Next week we’ll be taking a look at elasticating your chosen pole.

I left you last week in the process of buying a pole for the first time. Go into any good tackle shop and you will be confronted with an array of poles with all sorts of weird and wonderful names. How do you choose the right one for your requirements? Well, the main questions to ask yourself is, how much do you want to spend and what do you want to use the pole for? The first question is fairly self-explanatory but consider spare top sets within your total initial spend. For instance I would recommend a total spend of £500 be split between a suitable pole costing £400 plus £100 worth of top kits and spare number three and four sections rather than spending the whole £500 on the pole and then needing spare sections but not having the money to buy them. By doing this you will be able to set up spare rigs on the day and switch between them to suit changing conditions. There’s nothing worse than having just one top kit and continually changing rigs and elastics as you fish. It’s not uncommon for top anglers to have as many as ten or more different top sets in their armoury so that all situations are covered regardless of what swim is drawn. The other key factor to consider when buying a pole is what you want the pole for. Sounds like an obvious one I know but a pole intended for carp fishing is different to a pole for roach fishing. Nowadays there are a lot of poles available that will do all jobs from delicate roach fishing to heavy weight carping. If you are intending to do a bit of everything then this is the sort of pole I would recommend. I have listed below several poles I would recommend within price bands. Shop around at any of the major tackle retailers and you will be able to get a much keener price.Under £200 – Garbolino SaracenUnder £250 – Garbolino Carp Attack£250 to £400 – Garbolino Excorcist£400 to £600 – M.A.P. Carptek Power tube

Next week we’ll be taking a look at elasticating your chosen pole.