Jump to content

Pole fishing


Little_Flatty

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

Having been spending a bit of time lately chasing garfish/mullet, I was starting to think of more efficient and kid-friendly techniques to land gars and other baitfish.

One thing that came to mind was a handline (Like Pickles and Yowie use to catch bait) and the other thing that came up was a pole. When I studied for a year in China, I remember that they had some really long and light fibreclass or carbon poles, with a 'lilian' at the end to attach your line. This is the one I bought: 5f9bb8227727331966e34234-large.jpg?cache

I managed to get my hands on one for 20 dollars including postage and it arrived surprisingly quickly. I bought a 3m model (the model is called 3.6 but they say they are shorter than that). Whilst it could be cheaply constructed, having no guides or reel seat makes it beautifully light and a reasonably crisp action. This is a (pretty bad) pic of the rod in the field:

image.thumb.png.c6e55084e514d4d9a75ecfe19245f8ba.png

I had to do a bit of research on how to attach lines to these poles, but thankfully the Tenkara fly fishing brigade use very similar rods (at 15 times the price) and a bit of googling gave me what I needed. I ended up taking a slightly different approach to the Tenkara brigade, tying a knot in the lillian but then using a length of braid to bind it back on itself into a loop:

image.thumb.png.48d9a2bf4123b51bac65da223e28fe9d.png

That way I could pre-tie a rig with a snap on the end, which makes changing from float rig to bait jigs very easy. I'm planning to keep a few rigs on a piece of foam like this, all tied on 4lb flurocarbon:

image.thumb.png.5736c575869d824e44eac3190637e945.png

I don't have a reliable area for gars and other baitfish local to me so I took the pole down to test it out on the local bream. It was a blast to fish with this pole, being such a light and simple setup. The micro size of the bream (all released) were a pretty good simulation of the baitfish/gars that I'd be targeting and the rod performed well on them. The rod was extremely responsive to bites and the hookup rate was noticeably better than when using a normal rod. Basically it was a fish a chuck. Not having to deal with wind knots (I often fish unweighted) was a nice bonus as well.

Fishing with the pole was a bit different to fishing with a rod. I think I used to take for granted how easy it is to bait up when you have a reel; it is just so easy to adjust the amount of line between the rod tip and your hook. That is just not an option with a pole. The other thing I realised is that maybe fishing unweighted is a little bit impractical, as it is easy for the wind to blow your rig away from you just as you swing it in. I might use a slightly heavier float + a tiny split shot in the future.

Finally, I might go to the local tackle shop and get a butt cap for the pole. It would serve to balance the pole a bit better in my hands, as well as provide the blank with some protection from rocks.

All in all, it was a fun experiment and could be useful in the future. I have to admit I was finding it much more fun than I should, catching tiny fish like that. I think I needed about ten 'last baits'! Would love to see what happens when I get a legal bream on the other end - which happens most trips, but not this one.

I would say that this technique is worth a try if you fish for livies a lot landbased and want to do something different.

Do any other raiders have experience fishing with poles? Coarse fishing? Fishing in Asia? I'd be interested to hear your experiences.

Mike

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@motiondave It certainly is telescopic.

The sellers who sell such poles all claim that they are carbon. I was skeptical about this at first, but I the poles I remember from nearly 20 years ago were at least 30mm in diameter at the butt, whilst this one would be about 15mm in diameter at most. So maybe it is carbon (but I'm not that concerned either way).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My whole childhood was chasing freshwater european fish in lakes and rivers with fishing poles - made out of fresh cut wood  sticks or dry bamboo. The problem was when you hook something heavier - you cant tire bigger fish as you have only short line of aproximately length of rod - so fight may end up pretty quickly, sometimes rather emotionally. To reduce chance of loosing fish due to breaking of weakest top - we tied line first at 1/3 or 1/4 rod length from the top - in that case when the tip breaks - you are still connected with the fish.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We used to call this type of rig " the Ned Kelly Rig ". I have a extendable pole , it's a gansel 5 metre with 5 sections and a tiny eye on the tip. had it for about 35 years and have never used it. Gansel used to be a fishing tackle distributor in Moorbank . I used to have a lot of their gear but sadly most of it gone now.

1385718336_pole1.thumb.jpg.417d7e2e00a30ea001a9701ca38e53e9.jpg

178939091_pole2.thumb.jpg.b2fc7ff57bc47aa4933e28b0186cd2ed.jpg

Frank

Edited by frankS
added photos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use that same set up to catch poddies.  Rod cost about $5 onfleabay.  I use home made Styrofoam float about 1 cm round with 2 size 12 square green blackfish hooks up short near float and tiny split shot.  With bread burley fish are attracted to white float.  Just too much fun.  Ron 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve got one of these poles (6m long) and use it just for fun (not very often as it is very cumbersome in the boat) on the yakkas & gar when they are 10-12 feet back in the burley stream & on the surface, but won’t come in close. I fish unweighted with a no 12 gamagatsu “mosquitoe hook”. I tied a loop in the end with some fly thread and put a 8lb Fluro “tippet” on. Because the action is so fast (fa), I find I do t need a float, just a small piece of styrofoam so I can see the line. I suspect they would be much better off a wharf & I reckon they would be deadly on Ludderick.

Retrieving the fish involves me colidascoping the rod, which is a bit of a challenge and shore based would be much easier. I is a bit of fun though and I’d like to see how a kingie would go (before it snapped).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...