Pole Fishing – A Complete Guide

RRP: £ 16.99 or £15.29 from Crowood website

Specification/Description
  • A comprehensive guide to pole fishing from beginner to advanced
  • Published by The Crowood Press in 2008
  • 160 pages
  • Over 170 full colour photographs
  • Numerous helpful line drawings
  • ISBN: 978 1 86126 988 1

Website: www.crowood.com


Publisher’s Overview

Interest in pole fishing began to increase substantially in the 1970s with the introduction of much longer carbon fibre poles, and since then its popularity has grown enormously both on stillwaters and latterly on rivers as well. However, it is on stillwaters that the use of poles has proved to be most popular, and pole anglers now clearly dominate the commercial fisheries. This is hardly surprising as most of these fisheries are stocked with carp in the 21b to 10lb range, fish that are undoubtedly best targeted by the pole angler. It is not that the rod and line methods do not work, rather just that pole fishing is ideally suited to the conditions that prevail at most commercial fisheries.

The first law of fishing is to find your fish; the second law is to present your bait in such a way that the fish do not know that it conceals a hook, which may well result in a trip to a landing net. Pole fishing offers the ultimate when it comes to the second law and that is why the pole is the first choice of most anglers who demand the ultimate in bait presentation.

This fascinating book, written by two experts, is essential reading for all those who are interested in pole fishing, whether they have no detailed knowledge of the subject and are considering taking up the sport for the first time, whether they have already gained a little experience of pole fishing, or even if they are more seasoned match anglers. There is something for anglers of all kinds in this book, although the authors never lose sight of the fact that most people are simple pleasure anglers who want to enjoy a successful day’s fishing. They discuss: how to choose a pole; how to set it up; baits and rigs; how to use the powerful margin pole for taking carp; how to deploy the more delicate long pole to catch the silver fish; as well as pole fishing techniques on all types of waters, including commercial fisheries, rivers, canals, drains, lakes and reservoirs. This invaluable book is brimming with information, advice and useful tips, and tells the reader everything he, or she, needs to know about pole fishing.

Review

Some years ago whilst fishing a local still water near Leamington Spa, I had a conversation with an angler who was in the process of compiling a large catch of good tench, all good fish in the 4 to 5 ½ lb bracket. It wasn’t so much the fish themselves that impressed me, but the method he used.

The pole!

Now I had not been back in this country very long after a 27 year sojourn in South Africa and Pole methods were certainly new to me. It did not take me long however to realise the advantages in terms of bait presentation that could be obtained using pole techniques.  

Several years later I decided to acquire for myself a pole. It took me quite a bit of effort to get acquainted with my new pole, yet despite being laughed at on a couple of occasions by an august member of our website, I managed to land a near 2lb roach in his very presence!

 My early and rather clumsy pole performances are now in the past and these days I can hold my own quite well in most company, and catch fish too.

But there is no doubt that this would have been made easier if this excellent book had been available.

Graham and Mark have explained in full detail how to buy a pole, how to rig it, although most good tackle shops will do this for you, and most of all how to fish the whole range of pole techniques in both river, canal and still water.

There is also a short history of the pole showing the heavy bored out cane poles that were in use over 50 years ago. Richard Walker, the doyen of the specimen hunting scene, grew up with a roach pole in his hands. He used to keep an old Sowerbutts pole under his fishing hut on the Upper Ouse, which he used with great effect. Unfortunately Dick passed away just as modern poles in lightweight carbon fibre and elasticated sections were really coming available. I do get the impression that Dick would have loved to have fished for his favourite species the roach, with a modern pole.     

It is therefore quite wrong to assume that pole fishing is solely a match anglers method. Far from it, many large fish of a variety of species can be caught using pole techniques. Specimen hunting luminaries such as Martin Bowler in his DVD series: “Catching The Impossible” is now showing how many big fish can be taken on the pole.

For those anglers who wish to make a start at pole fishing, I could not recommend a better book.

Ron Clay

Previously reviewed by Neil Maidment and Bryan Baron

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