The Acolytes. . . after 14 months of hammer! -Matt Godfrey has been putting Drennan’s Acolyte poles through their paces for well over a year now, but are they holding up to the pressure?
Idare say that there aren’t many people who’ll put a pole through its paces in a year in the same way I will.
In a world of its own!Match Fishing brings you Browning’s hottest new flagship pole, claimed to be the best Browning has ever made…
When a company claims that it has produced something better than anything else it has ever seen, you simply have to get excited! Match Fishing was invited to the revealing of Browning latest flagship pole at Aston Park Fisheries in Sheffield this month… but was this top-end tool all that it was made out to be?
The Target…
The Browning Sphere Zero-G F1 Plus is designed with serious pole and match anglers in mind. Browning is more than happy to state this. The features, package and performance of the pole are tailored towards this audience. So, just what can you expect from this weapon?
Match-Winning Performance?
On arriving at Aston Park, you could certainly tell where the main attraction was… right where the crowds were! Set up at 13 metres, the pole looks sublime and super stiff.
Blink And You’ll Miss It!
Match Fishing magazine’s chief sub editor David Haynes recounts a tale of loss, and rejoices at the return of a faithful friend.
After doing this fishing stuff for a good many years you think you pretty much know what to do and what not to do, until something comes along and catches you out… In a match at the famous Glebe fishery recently I should have been prepared for the ferocity of some of the carp bites – I’ve seen the tip go round here a few times before, and I know that when they want the bait they take it… and how! I was fishing a bomb and pellet at a gentle lob’s distance, and having cast out and set the rod in the rest I turned round on my seatbox to reach something behind me. I wasn’t clipped up and the clutch on my Team Daiwa 3012D reel was set lightly, so I was a little confused by the splashy gurgling noise coming from where my rod had just been.
Spinning round, I saw it bounce into the lake and motor off away from me.
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.
Choose Your Nemesis!Matt Godfrey and Jake Fowles test two of the hottest weapons from Matrix – the flagship Nemesis and the Nemesis 1000… but who will come out on top?
The Nemesis – Matt Godfrey A few weeks ago I was on a feature with Andy Geldart. After wrapping it up I was itching to have a go, and jumped on his box. On picking up his pole, I was gobsmacked! I couldn’t believe Matrix hadn’t pushed and advertised this weapon more, and got in touch with the company to send one for testing.
Moorfields Farm Fisheries at Goole was the ideal testing ground, but editorial assistant Jake Fowles was at my heels with the Nemesis’ little sister pole, the Nemesis 1000, making him my nemesis for the day! After Jake plonked himself on the best peg in the lovely reed-strewn corner, I had to settle for an open-water swim.
Mustang Speed!Matt Godfrey gives Garbolino’s hot new whip collection a workout they weren’t expecting…
To test this latest range of whips I could have easily gone on a canal to catch gudgeon, or a river to bag a few bleak. But would that be a real test? Probably not. I wanted to put a little pressure on these beauties! I decided to break the rules a little and, although these whips are designed for catching large numbers of small fish, I took them to my local Barby Banks Fishery. This venue is home to a big head of carp well into double figures, but it’s also full of other fish that are rarely targeted.
A Kind Of Magic!
Tom Scholey joins Bob Nudd on the banks of the River Yare to try out a very special piece of kit!
Bob spent a long time designing this latest tool to do a demanding job!
I have always read with envy about the weights that are caught on long pole to hand tactics in Ireland. Indeed, in the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s weights in excess of 200lb of roach were recorded from some of Ireland’s more prolific waters, and still today, pole to hand tactics figure on many festivals. Sadly, most of the fishing that we have on offer here in the UK rarely calls for such demanding tactics, and for this reason I am largely unfamiliar with them. One man who does know his onions when it comes to this kind of fishing, though, is Bob Nudd – and because he was instrumental in designing the original iconic Black Magic pole, I thought it made sense to ask him to not only talk me through this latest offering from the Browning camp, but also offer some advice on how best to use it.
All-Round Power… Matt Godfrey hits the bank with the latest mid-range weapon from Frenzee.
I love getting out on the bank with what I like to think are mid-range poles. The reason? Simply because they are what I have used for a lot of my own fishing, and very often still do. That’s why I was very excited when the FXT Precision Power pole from Frenzee arrived in our offices.
Our editorial assistant, Jake Fowles, takes Middy’s new Xtreme M3 out to test it. Can it really handle a No30 elastic?
When I arrived in the DHP offices to find the Middy Xtreme M3 pole sat on my desk I wasn’t too sure what expect. A pole rated to a No30 elastic (I wasn’t aware elastics went that strong), dubbed the ‘Animal Tamer’. I almost certainly expected a near-unusable piece of kit.
Matt Godfrey takes Preston Innovations’ brand-new Response Carp 16m pole to the bank to tame some surface-lurking monsters!
Last month I had a phone call from Preston Innovations brand manager Scott Geens. Immediately after picking the phone up, I could sense excitement in his voice. “I’ve got something here that you might like, and I’d love you boys to get out on the bank for an exclusive with it. ”
My ears instantaneously pricked up.
Match Fishing editor Tom Scholey takes a look at a very special range of rods, Daiwa’s Airity X45s.
I must admit to being massively sceptical when I was asked to consider the possibility that a rod might actually be ‘better’ than Daiwa’s Tournament range.
I love these rods and have been steadily building a collection when my budget has allowed. Indeed, I have written on these pages before about how I consider the 10ft Tournament to be the nicest rod of its kind that I have ever used.
Excellent Excellence From Tri-Cast!
Joe Carass gives the brand new Tri-Cast Excellence Pro a test with a difference!Long-term readers will know how much I like Tri-Cast rods and poles. The company makes some of the very best carbon products on the market and when it is due to release a new flagship pole, I always get excited.
The last flagship, the Trilogy Pro 2, was without doubt the best pole the company had produced. If it could improve on that then we were going to have a serious piece of pole on our hands.
