All Reviews

Guru’s flagship Zero 900 Aventus is the pinnacle of modern pole design. And, as you would expect, it also carries a flagship price to boot. But what if you wanted a pole made on the same mandrel as the Zero 900, but you wanted to spend less money! Well Guru’s three new poles offer exactly that and come in three flavours to suit three different price brackets and use-cases.

First off you have the 16m N-Gauge PRO Zero 600 at £1,600, then the 14.5m N-Gauge Power XS Zero 500 at £1,100 and finally the N-Gauge 10m Margin XS Zero 500 at £375. All models come with impressive spares packages and the 16m N-Gauge Pro can be bought as either a Pro Power Pack model or as a Pro F1 Pack, depending on which top kits you prefer and which package options suit your fishing. 

All of the poles have the top-end features that were applied from their flagship Aventus models. N-Gauge Pro is fully interchangeable with the Aventus, built on the same mandrel that creates a fast taper. Guru says that this generates the perfect taper to get maximum performance from the carbon, producing an incredibly stiff, strong and balanced pole at all lengths.

I’m out with a man today who really needs no introduction in the angling world – Matt Godfrey. We’ve decided to fish on the Reptile Pool here at Makins and we’ll mainly be focusing on using the N-Gauge Pro for this session. Listening to Matt he goes into great detail about the pole and the reasons why Guru decided to introduce this to the range – all very interesting. But, as with everything Guru, it’s the level of detail and precision their products are executed with that makes all the difference. Check out the full, FREE video over on the Match Fishing YouTube channel to hear what he has to say.

The N-Gauge Pro is what Guru calls a “true all-rounder”, with a superb balance of both performance and strength. Equally at home on both commercial and natural venues, their Ultra-Fast Taper design, combined with the Zero 600 tensile carbon is what gives this pole its stiffness and strength. Combine this with the Super Glide Paint Finish and friction-free Matt Tape Finish, and shipping becomes an absolute dream.

One of the key points Guru has focused on is making all of its poles ‘true length’ and there are sections dedicated to ensuring that fact. This is thanks to the True Extensions that take the pole to 13, 14.3 and 16 metres. For example, if you fish international-style events, overseas or just on matches that impose pole length limits you can be sure you’ll be fishing to EXACTLY the right length. It also comes down to a value for money aspect – you know you’re getting a full, true 16m pole for your money, whereas some other manufacturers do “come up short”, it has to be said.

What about package options for the pole then? First is the N-Gauge Pro Zero 600 Power Pack, perfect for commercial use. It is fitted with a 4.7mm Match Power Kit in the pole, three extra 4.7mm Match Power Kits, three 5.8mm Carp Power Kits (all PTFE bushed), plus a cupping kit. True Extensions for 13, 14.3 and 16 metres and a short No3 section, all presented in a six-tube holdall.

For the more F1-orientated anglers, there is also an F1 Pack that comes with five 4.7mm F1 Sky Kits, two 4.7mm full length Match Power Kits (all fully PTFE bushed) plus a cupping kit, True Extensions for 13, 14.3 and 16 metres, a short No3 section, plus a six-tube holdall.

Finally, there will be a pole-only option available too – this will be perfect for keen anglers wanting a pole for spares or a backup to complement their Aventus or other N-Gauge Pro poles. This comes fitted with a 4.7mm Match Power Kit, True Extensions for 13, 14.3 and 16 metres and a six-tube holdall. 

For anglers looking to do more silver fish, winter or natural venue work with their N-Gauge Pro Pole, Guru also offers 3.5mm Match Kits separately. The thin bore diameter of these suits them better to lighter solid elastics and gives the pole incredible performance in wind or when sinking the pole tip for static presentation. These are pre-bushed with a quality PTFE bush and are available separately in 2.4, 3.9 and 5.5m lengths.

So, what’s it like to fish with, then? Well, it’s every bit as good as you’d expect from Guru to be perfectly honest. Every detail is covered and the pole itself really benefits from that fast taper. It has been quite windy for today’s session so that has helped us to really see what the pole is like in less than ideal fishing conditions too. Aside from the pole, the package options are brilliant and you just know the after-sales service (should you ever need it) is second-to-none too. You can easily add spares or tailor the package to exactly what you need and, for the money, it will absolutely rival anything else out there. A great time to get yourself into the brilliant Guru pole ecosystem.

 

The full Pro F1 pack includes:

N-Gauge Pro Zero600 16.0m Pole (Match Power 4.7mm top kit)

14.3m/16m True Extension

13m True Extension

Zero400 Match Power 4.7mm kit x 1

Zero400 F1 Sky Kit 4.7mm kit x 5

Zero400 Short No3

Zero400 Cupping Kit

All top kits fitted with UK manufactured PTFE bushes

Supplied with Fusion Six Tube Holdall (GLG017)

 

The full Pro Power Pack includes:

N-Gauge Pro Zero600 16.0m Pole (Match Power 4.7mm Top Kit)

14.3m/16m True Extension

13m True Extension

Zero400 Match Power 4.7mm x 3

Zero400 Carp Power 5.8mm x 3

Zero400 Short No3

Zero400 Cupping Kit

All top kits fitted with UK manufactured PTFE bushes

Supplied with Fusion Six Tube Holdall (GLG017)

 

N-Gauge XS Power Zero500 14.5m

Strength, power and performance are the key assets of the 14.5m XS Power Zero500. Designed to cope with heavy duty fishing, big fish and the most demanding angling situations! The strength comes from the Zero 500 tensile carbon construction, which works perfectly with the Ultra-Fast Taper to make the ultimate power pole. Equally at home fishing in the margins or short for big carp with plenty of power in the smaller sections, or at longer lengths on snaggy swims, fishing shallow or up against features. The XS Power can handle everything UK and European commercial fishing can throw at it! 

There is currently a Power Pack version available and a pole-only option will be made available too. Guru’s Power Pack offers a superb package including three 4.7mm Match Power Kits, two 5.8mm Carp Power Kits (all pre-bushed) a Cupping Kit and True Extensions for 13m and 14.5m, all in a six-tube holdall. The Pole Only option features the 14.5m Pole fitted with a 4.7mm Match Power Kit, plus 13 and 14.5m True Extensions and Holdall. All top kits including the F1 Sky Kits and 3.5mm Match Kits interchange with this pole too. The XS Power Pole makes a perfect second/power/spare pole for the keenest of anglers who like to carry two poles for their serious fishing. Guru says this pole is perfect for when you want that bit more brute force in more challenging conditions and situations.

The full package includes:

14.5m True Extension

13m True Extension

Zero400 Match Power 4.7mm Top Kit x 2

Zero400 Carp Power 5.8mm Top Kit x 2

Zero400 Cupping Kit

All Top Kits Fitted with UK Manufactured PTFE Bushes

Supplied with Fusion Six Tube Holdall (GLG017)

N-Gauge XS Margin Pole Zero 500 10m

To complement the longer poles in the N-Gauge Pro range, Guru has also introduced the XS Margin pole at 10 metres. This is a powerful tool for extreme fishing situations bagging large numbers of big fish and tackling the trickiest of swims. It carries all the features of the rest of the range and is fully interchangeable, but at the shorter length is ideal for anglers who don’t need a super-long length pole and favour fishing at closer range for a lot of their angling. I’ve said this many times before, but if you don’t fish further than 10 metres, then maybe this is the ONLY pole you’ll actually need. There’s no point having 16 metres of pole if you only ever get five or 10 metres out to use. Tested to the extremes on European Carpodrome venues with Steve Ringer and pushed to the limits on UK commercials. The XS Margin comes fitted with a 5.8mm Carp Power Kit and in the package you also get an extra two of these top kits, plus a Cupping Kit and 10m True Extension.

The XS Margin package includes:

N-Gauge XS Margin Zero500 10.0m Pole (Zero400 Carp Power 5.8mm Top Kit)

10.0m True Extension

Zero400 Carp Power 5.8mm Top Kit x 2

Zero400 Cupping Kit

All top kits fitted with UK manufactured PTFE bushes