Pole fishing has long been a fundamental part of coarse angling in the UK, and the development of pole rigs has experienced much change in the materials and techniques adopted, and indeed the angling culture that demands that we use the best rigs if we want to be competative.

The origins of pole fishing in the UK stretch back a very long way, right back to the use of roach poles seen lining the banks of rivers such as the Thames and Lea over 100 years ago. In present-day angling, pole rigs come in endless variations, nuances, and complexities.

When an angler thinks about making pole rigs, there is so much choice to be considered, and the importance of getting it right may be the difference between gaining (or losing) the edge when targeting a certain species, or making efficiencies that give you that first place on a match. In this article, I'll take you through some of those considerations, and share a few of my own thoughts on the pole rigs I make.

Floats: With sooooo many on the market, in so many shapes and sizes, from dibbers & muggers, to long-bristled paste floats, it’s a real education when you see a stand full of them. The important thing to understand is that those body and bristle shapes are not just there for aesthetic purposes, but for a very practical reason based on the type of fishing you are doing and the type of venue you intend to use them on. The colours, however, seem to be there to attract the angler rather than the fish – I remember a rather sparkly aptly-named Drennan 'Pinkie' float I used to use on the canal that looked like it belonged to an angling barby doll! One float that I really loved was the original Drennan Carbo that was a lovely greenish shade of wood. In the modern market, The Preston Kerry pole floats are one that I really like to use in all sizes, as well as the NuFish paste floats that can be deadly when fished correctly on the right carp water.

Lines: Now there’s a choice and a half, not only do you need to find one that you fully trust under strain, but you also need to make the right decision around diameters, what hook-lengths to pair with your mainline, and optimal knots to keep your breaking strain at it’s highest point. Since I have moved towards more specimen fishing and less pole fishing, I have found that my choice of lines is a lot heavier than what it used to be in my rigs. I can remember landing carp and tench on the canal with 0.07mm Silstar lines back in the day; however, now I can barely see an 0.07 line, so I tend to use Powerline for all my pole rigs, which I find offers the best strength to diameter ratios.

Hooks: These are available in what seems to be endless shapes / patterns / sizes, with both gape and gauge thrown in to the mix to complicate things further! I’ve tried to boil my pole fishing down to no more than 10 patterns in multiple sizes (in barbed and barbless) that cover everything. One of my favourite hooks from yesteryear was the Image GhostBarb range, which was a slightly squared-off super-fine canal hook that was great for squatt and pinkie fishing. Nowadays, I really like hooks like the Kamasan 911x for my carp fishing, 520s on the canal, and those lovely odd-sized 711 hooks for my river fishing rigs.

Additional variables: When you make a rig, you also have to think about what pole and elastics you might use these rigs with, and how to shot those rigs so the bait is presented in an optimal format. While you may have tied the best and most beautiful rig, if you have not set the shot correctly and thought about how you are presenting the bait, then you really have lost all off the edge you may have gained with expensive floats and lines. On the other side of the spectrum, the durability of a rig (if you know it’s likely to be fished near snags or pummelled by multiple double-figure carp) is also a consideration – for me personally, I use a supplier on eBay who sells packs of discontinued pole floats in packs of 10 for a tenner, as when I am fishing those margins for lumps, the floats do take a good old battering!

I hope you enjoyed a brief analysis of the not so humble pole rig from my perspective – the picture below shows some of the rigs I have tied for the upcoming season, offering an insight into what I like to make up and use!