If you’re after a great pole at a great price then you must give the Catana some serious thought.
We loved this pole when we tested it as it offers stunning performance and a good well-thought-out package. Supplied with two top kits, mini-extension, tubes and competition holdall. RRP: £299 SSP: £199 .
David Haynes takes Middy’s margin-busting Shock Stikk for a spin.
I think it’s fair to say I have never used, or even seen, anything quite like the Middy Shock Stikk, and I think I should admit I probably had the same preconceived ideas about it as many others may have. I imagined it would be a pure hauling tool for getting big fish to the net as quickly as possible with little consideration for their wellbeing.
Well, it’s not.
Blink And You’ll Miss It!
Match Fishing magazine’s chief sub editor David Haynes recounts a tale of loss, and rejoices at the return of a faithful friend.
After doing this fishing stuff for a good many years you think you pretty much know what to do and what not to do, until something comes along and catches you out… In a match at the famous Glebe fishery recently I should have been prepared for the ferocity of some of the carp bites – I’ve seen the tip go round here a few times before, and I know that when they want the bait they take it… and how! I was fishing a bomb and pellet at a gentle lob’s distance, and having cast out and set the rod in the rest I turned round on my seatbox to reach something behind me. I wasn’t clipped up and the clutch on my Team Daiwa 3012D reel was set lightly, so I was a little confused by the splashy gurgling noise coming from where my rod had just been.
Spinning round, I saw it bounce into the lake and motor off away from me.
All-Round Power… Matt Godfrey hits the bank with the latest mid-range weapon from Frenzee.
I love getting out on the bank with what I like to think are mid-range poles. The reason? Simply because they are what I have used for a lot of my own fishing, and very often still do. That’s why I was very excited when the FXT Precision Power pole from Frenzee arrived in our offices.
Match Fishing’s Alex Bones heads to Makins Fishery to check out two of Garbolino’s all-new, top of the range Essential Legend rods – the 10ft and 11ft Method Feeder.
Yet another superb pole from the guys at Tri-Cast. The Iconic uses the same technology as the fearsome Trilogy Pro 2 that we rated so highly.
Packed with features and supplied with a great spares package, the Iconic Pro is a super-stiff pole with bags of strength. Well worth checking out!RRP: £1,549.
Matt Godfrey takes Maver’s mid-range marvel for a spin at a very testing Lindholme Lakes!
Poles in this price bracket really do have their work cut out. You can expect to pay around £1,200 for the 14. 5m package or £999 for the 13m version. In my experience, you see poles of this ilk in more situations than any others.
MF’s Alex Bones takes one of Middy’s latest flagship feeder rods out on the bank – the Reactacore XZ Ultra Control 12ft 6in 3pc Feeder, but what’s it all about… ?
Joe Carass joins Rive’s Amer Jawad on the bank to take a look at the new R16 range. Rive has offered something of a sleeper hit in the pole market for a few years now – the R16 Professional is an incredible pole that probably hasn’t had the attention it deserves in the UK. Anglers across Europe have realised what a special piece of kit it is, but for some reason in the UK it’s stayed under the radar. However, those who have seen them and got their hands on one realise what a great pole the R16 Professional is.
Spliced-Tip Special!
Over a year ago my good friend Adam Richards rang me with an excited tone in his voice. He had received a sample of a new rod designed for river fishing. Adam has turned into quite the river angler over the past few years and he was quick to tell me that they were Sphere rods too!
Sphere has been an interesting concept. Browning has essentially produced some of the finest rods on the market and more recently one of the very best poles ever made.
£799 for a back up pole? Or is there more to it than that? We check out the Browning Sphere Zero-G Power Partner!
For me, having used it numerous times, the Browning Sphere Zero-G is the most impressive pole on the market. I don’t say that lightly as there are so many incredible poles out there. But The Sphere is just unbelievable and for me set a new benchmark in terms of performance.
If there was one slight asterisk surrounding the Sphere, and it’s completely unfounded by the way, is its strength.
