Advice,

[Bleak]

Because of restricted movement in my
shoulder. I have been using a modern short
pole. It's my first time using a pole and really
enjoyed the simplicity.

The material used is souless (in my opinion)
although effective.

The pole fishing experience has left me
thinking about about looking for a cane
version.

I would like some advice on what would be
a good starting point, maker wise, how to
rig, what to expect to pay for a lower end
starter and finally we're all cane poles designed
for catching silver fish only.
Many thanks.

[Aitch]

Finding a good one is half the battle... some of the cheaper ones are ferruleless and are chinese made... I think you may pick one up for approx £50-60. A named one, such as Milwards, Evans, or Sowerbutts, will be in the order of hundreds of pounds unless you find a basket case cheap on an auction site... I would not use a cane pole for large fish, I use very light hooklinks on my pole... small quills work fine as do normal pole floats if you are inclined...
But I would incorporate an short piece of elastic and a stonfo connector as a shock absorber... do not use heavy carp rigs... a heavy fish could damage the tip

[Bleak]

Thanks for that Aitch.

Very informative. I would only be looking at
silverfish. I just wondered if back in the day
there was a larger fish choice for the pole.

I am surprised by the cost of a named pole.
Due to age and scarcity, I guess.

I will enjoy some window shopping.
Cheers.

[Aitch]

https://traditionalfisherman.com/viewto ... 11#p391211
This may help
I don't think larger fish were angled for with cane poles although I don't doubt some were landed.
I would stay with Roach Rudd and Skimmer Bream as the main quarry... my Pole is a Milwards and only 4 sections the elastics on my tops are light, the heaviest being a size 6 the lightest being a 4...
You can either tie some light elastic to the tip eye with a stonfo connector on the end, or whip some fly guides to the tip section and run the elastic through those to spread the load through the tip

[Bleak]

Yes, that's most helpful.

What length is your Milwards pole please.

[Aitch]

Approx 16 feet... to be honest I've never actually measured it fully... mine's a Milwards Pole

[EricW]

I would agree with everything Aitch says. I use cane poles often these days instead of my carbon ones and enjoy using them immensely. I use 12-14" of no 4 elastic 90 per cent of the time. Tie a loop at one end and fit a dacron connector to the other, then you can carry spares and swap for heavier very easily. Just put the tip section through the loop, thread the connector through the eye of the pole and pull the elastic up to it. In use, fishing with the connector hanging in the water stabilises the float and reduces the effect of the wind on it. I use a small V pole roller on my front rest to bear the weight in use, lay the butt of the pole across my legs and bear down on the butt with my elbow, using the leg as a fulcrum to lift into a fish.
My outlook is that in practice, cane poles are not heavier than carbon ones, just shorter for the same weight. I have been told many times that they are too heavy by match anglers who are happy fishing 14 metres plus when in truth mine weighs no more or even less than theirs, I'm just fishing closer in.
Even carbon poles are much nicer to use if you leave off the bottom two sections and cane ones are no different, so should you ever find yourself with a choice I'd suggest a longer one would be a good bet, although the difference between the longst you are ever going to find and the shortest is only likely to be one section, 4-6'.
I prefer split cane tips because they are less vulnerable to the effects of aging than greenheart or lancewood. With my Fields pole which has a split cane tip, I find that a 3lb hooklength on a No 4 elastic will break without damaging the pole, and personally I would never go heavier than this, although I would happily step up the elastic if required. In practice I prefer 1-2 lbs hooklengths. Personally I stick with the 4 elastic because I bump off less small fish with it. My heaviest fish yet on that set up was a 4-13 tench although I doubt I would have landed it if it had been a male. It is the power of the runs that restricts what you can land, not the weight of the fish. Have fun.

[Moley]

Most of the points have been covered by 'Aitch but in all honesty the best route is to look at the poles made by Sowerbutts or Evans as these were in all probability the best made.

If you decide to look into this further don't expect to find anything decent for less than £300/400 as this market has woken up.

There is a surfeit of not very well made poles, at eye watering prices, out there. So Caveat Emptor should be at the fore front of your mind at all times.

Fishing a London pole is great fun though, with sundry tackle items kept to a minimum and cause of much excited comment from other anglers. Roach are suckers for the presentation you can achieve with the pole but they are heavy and given your reason for using the carbon version in the first place some sort of front support bar from the modern set ups might make life a lot easier.

The best starting point in written form is Poles Apart by Michael Nadell. If you can get hold of this fine book most if not all of your questions will be answered. There is no finer work on the subject with the author actually knowing what he is talking about......Michael fishes with his poles of which he has a vast collection.

On the subject of big fish and the cane pole, use light hook links with a maximum of say 3lb bs to preserve the tips of the pole but having said that if time is taken it is truly surprising the size of fish you can actually get in by keeping the tip over the fish and not pulling too hard; just sufficient pull to let the fish wear itself out against the pole.

There are other reference articles for you to look at for further knowledge on this very site, under the section Cane Poles. Worth a look if you have time.

Good luck in your pursuit of a good pole.

As ever,.......

Moley

[Bleak]

Thanks gents.

[Vole]

For maximum fun per quid, look out for the cheap (then) Japanese poles with cane-to-cane joints. The cane is dark, the nodes are large, obvious and unhidden; the female ferrules are reinforced by a long, red whipping, while the males have but a lick of black paint to remind you wwhy they won't accept whatever you were trying... The tips are a line of leaf-nodes held together by very thin cane, and boy, are they bendy. You won't need elastic with one of these, even if you come down to a #24 on 12 oz. line. A pound roach will bend one in a quarter circle and leave you in a trembling heap. Well, me, anyhow.
If you have ANY doubts about the integrity of the whippings, replace them (boring chore alert!) with SILK, nothing else, whipped as tight and true as you can manage, then wetted, and left to dry and shrink REALLY tight before varnishing.
Most are four-piece and about 18-20 feet, but a few have more sections and are about 12-15 feet. If you find one of those, treasure it!