shrimpy

Hi everyone,

I thought this would be a good thread to post your personal ways of maintaining your poles. This would be a good topic for anyone new to pole fishing or have just bought their first pole and would like to keep it in tip top condition, as we all know they cost alot of money and should be treated with care.

Ok i will obviously go first....

After every session i use baby wipes , yep you got it, go steal some baby wipes from your wifes/girlfriends baby bag and put them in your tackle box, they are great for cleaning up your pole after a session. I also carry a rag/towel to dry my pole before using the wipes if it has been raining, also it stops suction and sticking of sections suffered when put away wet. i also use nose cones, nice and cheap and help protect your joints. i lubricate my elastic once a week or before a session. My pole is packed away in plastic tubes, all tops in one and main pole in another, i also carry a spare tube just in case.

Ok anyone else got any tips for maintaining your pole post it here...

TEAM RATTLER

Always take more care when buying pole 'furniture' ie. bungs/bushes/connectors etc. In fact go and check your top kits, put a length of line on your connector and then slowly try and reproduce the motion your connector goes through when you lift into a fish. What a lot of anglers don't take into consideration is that the bush/connector relationship is not always what it seems as they come with a lot of different shapes and profiles. Usually even under slight tension your stonfo will stick straight out from the pole tip, and with a 'fish on' that stonfo has turned through roughly ninety degrees. The aim is to get to that point with a fish on every time and not miss or bump bites. Some connectors have a tapered end cap and these can try and enter the mouth of the bush ever so slightly. Some bushes have a radiused exit hole and some have a ninety degree or even acute inner edge. Get the wrong combination and the annoying click becomes even more annoying when it costs you fish on the bank. Even some spider/crows foot knots can jam if you don't get it right, far better to make the effort to learn about the use of dacron connectors and you will never encounter any of the above problems.
Never use foam end caps as they actually drag carbon particles back and forth and when wet it acts like a grinding paste which will speed up wear of your joints. Better to use the plastic ones but make sure they are glued in securely. Also take care when using the drennan nose cones in conjunction with bungs which create an air tight seal in your top kit. Sometimes your top kit may want to 'pop' off! Either use a winder bung or slice the end off the nose cone.
Drill a series of small holes in your pole end caps to aid drainage if you do pack it away wet, and do the same with your end caps for your protective tubes.
When your pole is clean and dry, spray it with armourall dashboard cleaner and leave it for 30 mins. polish it off and it gives it a brilliant 'speedshipping' finish.

compleat tangler

FANTASTIC ADVICE RATTLER. oops sorry not shouting. interesting about the foam caps i use them might consider a change. and the cockpit shine idea....great. my tip is to purcase a range of bottle brushes for cleaning inside butt sections i've had one for years and its a good tool.

TEAM RATTLER

Tell you what would be a good idea tangler, if the brushes have plastic handles then cut a 3/8th BSF thread on it so it screws into a landing net handle.

big g

I bought one of those pole cleaning brush kits and thats very good. I also like to clean my sections, NOT THE JOINTS, with furniture polish. This makes the pole slide through your hands really well and the water runs straight off. What I could really do with is something to get the smell out of my nets as just hosing them down doesnt really shift it plus its not very often I put anything in them so I want to make it nice for the fish if I do! Thought about getting a water butt mixed with iodine,Like the ones at Izaak Waltons, but dont know how practical or costly that would be.

TEAM RATTLER

big g, which polish do you use?

big g

Mr Sheen spring fresh. It cleans and shines according to the tin, but any polish will do.

leetwin

never let your 9 year old son pack away your pole as when you get it out again you might find that the number 4 section is missing... that happened to me recently. lesson learned he wont be touching my pole again

__________________
LeeTwin
Mr 3oz number 1 ><))))*>

Oneabung

Anyone got any experience of sawing off 1/2 inch off the end of the 13M section and sanding it as there are a couple of carbon cracks developing and if I did this then it would look new again.

__________________
Simon Young
Admin
www.TalkAngling.co.uk
Fishing tackle shop online

Brian G

Taking 1/2" off should not cause a problem, use a fine tooth junior hacksaw to remove the cracked bit, then sand the end using around 200 grit wet and dry paper, I am just about to do the same on a No. 4 male end which has started to splinter.

__________________