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Pole fishing has played a huge part in my angling life. I owe much of my success to the pole and, despite my involvement in the England Feeder team, I still focus a lot on my pole fishing. When my brother Phil and I were kids, my dad, Geoff, didn’t allow us to use a pole. He insisted that we learn how to put a waggler or stick " oat through a river, despite the other anglers catching great weights on the pole. In hindsight, this was the perfect grounding for us because when the time came to change to the pole, we had the knowledge base.
I guess that I have been fortunate to grow up during an era where pole fishing has evolved so much. I have witnessed the start of the commercial revolution and it could be said that I made my name off the back of this. Venues such as Heyford Fishery in Northamptonshire pushed the boundaries as far as techniques and pole lengths are concerned, and many of the methods that we now take for granted were born at venues such as this.
The speed at which pole fishing evolves is unbelievable, with methods and approaches being developed almost on a weekly basis. The poles themselves are also alarmingly good these days. The flagship offerings are simply unbelievable and are now fishable and, more importantly, manageable at lengths that we could only dream of 15 years ago. However, it is not just about the flagship poles. At a recent Daiwa trade event I was staggered by just how good the poles are in the sub-£500 category.
Although it is great to own a top-of-therange flagship pole, I must stress that pole fishing doesn’t have to be about fishing at long lengths. Some of my biggest and best results have come using five metres of pole or less. I see no end of anglers fishing ‘past’ the fish when quite often the largest ones are right under your feet.