This month Joe Carass takes the new mid-priced pole offerings from Sensas out for a little jaunt!Over the years I have used and owned poles from just about all the different manufacturers out there but, I must admit, I have never owned a Sensas model. I have held most of them throughout my time, though, and have always been impressed with what I have seen. My esteemed editor, Alex Bones, and I went tackle testing a few months ago and he put the top-of-the-range Power Match 874 through its paces. It was a lovely bit of kit that is perfect for the UK angler.
Innovation is hard to come by these days with so many companies hotly competing for the same goal. So, here’s why Matrix’s latest feeders impressed Alex Bones. So, picture the scene; you’ve been responsible for one of the most influential products of modern fishing – the push-button Method mould. You’ve patented the design to the hilt so it can’t be copied by anyone! Then you move to another tackle company where you’re presented with a blank drawing board.
There are loads of carp poles available on the market, but with this new Maver pole claiming to raise the bar Joe Carass just had to check it out!Working at Match Fishing we get to see poles on an almost daily basis, and I must admit very few really raise the eyebrows. Most are so good these days that I have come to expect quality and usability at just about every price point. However, just recently I had heard rave reviews about the Maver Elite Carp. The internet forums were alive with chat about this new pole, and we just had to get our hands on one.
Choosing new rods can be a minefield at times – just where do you invest your hard-earned cash? Middy’s all-new 4G range might just be up your street. Alex Bones took them to The Glebe complex for a spin. As fisheries go, this one is up there with the best. It’s a complex I’ve had the pleasure of fishing for many years.
Preston Innovations is one of the most respected tackle companies of this generation. Here’s what Alex Bones thought about its latest power pole. I remember many years ago really being envious of one of my old fishing buddies, Matt, because he had what I wanted – a Maver Jurassic Carp pole. I wouldn’t say I’m talking out of turn when I say that, along with the Browning Black Magic, it was the most iconic power pole of its time.
Joe Carass checks out the latest bait development from Japanese bait giant Marukyu. Is there such thing as a wonder bait? Over my years in angling I have seen all manner of weird and wonderful baits come along that are supposedly the ‘next big thing’, and guaranteed to put more fish in the net. But let’s be honest, most of these things catch the angler and not the fish and most are no more successful than the last big thing. When I first saw JPz I must admit to thinking that same thought that I’d had many times before.
Match Fishing’s Joe Carass takes a look at a new feeder range from MAP that is one of the most versatile on the market. As regular readers of this magazine will know, we are huge fans of what the lads at MAP are doing. They keep coming up with clever and innovative products that are a little bit different from the norm. All of these products aim to solve a problem that exists in the world of match fishing.
Mid-Wales-based Frenzee is a company that excels in forward thinking and problem solving. It produces several items that have been designed because of specific needs encountered in our fishing. Alex Bones investigates…One of the items to be launched from this stable is the brand-new range of Soft Pots. Having spoken to the guys at Frenzee it’s clear they’re not happy producing products “just for the sake of it;” they want to be innovative and the Soft Pots certainly tick this box.
Joe Carass takes a look at a new addition to the Preston Mini rod range that is not quite so mini!The Mini range of rods from Preston Innovations has been one of the biggest success stories in fishing tackle in recent years, and if you walk around any commercial fishery in the country you are sure to see some of the rods on the bank. The range has, however, now been extended to cater for the huge variety of commercial fishing available in the UK. A recent trend has seen matches fished that require a long-distance approach; venues such as Barston Lakes in particular regularly see distances of 80 yards plus needed to reach the fish. Initially anglers turned to the Preston Dutch Master rods to reach the mark but the actions weren’t quite right for playing the F1s, carp and skimmers that make up the weights.
Everyone loves it when an underdog comes good! Browning has produced good poles for years but never seemed to reach the cult ‘must-have’ status of manufacturers like Daiwa, Maver, Garbolino and Preston. However, Alex Bones says the Z12 could change all that…Now and then certain products really excite me. Many we get for review I could take or leave – in fact they never make the printed pages – but this, however, is something very special indeed!Wind the clock back a couple of years and Browning admitted it was struggling to break into the pole market. Then came the Z12’s predecessor – the Z9.
Joe Carass takes a look at the latest addition to the Maver Competition range – a pole that is set to turn heads in 2012!For all the poles that I get my hands on I still have a soft spot for a Maver! My first ‘proper’ pole was a Maver and since then I have owned several others. The company has produced some of the finest poles available and, together with its manufacturer, Reglass Spa, has developed new technologies that have taken poles to a new level in the last 10 years. Maver’s top-end poles have always been a touch special, starting with the 801 that, way back in the 1990s, had a colossal £8,000 price tag, right up to the present-day Elite 88 that is arguably the stiffest pole around. But these poles have high price tags and it is the mid-range offerings that most people are interested in spending their hard-earned cash on.
This month, Joe Carass runs the rule over a rod range set to take the market by storm!During my time at Match Fishing I have been privy to most of the new gear available and have certainly looked at my fair share of rods this year alone. This range from MAP, however, has caught my eye and I have seen them going through the testing stages for over a year now, having watched MAP-sponsored anglers Andy May and James Dent putting the various prototypes through their paces on magazine features. Having seen the rods in the different stages of development I couldn’t wait to give the finished articles a bash, but more of that later. Parabolix is a name that has long been associated with quality so there was definitely some pressure on MAP to produce the goods with these and it looks to have succeeded! There are nine rods in the range, varying from an 8ft F1 bomb rod to 13ft waggler rods, so there really is a rod to suit everyone here.
You’ve saved up a few quid and are looking for a flagship pole. Naturally you want to make sure you spend your money wisely, so let’s have a look at what Sensas has to offer. Alex Bones fills up the Power Match 874 with gasoline, ready for a test drive…Once famed for little more than brilliant groundbait mixes, Sensas has made some giant leaps forward in recent years, most notably with the introduction of poles. Just as the timeless Lake 3000, Gros Gardons, and Magic mixes found favour with anglers across the globe, so too have the beautifully produced poles.
When Garbolino’s Darren Cox tells you a pole is the best he has ever used you have to take note! Joe Carass is the lucky man to get it out on the bank to give his verdict!Judging by the number of Garbolino poles you see on the bank, the company must be doing something right! Having being involved with a Garbolino-sponsored team for a few years I have fished with just about every top-end pole the French tackle giant has designed over the past few years. I used a Super G10 for two years and many of my angling friends use a G-Max 1000. Both of these poles are up there with the stiffest on the market; in fact, I would go so far as saying I don’t think I’ve ever used a more rigid pole than the G-Max 1000. So, understandably, I couldn’t wait to give the M1 a trial session to see how it stacked up against or bettered the previous offerings.
