Dominic’s Tip
Are you sitting comfortably? Pole fishing shouldn’t feel like a strain and this is where organisation and practice come in. You should try to keep sit comfortably upright, with your knees roughly level with your backside – a seat box with adjustable legs helps with comfort.
Try to keep everything you need to hand, so that you don’t need to stoop or stretch while holding the pole. Side trays, rests, bait waiters and other accessories help here. With practice you can stay comfy but in full control. By trapping your pole between thigh and forearm it is possible to free the hands for throwing or catapulting bait in. Bites can still be struck by lifting the knee.
Leven Canal Fishing Photo Gallery
Long poles are described as ‘take apart meaning these sections are literally detached or connected by the angler while fishing. This adding or removing of pole sections is often called ‘shipping the pole. The angler might add every available section to ‘ship his or her pole out to the far bank, for example, or use half the sections available to fish midway across the canal.
A fish nears the bank as the pole is shipped back.
On a quiet lake or river, a pole angler might be able to ‘ship an entire pole in or out with all the sections attached, only ever removing the final three sections with the rig attached. This is done by sliding the pole between the hands and passing it forwards or backwards. Canals are busy places however. Pedestrians and bicycles can make it a dangerous business to pass several metres of carbon through the air. To avoid accidents, most canal anglers will remove sections in manageable chunks: for example, taking off two sections at a time. Canal anglers will often lay these sections parallel to the bank where they won’t obstruct the towpath or be trodden on. Another common practice is to bring the pole in sideways, rather than directly behind where it might get damaged by others using the towpath.
