Modern pole-fishing has come a long way since it first caught on in the UK some quarter of a century ago. There has never been any doubt about the accuracy and presentation advantages of the method, but in the early days poles were cumbersome, heavy fibreglass jobs and it required brick outhouse arms to fish with them.
In those days, a nine-metre pole would have been just about the limit, but more recent advances in carbon technology mean 14-metre poles are commonplace.
The perfect pole combines strength with lightness and rigidity and in fact, the technology is there to produce first class 20-metre poles and only price and international competition rules which limit the length in matches to 14.5 metres are holding such advances back.

Pole or whip?
Put simply, a pole is fitted with an internal elastic which cushions the fight of the fish, whereas with a whip there is no elastic and the rig is simply attached to the fine tip. Whips are usually telescopic with maybe one or two Сput overТ sections at the butt end, whereas poles usually have a telescopic top two or three sections into which the elastic goes, with the rest being Сput-overТ sections (see pic 2).
Poles are generally 10 metres long or more, whereas whips are generally seven metres long or less.
Gareth Purnell, Improve Your Coarse Fishing

1. One
The top two or three sections of your pole will be whatТs called СtelescopicТ - you canТt slip the lower section into the upper and instead have to pull the sections out until they lock. These are the sections into which the elastic goes. СPowerТ top kits for СbaggingТ will be thicker at the tip than those designed for catching smaller, silver fish.

2. Two
Below these sections the pole will be whatТs called Сput overТ. That means the lower СmaleТ section pushes into the upper СfemaleТ section and locks in place. Some older poles are whatТs called Сput inТ, where the lower section fits over the upper one and then locks. If your СpoleТ is all telescopic, itТs a whip!

3. Three
Choosing the right elastic is vital - the higher the number, the stronger. I use Preston Innovations in sizes 2-5, Vespe and MAP in sizes 6-10 and Preston or Future for bigger sizes. Elastics come in all
manner of colours on winders or coils generally holding 3-5 metres costing £1.50-£2. Sadly there is no colour standard across the different brands.

4. Four
You will need something to help you thread your elastic through the hollow carbon top sections of your pole. You can use a piece of wire or thick (15lb plus) line, or you can buy a Сdiamond eye threaderТ from the tackle shop which is made for the job and costs around £2.50. The elastic locks into the diamond-shaped bit.

5. Five
СBushesТ fit to the end of your pole. They are made of soft PTFE over which the elastic can easily slide without sticking and without any damage. The size you choose must suit the elastic. СInternalТ bushes fit inside the poleТs hollow tip but require you to cut the pole tip back considerably and thus are not a good choice for the thicker elastics.

6. Six
СExternalТ bushes are more popular and are easier to fit, and you don't have to cut back as much of the tip as you do when fitting an internal bush. Both bushes and connectors are available in many colours which can be matched to the elastic colour if you want. Bushes cost about £1.30-£2.50 depending on size/brand.

7. Seven
Connectors fit the rig to the elastic. Stick with СstonfoТ connectors if you are quite new to pole-fishing (I still use them). Most of the connectors on the market are pretty good (IТve had trouble with the Vespe ones though). Connectors should cost you about a quid each. Some matchmen swear by the СdacronТ connectors shown on the left.

8. Eight
The elastic runs inside the pole from the connector to a СbungТ, which fits inside the pole and locks there. The size of bung you need will depend on whether you are fitting the elastic into one, two or three sections of the pole. Standard bungs cost around £2-£2.50 and I like the blue Preston and MAP bungs and the black Maver ones.

9. Nine
Some bungs also allow you to alter the tension once the elastic is fitted, and these would be my first choice. I especially like the Vespe bung shown in the previous picture, which allows you to wind on quite a bit of elastic which can be useful if the elastic starts hanging out of the pole during fishing.