Rods, Reels & Poles

Unbelievable Value! 

Tom Scholey gets on the bank with the Maver Oculus 999, a pole he believes sets a new standard in mid-range pole performance.

To say that I was extremely impressed with this pole would be the king of all understatements. Value for money-wise, it is among the very best I have tested. Why? Because it is probably the only pole that I have tested in its price point that performs exceptionally well at its full length. I say its full length, because it isn’t actually a full 16m pole. Without the dolly butt, it measures in at 14.95 metres and with the dolly butt in place it is 15.8 metres. But seriously, at these long lengths its performance is exceptional considering its price tag.

I must admit, I was a little apprehensive when I started fishing with the pole. To say it is remarkably light and stiff would be an understatement. But would that compromise its strength? I had certainly picked a swim to find out, at the lovely Woodside Fishery near Kidderminster. With a snag-strewn island at 17 metres I guessed that the lake’s angry carp would know exactly where to head! First came elastication, and the pole is supplied with five of Maver’s excellent ready slotted, ready bushed Powerlite kits. So it was simply a case of getting one of these out of the packaging, threading it up and I was ready to go. There is also a Match Kit inside the pole – although I thought this was probably best left in the bag given the size and temper of the fish I was targeting – which would be perfect for lighter elastics.

To start with, I had a waggle with the pole at 13 metres, and it was faultless. Genuinely, at this length it would be difficult to choose between this pole and many of the flagship poles on the market. Simply stunning. But that isn’t particularly unusual, to be honest. A lot of the poles that we are sent for review in the £1k price bracket are great at 13 metres. People pay the premium for more expensive models for improved performance at lengths of 14.5 and 16 metres.

This is where the Oculus really shone, in my opinion. At 14.5 metres, it is among the best that I have felt in its price bracket, and at its full length it is equally impressive.

Shipping out to the pole’s full length was a joy. Sun-Core finish is nothing new on Maver poles, but I still say it takes a lot of beating, sliding through the hands easily and staying cool in the sun. Sadly, the heat-resistant properties of the pole weren’t to get too much of a testing on this particular outing, but I can say the pole handles very well when wet!

It was also particularly noticeable how seamlessly the sections blended together. There were none of the nasty bumps that can sometimes be noticeable around the female joints at the cheaper end of the market, just a nice, smooth, seamless finish. But how strong would the Oculus prove?

Pellet Attack!

I have fished this particular pool before, and so I knew the main target in summer is the big head of carp that it holds. For this reason, I opted to fish pellets at the pole’s full length. Although I was by no means tight against the island here, the bottom shallowed up nicely and I was able to fish on a hard bottom in around three feet of water.

The plan was to feed 6mm pellets via a small pole-mounted pot, and fish an 8mm pellet on the hook.  Despite the rain, and several enforced breaks due to thunderstorms (one area of the pole’s performance that I didn’t fancy testing was how well it conducted lightning) I still managed to tame plenty of wild Woodside carp.

I must admit that I was worried on a couple of occasions when they set off around the island. I applied side strain with all my might, and one carp even found a snag but I managed to wrestle him free. One thing is for sure – the pole is very, very strong. I was really impressed – and the only thing left to check with Maver was whether the pole would interchange with any of its other models. After all, a lot of people with more expensive Maver poles may be interested in investing in an Oculus as a spare pole.

Sure enough, the pole interchanges with Maver’s flagship Signature, and Distinction series – meaning all sections can be swapped with any pole in either of these ranges. All in all an awesome piece of kit at an unbelievable price from Maver.

Tech Spec

Maver Oculus 999 Stated length: 16m Actual length: 15.8m (without dolly butt 14.95m) Top kit: 2.46m Top four: 3.82m Top five: 5.26m Puller kits: Yes Cupping kit: Yes Holdall supplied: Yes Butt section length: 1.64m Butt diameter: 47.3mm

Package: • 1x 16m pole package • 1x match top three kit (inside pole) • 5x Powerlite slotted and bushed power kits • 1x mini extension • 1x cupping kit and cups • 3x EVA clean caps • 1x deluxe pole holdall and protective tubes • 1x DVD RRP: £1,395

http://www.maver.co.uk/