Newbie Pole fishing

[craigfssnow]

I have only started fishing this year. I made the mistake of going on a Learn to Fish session meant for my children and now own a rod and reel for both feeder set up and a waggler set. I also appear to have haemorrhaged a lot of money. I am aware that is the norm.

I would therefore like to try pole fishing. I have had a go around the margins and I was looking at getting an 8m pole and then see how I get on. But as I know what I am like I will soon wish to move on. So length wise, I thought maybe go for the Daiwa Powercarp 11.5. My club waters are large lakes, canal and a bit or river so a mixed bag so whilst at that length I am looking at margins, I would like to have a go in front as well.

I am not being lazy, as I have read through the many posts on here so am scouring ebay as well for a decent SH pole. My main question before I justify to my wife the need for another fishing addition, (Prior to explaining rollers necessity)

A) Should I stick with a margin pole of 8m as my first one.
B) Is the Daiwa Powercarp 11.5 (I appreciate more likely to be 10m) worth the extra 2m
C) DOes anyone have any knowledge of the Caperlan (Decathlon) 13m pole (Its only because I saw one today and not seen it on any reviews previously)
C) Any other advice - gratefully received

Budget wise - What I need to spend not to have to replace (Obviously not allowing for my clumsy size 11s no doubt standing on them at some stage)

Many thanks

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

I have only started fishing this year. I made the mistake of going on a Learn to Fish session meant for my children and now own a rod and reel for both feeder set up and a waggler set. I also appear to have haemorrhaged a lot of money. I am aware that is the norm.

I would therefore like to try pole fishing. I have had a go around the margins and I was looking at getting an 8m pole and then see how I get on. But as I know what I am like I will soon wish to move on. So length wise, I thought maybe go for the Daiwa Powercarp 11.5. My club waters are large lakes, canal and a bit or river so a mixed bag so whilst at that length I am looking at margins, I would like to have a go in front as well.

I am not being lazy, as I have read through the many posts on here so am scouring ebay as well for a decent SH pole. My main question before I justify to my wife the need for another fishing addition, (Prior to explaining rollers necessity)

A) Should I stick with a margin pole of 8m as my first one.
B) Is the Daiwa Powercarp 11.5 (I appreciate more likely to be 10m) worth the extra 2m
C) DOes anyone have any knowledge of the Caperlan (Decathlon) 13m pole (Its only because I saw one today and not seen it on any reviews previously)
C) Any other advice - gratefully received

Budget wise - What I need to spend not to have to replace (Obviously not allowing for my clumsy size 11s no doubt standing on them at some stage)

Many thanks

Hi mate, welcome to the forum.

first of I think you are making the correct decision going for a second hand pole to begin with.
Personally I would stay away from cheap poles such as the Decathlon one you mentioned or brands like Avanti, Ron Thompson etc as these will be heavy and cumbersome.

For less than £150 you should be able to pick up a half decent second hand pole, I was fortunate as I managed to get 2 Shimano poles from a chap off here for £150 which have served me well for a year!

personally I would go for something between 8m and 11m to begin with, see how you get on an then you could consider getting a longer and more expensive pole if necessary.

I’ve just had a very quick glance on eBay and for the price I said above there are numerous poles available including a 10m beastmaster, A Maver grim reaper and a map CFS pole. Something like this with a few top kits would be a good starting point.

 

[Scribe]

Hi and welcome to the site.


I was in a similar position to you when I bought my first pole starting off with 10 Metre margin pole, before moving on to 13.5 metre which in hindsight was a mistake as it wasn't too long before I hankered to fish further out and bought a 16 metre pole. Having said that most of my fishing like most pole anglers I suspect is done at 12-14 Metres.

Whereabouts are you, as I have a Middy XM10 11.5 Metre a Middy M3 - 13 Metre and Middy XK55 16 Metre that your welcome to try them out for the day.

I would recommend reading the following:-

Buying a Pole the once and for all guide

Guide to Pole Fishing

Cheers

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

I think @Scribe has got carried away and his links both lead to the same thread. While excellent I doubt you want to read it twice.

His second link may have been intended to lead to my blog on starting pole fishing. The following link takes you to it.

Simply Fishing, Fishing Simply

neilofthenene.blogspot.com

And despite what I have tried to teach Scribe about fishing too far out he still insists on fishing long. I often prove that is not necessary. I won a match two weeks ago fishing topkit + 2 sections and last Sunday shared first place fishing topkit + 5 sections (approx. 10m).

 

[Scribe]

Oops

@craigfssnow and I taught @Neil ofthe nene everything about fishing at distance, which probably explains why he doesn't

Master of the Margin is our Neil.

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

Happiest when fishing half a topkit

 

[Nobby_nobbs]

A lot of manufacturers now produce margin poles that are compatible with their main poles.
So you can swap sections should you be unlucky and break a section.
If I were to be looking for my first pole this is one thing I would look out for, also the venues I intend to fish would come in to the equation.
As Neil has already mentioned you don’t need to fish at 16 mtrs +.
If you can get to a shop with a pole ally then you can at least put them against each other, just because someone recommends a certain pole does not mean it will suit you.

 

[Maesknoll]

I would ask how ‘serious’ are you about fishing. If you are out every weekend and improving all the time, determined to get better and soon out grow ‘beginners’ kit, then, buying a cheap or even buying a more expensive shorter pole will be a waste of money and frustrate your progress.

If you go once a month and sit in a deckchair, enjoying being out with the fishing as a secondary aspect, then maybe the cheaper, shorter pole will be more than sufficient for a long time to come.

The two statements aren’t at all derogatory of either position, just realistic, if it’s sat by the water and the fish landed are merely a nice consequence, then you are one of the lucky ones. If you have some competitive nature and that might be just bettering your last session, not match fishing, then again, fair play, but you will become dissatisfied with kit that doesn’t do the job you want.

Take into account where you fish, I fish venues that in the summer you catch plenty on 5m of pole, but in the winter, 11m would be a minimum, with 14m being where you will catch most. If you fish in the winter, most- not all - venues will necessitate fishing further out.

 

[Markywhizz]

Hi Craig, welcome to the forum

It fills me with joy when someone posts that they have just taken up fishing.

Personally I rarely use my poles at distance. I also prefer feeder fishing to pole fishing. I wouldn’t spend more than £150 until you know you are going to pole fish regularly. In terms of weight and balance it only really becomes an issue above about 10m so you will get a nice usable 8-10m pole for that price. Should you then find you want a longer one you will still find a margin pole handy to have.