What angler in this day and age could be without a pole? While many fishermen, for one reason or another refuse to use one, they are rapidly becoming the weapon of choice for many others.

There are many different types of pole available on the market and all vary in length and power and of course price. The pole, a very useful alternative to the rod and reel can pay dividends when fishing a canal or lake where total accuracy is required. With the aid of a pole pot, bait can be carefully tipped in on top of your float, increasing the chance of getting a bite. This of course, could be the difference between blanking or not in the middle of winter.

Nowadays there are more and more shorter, heavy weight poles, known as margin poles being designed, aimed to capture the all-powerful carp. These are generally between 4 and 8 meters and are very reasonable in price compared with say the 16 metre, canal/river poles, which retail at up to £6,000. Poles generally come supplied with at least one spare top three, this enables the angler to have two different strength elasticated tips, one with say a number 6 and one with a number 10.

There are also many other accessories for pole anglers:

• Pole bungs - Stop the pole fillling up with water and sinking if dropped in the water.
• Pole rollers - Usually in the form of a tripod, this aids the glide of the pole whilst retrieving it, this is good when over open ground and will reduce stress on the pole.
• Various feeding devices - All designed to give the pole angler an edge.

All in all, the pole provides a very direct and thrilling experience of fishing. There is certainly something magic about hooking into a large fish on the pole and being able to feel every little movement from it, as the elastic tip does all the work absorbing the fishes energy.