water. The XP35-3 is more rigid, lighter and stiffer than many other mid-level poles, and as it’s rated to an 18 elastic it’s safe to use on commercial lakes for big carp, while still retaining enough finesse for silver fish and F1 work. Built using the latest ‘Quad’ carbon technology, the pole’s Safe Zone mini butts have domed ends to protect them when shipping through bushes. This feature also applies to the fourth and fifth joints, safeguarding them against chipping. 

All joints also have Middy’s latest ‘Maximus Wrap’ system which helps to keep wear and tear to a minimum, increasing the life of the pole. My work colleague Richard Grange live tested last year’s XP35-2 model and thought it a half-decent pole at a very affordable price, so I thought I’d run the rule over the latest model to see if it had undergone any significant changes. Well, other than welcome improvements to the spares package, the pole is still as strong as an ox and well up to commercial bagging sessions.

Stand-out features on the XP35-3

  • Adaptive Q mini extension extends top-2 kits to same length as the Match top-3.

  • Foam dome topped sections – protects and extends the life of the pole.

  • Maximum elastic ratings are clearly marked on all top kits to avoid confusion.

  • Numbered distance markers on all butt sections are a useful feature.

  • The pole is rated up to No 18 elastic for use with big carp on waters.

  • Reinforced side puller area on the 4th section will be handy in deeper swims.

  • The S-Slide finish makes shipping in and out an easy process in all weathers.

  • The short 4th section adds stiffness, useful when fishing deep swims.

Price: £1,099 (but shop around) 

Middy’s XM-10-3 Review

Twenty years ago, the words ‘entry-level pole’ would conjure up images of a several metres of distinctly floppy carbon.

The response on the strike would be measured in minutes, not seconds and its overall weight would soon see you booked into hospital for a hernia repair. 

Thank goodness that things have moved on since then!

Nowadays, if you want a basic quality pole that will do you proud over many seasons, there are plenty to choose from. Derbyshire company Middy is arguably at the head of the pack when it comes to no-nonsense tackle at a price you can’t argue with.

Of course, Middy manufactures top line kit too, but it has always had an eye on the beginner who works on a limited budget but still expects functional tackle that won’t let them down when they hand over their hard-earned.

The XM-10-3 pole is yet another Middy gem. Part of the much-talked about Reactacore range, the XM-10-3 is available in three different packages from 10m to 13m, each one having more top kits the more money you spend. 

At the classic entry level is the 10m pole with two top kits... one Match and one Carp. All, in fact, that the newcomer to pole fishing will ever need.

Weighing 692g at 10m, it’s not a brute to fish with all day and, like all poles in the Reactacore range, the XM-10-3 is built using Middy’s Quad carbon technology and Maximus wrap joints to add strength to those vital areas on each section. 

A new Spineline aligner system ensures maximum rigidity when lined up correctly, and the use of Foam Dome Top PS on the No4 and No5 sections is a nice touch to reduce wear and tear on section ends. It looks the part, too, with smart black, white and gold livery. 

An opinion off the bank is all well and good, but how does the pole actually handle when something big and angry is having a go at the other end? The carp and F1s of Westwood Lakes were about to find out as I picked Kingfisher Lake at the Lincolnshire complex for the test.

Packed with carp, F1s, massive ide and some surprise tench, bream and barbel, the lake is the classic mixed commercial fishery that the XM-10-3 was built for.

Warm weather made fishing shallow a sensible option and one that would also test the performance of the pole when striking at fast bites and shipping and out quickly. At 10m, the length is just about right for this type of fishing and after ladling in plenty of maggots, the first big F1 of the day ripped the elastic out.

The pole bends pleasingly but not alarmingly. You’re always in control and there’s a shedload of power in each section to make pulling hard-to-get fish out of danger safe and simple. Each section wall is made of strong stuff and I defy you to break one, however cack-handed you may be.

A string of quality F1s, big roach and even crucians were landed with the minimum of fuss, and for a pole in such a low price bracket, the balance and stiffness were a bit of a revelation. 

Initially I feared the worst, but needn’t have. Shipping out is easy, lifting and dropping the rig into place equally so and the reaction on the strike, although not lightning-fast, is plenty quick enough for picking off finicky F1s.

Of course, you may well not use the XM-10-3 for fishing shallow and I reckon that for general sport with baits on the bottom at a little shorter range than the full 10m it’ll be a winner. 

Strong, balanced, light in the hand and with a couple of top kits (one Carp and one Match) supplied, it’s plenty more than you could ever ask for at the price! 

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Verdict

If you’d offered me this pole when I began fishing many moons ago I’d have had your hand off! For the asking price it really is outstanding, and will catch you many thousands of pounds of carp in years to come.

Middy has put plenty of thought into the XM-10-3 rather than churning out a bit of a broom handle, and those neat little touches and design features all add up to a quality bit of kit. If you fancy beginning pole fishing or want a good back-up for days when heavyweight carping is on the cards, you have to give this the once-over.

RRP: £375 but shop around for best price


Daiwa Connoisseur G90 16m pole package

You might find this hard to believe, but in all my years of tackle testing I have never waved a Daiwa Connoisseur pole over the water. 

Given that the evergreen and award winning Connoisseur has been Daiwa’s best-selling pole for nearly 30 years, that is a quite remarkable statement!

The pole has been produced under many guises, starting way back in 1991 with the original Connoisseur Ultra model. Subsequent decades have been graced with the G8, G20, G50 and the latest G90.

I may never have live-tested a Connoisseur or, for that matter, owned one, but I have been lucky enough to have fished with some of the UK’s best match anglers who were devoted ‘Connie’ disciples. To me that speaks volumes.

The Connoisseur is reckoned by matchmen to be Daiwa’s best power model, and therefore well suited to big-fish situations. However, this preconceived ‘firepower without finesse’ idea has always been a bit of a head scratcher for me, because I know two absolute top-of-the-pile speed merchants who could smash out literally hundreds of roach at lightning pace with a Connoisseur – proving it to be much more than a one-trick pony.

So, after years of waiting and wondering about this pole’s potential, the moment of truth finally arrived! And as I assembled the latest G90 on the well-worn banks of Decoy’s carp-infested Lou’s Lake, my mind drifted to watching Essex County’s awesome Garry Miller slaying big roach on the Trent Embankment with his own ‘Connie’.

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However, that was all back in the day stuff. Modern match tactics and venues require that the seasoned match angler will frequent a commercial fishery where bagging tactics, or big-fish pole methods, are the order of the day – hence Decoy, my choice of live test venue.

There is little doubt in my mind that Daiwa has developed the all UK-built Connoisseur over the years to keep pace with the demands of ever more stressful match situations, and to that end, this latest model is definitely the strongest, stiffest, most responsive and most powerful yet built. This is clearly reflected in its construction.

Daiwa’s Super MSG carbon cloths with Nanoplus resin technology combine to produce a high performance tool. 

It’s a fact that the pole handles better at 13m than it does at 14.5m or 16m, and that’s not rocket science. Poles that are super-quick and slick at longer lengths come with much heftier price tags than this G90.

That said, it is more than useable at any length. It’s proper tough, and will handle a purple Hydro kit with consummate ease. 

Daiwa’s packages allow you to keep your top kits all the same length, while having the right sized PTFEs for the elastics. 

The pre-fitted Interlastic side puller kits come with tip sizes of 4.7mm and 5.8mm, to cover every size of elastic you are likely to need to commercial work. 

The match kits – which really do help to impart a bit more stiffness and tip speed to the pole’s overall action when used with lighter solid elastics – are ideal for all silver fish work.

Verdict: This latest ‘Conny’ is a true all-rounder. The unmistakeably steely feel of a top-end Daiwa pole is there, and coupled with key features such as ITS taping across the top sections and a Diamond Satin finish on the larger sections, this make the pole quick and easy to handle in any weather.

The kit package and choice is hugely impressive too, and will provide you with enough kits for any match without having to shell out for any extras.  

Price (promo): £1,499 for the full package

Bob-Co Sensas Nanoflex 855 Power Match 16m & 14.5m poles

Every so often an item of fishing kit passes across our tackle desk that represents outstanding value for money, with a massive saving on recommended retail. 

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That was certainly the case when I got wind of the Sensas 855 Power Match pole designed exclusively for tackle shop Bob-Co. There’s a choice between a 16m or 14.5m out-and-out power pole at way below half the normal asking price. A 16m pole for £599... now that surely demanded further investigation!

Bob-Co asked for a power pole armed only with pulla power kits, something you won’t find in any other pole package in the current or older Sensas ranges. The French giant duly obliged, and the end result is a top-flight long pole at a jaw-droppingly low price.

Whether you go for the 16m or 14.5m package, you get the same list of goodies. The main pole comes with a Pulla kit inside plus four spares, a rigid cupping kit and pole cups, all stashed away in a Sensas pole holdall. 

The kits are rated to No18-No20 elastic and feature a reinforced side puller slot. Another bonus of the 885 is that it is totally compatible with other Nanoflex poles in the Sensas range.

The test

Leighton’s Pool at the recently redeveloped Yoke Hill Fishery near Oundle, Northants, is a typical mixed fishery – 16m wide and stocked with more than a dozen species. 

It’s just the job for an on-the-bank test and the plan was to fish the pole at its full length to the far bank, then come shorter for a bit of shallow fishing. These approaches would ask different questions of it.

Potting in a little groundbait and corn at 16m, there was little bounce in the pole as it snaked out to its full length. I can’t lie and say the pole was arrow-straight at 16m because there is some droop, but certainly not enough to make fishing with the 855 a chore.

First drop resulted in a bite and a crisp response on the strike. You need to put a bit of effort into the lift, but nothing Herculean, and with a small carp dispatched into the net I was soon back out and nobbling another. 

The average stamp was around 1lb, and good fun they were too on a light elastic that allowed the fish to power off and put a real bend in the pole. I could now feel the power of the pole – it’s got a very solid feel to it, with no creaking or crazy bending that leaves you feeling the least bit out of control. 

Now, it’s often said of long poles that they lose a bit in terms of balance and response when you go out to 16m, but take a section or two off and they become a different beast. 

I gave that theory a crack to fish at 14.5m on the deck and 13m with a shallow rig, and found it indeed to be the case. 

Any droop and bounce vanishes, and reaction time on the strike is vastly improved.

The shallow rig produced plenty of F1s around the 1lb 8oz mark, and these can be real fast-biters. The Yoke Hill fish are no different, but the speed of the 885 on the strike is reassuringly quick – and it’s rigid enough to keep lifting, dropping and slapping the rig without busting a gut.

Eventually, something bigger found the banded 6mm pellet and tore off for a tour of the peg. Steering the fish away from snags was easy and, like all good power poles, the 885 lets you really pull and transfer the effort you’re putting in through the pole to be in total command. A 5lb carp was soon in the bag. Super stuff!

Not only is the pole great to fish with, but it’s robust into the bargain. 

I can be a little ‘enthusiastic’ with a pole, and the 885 was also thrown around a fair bit. Not a mark was left on it, and it went back into the bag looking as though it had never been used.

Verdict:

If you want a long pole for carp fishing then get hold of one these as soon as you can, as I doubt they’ll be in stock for too long! 

Strong, robust, balanced and responsive, the 885 does everything that you want from a pole for carp fishing. While it may not be the best at full length, for fishing back from the 13m length little will beat it for the price.

How to buy:

To get your hands on these incredible pole deals, visit the Bob-Co website at www.bobcotackle.co.uk, give them a call on 01132 499943 or pop in and see them at their Leeds superstore.

Preston Innovations 16m Response XS carp pole

This new Response XS Carp pole from Preston Innovations, like its predecessor, is aimed squarely at the commercial match angler.

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Durable and hard-wearing, it’s a tool for bagging big weights and taming powerful carp, while at the same time retaining exceptional balance and responsiveness.

Because it’s built around the same mandrel as all the other poles in the range, all sections are fully interchangeable. This makes it the ideal second pole for existing Response owners. 

An attractive feature of the new XS Carp are nine (yes, NINE) spare 2.4m top kits, including a Kupping Kit. All are pre-fitted with genuine internal PTFE bushes, and supplied with Preston Roller Pulla bushes. These all but eliminate elastic damage and significantly improve the pole’s fish-playing performance.

FItted with the reinforced half-extension that comes as standard, the pole measures a true 16m. 

To that little lot you can add three Bi-Conical mini extensions that fit from the fifth section upward, section alignment arrows, and an Easy Ship finish that ensures your fishing will not be compromised whatever the British weather may throw at you.   

Taking a closer look at the new XS Carp pole, it’s noticeably heavier than its stablemates. Indeed, it’s made from same high modulus Torayca Japanese carbon fibre as all other top-end Response poles, but as you might expect of an out-and-out power carp pole, the cut of the cloth makes for awesome section wall strength, while re-designed section joints are as tough as old boots.

Built like a tank it may be, but it certainly doesn’t handle like one – it’s as nimble as sports car, with a fair turn of pace thanks to its superb Easy Slide finish. 

I discovered that and much more about the pole while testing it on a very windy afternoon at Decoy’s Beastie Lake.

At this time of year, most of the lake’s heavyweight occupants can be found loitering around the margins, and as they have a proper fondness for corn and micros several lines can be fed – waving tails and muddied water betray their ponderous presence. 

The fact that this pole comes with three Bi-Conical extensions makes it ideal for margin work. They not only provide that bit of extra reach, but they give you something to really hang on to when a big fish is hooked. 

On the day, perverse as only carp can be, they didn’t seem overly keen on feeding close in, so it was a case of going long, starting at 13m. The pole’s extra bit of weight actually helps when it’s blowing a hooley, as it offers some semblance of steadiness without the angler having to constantly lean against the wind. 

Anway, fishing at this longer length it wasn’t long before the first Beastie bruiser arrived and elastic streamed from the tip. I leant hard into the fish just to see how much pulling power the new XS Carp can generate, and I can tell you, it was impressive. 

As you can see from the image, I was fishing from a peg on the strip at Beastie. This can be a real pain when you’re using a long pole, as it needs to be broken down several times when shipping back so as not to interfere with the peg behind you. However, the live test proved how easy the pole is to unship under pressure – new ones don’t always want to come apart until they are worn in a bit, but the toughened joints of the XS Carp are not only bullet-proof, but they glide together and come apart with a reassuring swish. 

My only slight gripe about Preston’s latest carp clatterer is that it’s definitely better at 13m than at 14.5m, and obviously it follows that it’s better at 14.5m than it is at the full 16m. That said, it’s very usable at its longer lengths, and there’s no denying its serious stopping power, superb section wall and joint strength, and a spares package as good as you’ll find anywhere.

Verdict: If you're an out-and-out commercial match angler looking for a strong pole that will last you a long time, Preston’s latest Response XS Carp pole could well be for you. The spares package is quite outstanding, as are its tough build and bagging performance.  

Price: £1,499.99

Middy Muscle-Tech 1150 Precision Carp

This tackle editor has learnt that when Middy calls to tell you about its latest tasty bit of kit – in this case the new Muscle-Tech 1150 Precision Carp pole – it pays to sit up and take notice.

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So, when the new postie threw the aforementioned item on to my desk with a resounding thud, I never feared for one moment that I’d open the tube to find shattered shards of carbon. If anything, my desk would be the injured party.

Sure enough, no damage at all, and no surprises considering the pole employs the new T-Core
anti-shatter technology. It’s as tough as boots, yet surprisingly light for a power pole weighing just 675g at 10.3m and rated to a pec-popping size 20 elastic. 

Reinforced section joints, and top kits with reinforced carbon side puller wraps on the second and third sections, further add to the pole’s impressive credentials. 

You get a Power 2 kit in the pole and another as standard, with a bonus cupping kit. A Precision F1 2 kit is available separately to fish at a precise 10m length – all top kits fitting on to the third section.

Middy claims its Muscle-Tech has a balance ratio of 17.6 Newtons, which I have no reason to doubt. The only Newton I know anything about is Sir Isaac, who had an apple fall on his head while the tree was being whacked for windfalls by some 17th Century Sawyer with a pole…

Seriously, though, I know Middy has invested a lot of research and development in this pole and is rightly proud of it. So where to live-test the new Muscle-Tech?

Few commercials can boast fish as weighty and numerous as Decoy’s Oak strip lake. One of their favourite tricks is to launch themselves up the lake at the speed of a cat with a banger up its behind, resulting more often than not in broken line, elastic, pole and dreams. I had, though, kitted the pole out with Middy’s Reactacore Hollow elastic, the yellow Saturn size 14-18... hellishly strong, soft at the hook-up stage, but gradually tightening up the more it’s stretched – brilliant.

The new Muscle-Tech soon accounted for a netful of huge fish (see image) that had often been written off as irresistible forces or immovable objects.

Verdict: 

If you're in the market for a super-dependable commercial carp pole, then definitely have a close look at Middy’s latest Muscle-Tech 1150 Precision Carp pole. I guarantee you’ll be glad you did. 

It’s easy and comfortable to handle, and much lighter and stiffer than you might expect for an out-and-out power pole. 

An adequate, though not extensive, spares package gives you a couple of tactical options.

Price: £499.99

preston innovations 8.5m Response Margin pole review

Spurred on by the continuing success of its iconic Response poles, Preston Innovations has extended the range to include a new 8.5m Response Margin, the subject of this week’s live test.

This Response beauty comes with two spare pre-bushed, Roller Pulla Power top kits, and together with the one that comes inside the pole, these provide enough flexibility to tackle most margin scenarios. 

The pole, which Preston claims to be the highest-grade margin model it has ever produced, uses the same super-high modulus Japanese carbon cloth as the three longer Response poles and, rather handily, the top kits all interchange. This is great news, particularly if you’re already a Response owner. 

The new 8.5m Response Margin, though, is obviously a fair bit more ‘robust’ than its longer stablemates. It’s more in its comfort zone subduing angry match-winning margin munters than it is sacking on silvers. 

As you might expect of a top-end power carp pole, the carbon cloth from which it is built is applied in a totally different way from its less gutsy amigos. That means added linear power, awesome section wall strength and reinforced, super-reliable joints. 

Built like a tank it may well be, but it certainly doesn’t handle like one. It’s as nimble as a sports car, with a fair turn of handling speed courtesy of its superb easy-slide finish. 

I chauffeured the pole up to Miracle Baits boss Steve Gregory’s super-popular Rushfield Lakes complex near Lincoln where, pulling into the car park late on a Monday afternoon, I was amazed to find the big fish-dominated Horsehoe Lake angler-free, giving me carte blanche on peg choice.

The downside of such situations is that everything with fins descends on your bait, rather than the just the targeted big fish. 

So with this in mind I rigged up with a hard 8mm hard pellet on a hair-rigged lasso, to try and deter the ravenous mini hordes. 

Despite my efforts, Plan A failed abysmally as everything from rampant roach to marauding micro carp swarmed around any feed that went in… foulers rubbed fins with fish that didn’t look big enough to tackle an 8mm hard pellet, and it drove me potty.

A change to two big pieces of worm merely served to encourage wasp-sized perch, which had stayed out of the way but now joined in the feeding fiasco. Then, out of nowhere, my half-hearted swipe at yet another sideways movement of the float saw the No14 Preston Hollo elastic disappear from the pole-tip at a rate of knots – so fast, in fact, that I’d have bet on another foul-hooker. Not until the elastic had all but bottomed out did I realise the Response had barely any curve in it. It was as stress and strain-free as a dormouse on tranquillisers as it and I battled what seemed to be a double-figure carp. 

Preston Response.jpg

The lightness, agility and all-round pleasing handling belied the awesome stopping power packed by this poker-like 8.5m pole. 

How big that fish was I will never know – as is often the case with foulers, at the point when I started stripping elastic from the Roller Pulla top kit my unseen opponent made a bid for freedom, and the hook pulled. However, it had provided me with enough of an insight to tell that the latest Response is, as Preston claims, by far the best it has ever produced.

As the evening progressed, a few more proper fish were duly hooked the old-fashioned way – in the mouth – and netted within a few seconds, proving that Preston’s latest carbon offering is not a pole to be messed with.

Our Verdict: 

The 8.5m Preston Response Margin is a quite outstanding margin pole, offering everything you’ve come to expect in the way of fish-stopping power, super-tough section walls, and reliably smooth anti-ovalling joints – not to mention an easy-slide finish and top-notch handling. Well balanced, light and rigid, with an ultra-responsive tip speed, it feels quite unlike your normal margin pole.

If you already own an M50, M70 or M90 you’d be mad not to have the Response Margin in your holdall to tackle snag pits and big brawling fish.

Price: £269.99

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.

Frenzee Opener_1.jpg

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. 

Frenzee Stubby x3_1.jpg

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. 

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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.

Browning Xitan 14 top kits.jpg

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)