I'm not suprised you are losing fish in the margins Trevor; the best way to prevent this is use a rod and reel. With a pole you cannot avoid giving the fish line until all the stretch is taken up in the elastic - at which point any further efforts by the fish are likely to either break your line, or the pole. With a reel you can choose whether to give line or not, depending on where the fish is heading.
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen anglers standing on their seat boxes, holding the pole at full length in a desperate attempt to stop a carp from burying itself in a marginal reedbed. It's quite funny really; I live in hope of seeing one get properly smashed and toppling into the water, accompanied by a splintering of carbon echoing across the lake.
From which you will gather I do not like poles...
