Maver Competition Match This 5 Plus
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. Even when I was sponsored by Maver I chose to fish with a pole from this price point, so can speak with experience about how well they perform.
The Match This 5 Plus has been designed with the commercial angler in mind. It has been beefed up slightly from last year’s model and has been reinforced in key areas to make it stronger. Mention the word ‘reinforcing’ and I immediately think that the pole has to be heavier and it must lose some of its rigidity, but this isn’t the case with the 5 Plus – it remains beautifully balanced and is as stiff as, if not stiffer than, anything that I have seen in this price range before.
The package that this pole comes with is also superb and really does cover your options, meaning that you won’t need to buy a load of extra tops. Interestingly, the pole is supplied with four of the new Easy Flow power kits. These have been developed to be substantially shorter than the company’s previous deluxe power kits and have a reinforced section near the base that allows it to be drilled to take a side-puller kit. They are the perfect length for commercial fisheries and mean that just the right length of elastic can be used.
The Plus 5 also comes with two match kits, a cupping kit and cups, a mini extension, a deluxe holdall, a set of clean caps and the new Commercial Sense DVDs, making it a very comprehensive package.
For 2012 Maver has also included a special promotional offer, which gives the buyer a match top-three kit, and a match top-four kit completely free of charge!
For my test day I took the 5 Plus to Moreton Fisheries, near Congleton. This venue is packed with quality silvers so I decided on a two-pronged 14.5m attack. I fed one with a mixture of pellets and Bag ‘em XP, while the other line received a liberal helping of Marukyu EFG 130. To cut a long story short I had an awesome day’s fishing with the 5 Plus. I started with one of the Easy Flow power kits and the pole remained easy to use at 14.5 metres. I later tried the match kit and the pole felt better still, as skimmer after skimmer came to the landing net.
Overall I was impressed with the 5 Plus; it was good to use, has a great package and felt more than strong enough to cope with the rigours of modern match fishing.
RP: £2,266.65
SSP: £1,699.99
5 Plus 16m Pole Package
• 4 x Easy Flow power kits
• 2 x match top-three kits
• 1 x cupping kit and cups
• 1 x mini extension
• 1 x deluxe holdall
• 1 x set of clean caps
• Commercial Sense DVDs
+ 2012 promo offer
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. Even when I was sponsored by Maver I chose to fish with a pole from this price point, so can speak with experience about how well they perform.
The Match This 5 Plus has been designed with the commercial angler in mind. It has been beefed up slightly from last year’s model and has been reinforced in key areas to make it stronger. Mention the word ‘reinforcing’ and I immediately think that the pole has to be heavier and it must lose some of its rigidity, but this isn’t the case with the 5 Plus – it remains beautifully balanced and is as stiff as, if not stiffer than, anything that I have seen in this price range before.
The package that this pole comes with is also superb and really does cover your options, meaning that you won’t need to buy a load of extra tops. Interestingly, the pole is supplied with four of the new Easy Flow power kits. These have been developed to be substantially shorter than the company’s previous deluxe power kits and have a reinforced section near the base that allows it to be drilled to take a side-puller kit. They are the perfect length for commercial fisheries and mean that just the right length of elastic can be used.
The Plus 5 also comes with two match kits, a cupping kit and cups, a mini extension, a deluxe holdall, a set of clean caps and the new Commercial Sense DVDs, making it a very comprehensive package.
For 2012 Maver has also included a special promotional offer, which gives the buyer a match top-three kit, and a match top-four kit completely free of charge!
For my test day I took the 5 Plus to Moreton Fisheries, near Congleton. This venue is packed with quality silvers so I decided on a two-pronged 14.5m attack. I fed one with a mixture of pellets and Bag ‘em XP, while the other line received a liberal helping of Marukyu EFG 130. To cut a long story short I had an awesome day’s fishing with the 5 Plus. I started with one of the Easy Flow power kits and the pole remained easy to use at 14.5 metres. I later tried the match kit and the pole felt better still, as skimmer after skimmer came to the landing net.
Overall I was impressed with the 5 Plus; it was good to use, has a great package and felt more than strong enough to cope with the rigours of modern match fishing.
RP: £2,266.65
SSP: £1,699.99
5 Plus 16m Pole Package
• 4 x Easy Flow power kits
• 2 x match top-three kits
• 1 x cupping kit and cups
• 1 x mini extension
• 1 x deluxe holdall
• 1 x set of clean caps
• Commercial Sense DVDs
+ 2012 promo offer
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