Holding A Pole

[Matthew White]

Iv just invested in my first pole- a 12.5m Maver.

Iv fished with it a couple of times and have no complaints about the pole itself whatsoever.
The only problem I have is that because I am not used to holding the pole, my back and arms get tired as the day wears on.

What methods do you guys use to support your pole?
Do you use a pole crook/rests, if so which are the best?

I have hold of the pole about 90% of the time but sometimes I would like some way of holding when I need to do something else- feed, mix groundbait etc.

Any suggestions would be great.
Cheers
Matt

 

[Ron Clay]

At the front you need a good solid rest. At the back one of those "clever claws".

Tjhe moment you touch the pole the clver claw releases it.

 

[Mark Birchall]

Matt

There a few ways to hold the pole and i suppose it depends on the angler as to which is more comfortable. You can rest the section of the pole on your knee, between your legs (Pole seat advised).
I use one of the penrose PUPS systems, They cost around ?30 and can be used as a float/feeder rest as well. You will need an optocplus system and can be used in conjunction with a footplate. The are well worth the money.

 

[Craig Smith]

Matt,
Does your box have legs?
I find the most important thing is to start with a level box where your knee's are at a 90 angle, footplates are a heaven sent on uneven ground.
If your box has a pole seat top you can put a decent size bankstick in front of you with a small roller, wedging carefully!!! you now have free hands!

 

[Tony Welsby]

Matt,
I use the penrose PUPPS system aswell, you dont need an octoplus system. It can be used with Round or Square legs. Its extremely versatile.
I use the long arm set out in front of me with a small v-roller attached, this acts as a balance point. You don't need much weight at the but end to keep the pole level. its then quite easy to loose feed with a catapult or by hand.
If you want to groundbait then the claw method or inverted rest at the back can be used to hold the pole steady while feeding.
As Craig says the most important thing is being comfortable and the 90 angle is important.

 

[patty slegg]

My advice is to learn to hold the pole at all times possible. My mate tends to fish with his pole on a rest and its unbelievable the number of sailaway bites he misses. When trying to strike from a rest the pole tends to travel down on the tip before lifting, but when held in a position across the front knee and under your back elbow, just a slight raise from the ankle normally hooks the fish. With practice you can catapult loose feed easily and still hold the pole. By all means put it in a rest at the start when groundbaiting and then you can aim for the float or pole tip. It is well worth the time going to a big open match and watching quality matchmens styles, especially watch how they start a match. As already said by others comfort is paramount and set everything out so that you can reach without moving. On big fish try to keep the pole down and let the elastic do the work.
Pat

 

[Richard Hall]

I never put my pole down in rests, preferring to hold it at all times. Generally I sit at a slight angle to the water and rest the pole on my left knee and support the back using my right elbow.I've found that fitting a footrest to my octoplus legs has been a great help in cutting down on the backache (you always seem to be leaning backwards to counter the weight of the pole). You should be able to use a catapult etc, holding it in your left hand and the cup in your right, again with your right elbow to support the pole. I sometimes sit facing the water and stick the pole between my legs and almost sit on it, balancing the pole on the very front of my box- however this can cause some discomfort in a sensitive area and is only recommended if you have a stiff pair of undies and trousers on!

 

[tony70]

stick a bankstick i front of you with a rest on

 

[fred hall]

I have to say that the best pole anglers I've seen in action can hold up to a 16 metre pole without any kind of rests BUT as a bog standard pole angler the best things I did were to get a seatbox with a pole seat and a Pups front support. I can sit on the very end of the pole and rest the front at a level suitable to the conditions. I always use this set-up when fishing at 11metres or more.This alleviates the strain and back ache and leaves both hands free for feeding. Just take care of the goolies when lifting the pole!

 

[Matt Brown]

Matt, I prefer to trap the pole between my legs while sitting on a seatbox with a pole seat. This allows me to use both hands for feeding and the like but I can still strike my nudging the pole with my knee.

When I'm getting loads of bites, say, every 30 seconds, then I prefer to hold the pole with my right hand across my right thigh (I'm right handed). It's quicker to ship back from this position but it does slow doen feeding.

As has already been said, it's critical that the seatbox it set up properly using it's adjustable legs. I prefer the pole tip to be around 8" off the water.

I would strongly recommend you steer clear of fishing the pole at full length until you are completely comfortable. Try a couple of sections off as the maximum length for now and only fish with the extra section when you are ready.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Matt,

Start with your seatbox perfectly level with the footplate raised at the front so that your thighs are parallel with the ground. This is the easiest, safest and puts the least strain on your back, legs and ultimately your arms as well.

Sit upright with your back as straight as possible (difficult for oldies like Ron;-)
Place your pole across your right thigh (if right handed) and you should see a big difference.
If you cannot achieve this position by adjusting the seatbox legs, then I hate to say it, but you probably bought the wrong sized box. I would have loved to have bought a Boss 8 drawer box, but I am not tall enough to achieve the proper position, so I compromised on the 6 drawer version.

I never put my pole down when catapulting freebies, you will soon learn how to wedge the pole with your elbow while holding it with your other hand which also holds the catapult. Then using your spare hand you fill the catapult and draw back the elastic with the same hand. (sounds difficult but it is really quite easy)

At first you will probably wave the pole around, but like all things 'fishing' it comes with practice.

The only time I rest my pole is when groundbaiting and this I do with a simple pole rest fixed to the front footplate leg and the rear seatbox leg.

The key to pole fishing is to have EVERYTHING easily to hand so that you don't have to keep on putting the pole down to find bits and pieces.
A groundbait tray or separate table is very useful as are trays and bait waiters or bait stands as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[Graham Whatmore]

As this guy asked the question nearly 4 years ago I suspect he may have learned how to use a pole by now, lol.

 

[Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt]

lol

 

[Matt Brown]

Ahhh. How stupid am I?

 

[mattzzzzzz]

lol lol lol!!!