Pole Elastic

When Pole fishing the right elastic is the difference between a good day or taking up golf. Here we will explain why, its all about balance, you need to match the elastic to the water and your target fish, not to mention your pole. There is no point putting some whopper stopper 20 rated elastic in a roach pole made for up to say a 12 rate. There will only be a couple of out comes, either the elastic will work against the pole, causing you no end of nightmares, you will hook into somthing abit big and what your top 3 snap like straws or you will keep bumping of fish.

To help explain we got *Dave* to give us his take on it.

It's no good using a light elastic with a 2grm float in 12 feet of water you just wont make make good contact with the fish . You shouldn't use heavy elastic when fishing on the drop for small Roach this will cause fish to be bumped off.

As a guide when fishing in three feet of water with light floats upto around 0.5 grm use a No 3 elastic. In swims upto around 12 feet deep with a 1.5 grm float choose a No 5 elastic. In swims that are over 12 feet deep and using floats greater than 2grm use a No 6 or 8 elastic. If you are expecting Carp or Tench these elastics will have to be increased. Be careful when using heavy elastics make sure your pole can take it.

Most commercial fishing is done for carp and Tench ,Check the pole elastic rating, For a guide say a rated 20s I wouldn't go over a 18s elastic , Check with the manufacturer before adding heavy elastics. Choosing an elastic beyond the manufactures rating could end up in smashed pole.The new latex elastic is a good choice, But I like the hollowcore stuff .

So what types of elastic is there,

Well there is many, but you really do get what you pay for. you can get some latex elastic, its ok will last for a season but you will feel it snagging on the pole on the retreive, it is also prone to becoming weak in sunlight and becoming brittle.

Then you have dual core, The main one is made by Daiwa (its called Hydrolastic)

this stuff is pole elastic on a whole new level, gone are the days of a solid bit of latex, this elastic is hollow in the middle and then filled with a "secret high performance liquid" this means the harder the fish fights the stronger the elastic becomes because it becomes more solid. Its RRP is about £15 for a 3 metre length.

Then we have the hollow core, a good one is made by Preston Innovations and funny enough its called hollo elastic, similar to the Daiwa version but without the fluid in it.this has the advantage of not needing lubrication, the R.R.P is around £10 for a 3 metre length.

Lubrication

You could have the best elastic in the world but if you dont look after it, then it will punish you when you least expect it, lubrication is a must on most elastics, Preston do some called Slip, its from about £3 a small bottle, but this stuff is so thin and slippery its like wd40, you know when you put this on your elastic, your elastic will slide in and out of your pole like a well oiled piston, this will minimise the risk of snagging and when you hook into somthing your elastic can glide without resistance.

We hope this has cleared a few things up for you, if you need further advise join our forum and ask us there.

But remember next time your in your tackle shop, think what do you want, then what do you need. Forget the fancy packaging, we can all do that, its whats in the box that counts.