The Sledgehammer is my first pole and to be honest I bought it at a fishing show because it was such a ridiculously low price.
I haven’t really bothered with this style of fishing before, but at just £50 for 11 metres; a spare elasticated top kit; and a ready-made rig; even if I ended up not liking pole fishing it wasn’t going to be the end of the world.
As it is, I can’t believe I never bothered for 40 years – it’s good fun and it definitely presents your bait better.
The pole is finished with an anti friction feel so passing it through your hands when playing a fish, or baiting up, is very simple.
Inside the pole is a match-style top kit that I’m told you can attach a connector to and use as a ‘whip’, but I got my tackle dealer to put a number six elastic through it and I use it for roach when fishing maggot or hemp. It’s beautifully soft, and cushioning, and my best bag of silvers so far is approaching 20lb.
The other top kit is fitted with a number 12-14 elastic, which is perfect for most of the fish that reside in my local commercial lake.
I’m happy I went for an 11 metre length as it is certainly big enough for me to switch between margin and open water, and anything much longer would be an expensive waste.
Another factor I’m happy about is the strength of the pole. Like I said, I’m new to this method and the Sledgehammer feels like it is designed for people that aren’t subtle… in other words the walls of the sections feel gutsy. And that means if you do make a pig’s ear of playing a double figure carp, nothing is going to shatter or splinter.
For the money, you just can’t fault it – I give it five stars.
Click here to buy now
