PART 1

It’s important to know that since the original publishing of this article in Declic Peche, certain other considerations have come to light regarding the use and manufacture of black Hydro. Consequently this feature is upgraded to take that into account.

I love catching big fish on the pole. There is nothing like the thrill of a big tench hammering through your swim while metres of elastic surge out of the tip, or the adrenalin rush as an angry carp heads for the middle of the lake as you hang on like a water skier behind an out of control powerboat. If you haven’t experienced any of these thrills on the pole yet, then you don’t know what you’re missing.

As many anglers are now switched on to big fish pole angling, one area, more than any other, is crucial to your success, so in this X-Factor test I want to look at how big fish elastics perform.

I have taken three standard big fish elastics, a 1.8mm solid one and compared it with its hollow and hydro equivalent. In this feature Daiwa Black Hydro and Preston 15h Hollow are tested against the solid Vespe No.14 elastic.

The essential feature of any elastic is its ability to stretch under pressure and then recover to its original shape and form when that pressure is released. This ability to recover to its original position is what makes elastics so useful to all anglers. It allows you to play a fish as the elastic stretches out, but once the fish is landed the elastic then slides back into your top kit ready for the next fish.

A bit of science!
The reason why elastic stretches is all to do with the molecules in the elastic itself. When relaxed these molecules are stringy and all jumbled up, similar to spaghetti in a bowl, but when they are stretched the molecules straighten out and join together, like all the spaghetti lining up straight in the same way. Release the pressure and the molecules revert back into a jumbled mess… so far so good. However, there comes a point with all elastics where the molecules have straightened out to their limit and there is just no more stretch left… this is called ‘bottoming out’. Recent developments in elastic design have seen the emergence of ‘hollow’ and ‘Hydro’ elastics.
The idea behind hollow elastic is simple… it has a small hole running through its centre which allows the elastic to keep on stretching until that hole is completely compressed. This gives it greater stretch and a softer feel compared to its solid cousin.
Hydro is the same as hollow elastic except that a fluid is injected into the central hole cavity. This injected fluid makes the Hydro more difficult to compress and while it still retains great stretch and softness, the Hydro also gains from a silky recovery, which no other elastic can match. Development of Hydro was started in 1998 by three top southern match anglers, Simon Gould, Micky Hughes and Jack Harness who, having secured there product with stringent patents, passed the global marketing and distribution rights to tackle giants Daiwa but they continue to produce the product in Berkshire.

I will shortly explain how I set up the different grade elastics on each of my power kits and some of the special bushes and tensioners that were needed with them.

Is your pole suitable for using big fish elastics?
First I want to look at what type of pole is needed to handle these elastics and fish, in particular I the issue of whether you need a dedicated ‘power (carp) pole’ to target big fish or not. There are many anglers who hesitate to set up a top kit with 1.8mm elastic… is my pole strong enough… won't big tench or carp snap it? Rest assured, you do not need to buy a specific carp pole to go after big tench, bream or carp up to about 5 kilos. Big fish, if played properly, will not break normal match poles, provided you’ve set your pole up correctly. The only exception is where you deliberately set out to target very large fish. Those who follow the exploits of Gérardix and Miss Livia in Declic will be aware that they regularly target fish in excess of 10 kilos with the pole, and in this case a specialised power pole is an essential piece of equipment. For most other anglers a normal match pole will give adequate security, provided you take heed of certain things.

Top kits for big fish
Most standard top kits will be rated up to about 1.2 or 1.4mm. Not really ideal if you are trying to lift 3 kilos of bream off the bottom of a strong flowing river and certainly not ideal for fitting any of the new hollow elastics, which are now widely available. So in terms of top kits, what are your choices?

1) The Power Kit
Most pole companies sell power kits, which are two section kits to replace the usual top three sections. Power kits are basically made to a stronger specification, allowing you to upgrade to stronger and thicker types of elastics.

For example, a Maver K 47 has a match kit rated to a 12 elastic and a 16 on its power kits. I have recently splashed out on a new Garbolino 995 and the same thing applied, my match kits were to 12 and the power’s to 16 (2.0mm elastic). Power kits come slightly shorter than their match counterparts before being cut back. Having only two sections, power kits tend to taper down fast through the last section, meaning that if you want to put a 3 or 3.5mm bush into the kit you don’t have to cut it back as far as you would with a standard kit. In fact a power kit set up with strong elastic may end up being roughly the same length as a match kit rigged with 1.20mm elastic simply due to their different tapers. Power kits have a stiffer and stronger action so they do not bend as much as standard kits. This is a distinct advantage when catching large fish as the less the pole bends while playing a fish, the less your elastic will come into contact with the internal walls of your pole, thereby possibly causing it to stick.

Another advantage of these kits is when you’re fishing in shallow water you can break down to the top section and really give the fish some stick to get them netted quicker than with a normal top because of their strong build.

All major pole manufacturers sell power kits, which are not very expensive, it’s certainly a lot cheaper to set yourself up with two or three power kits than to buy a new carp pole, which in reality may become too heavy over a 5 hour match unless you buy one of the top priced models. In the unlikely event that you cannot buy a dedicated power top for your pole there are several universal power kits available on the market from companies such as Drennan and Milo. These can easily be cut back to fit any pole.

2) Short No. 4 sections
Many anglers worry about their power kits creating a point of stress in their pole were it meets the 4th section. To be fair this can happen to anglers who use match poles to catch a lot of carp. The repeated strain of bagging up on these fish can end up wearing out this joint. To solve the problem and help keep the pole stiff (even when using heavy elastics which can affect the balance of the pole), some manufacturers have introduced a short 4th section.

This is half the length of a normal section and creates a fast taper between the 5th and 3rd sections. It is this taper which stiffens and strengthens the pole. I think these short sections are a good idea as they give extra security when using you favourite pole for catching big fish, once again they are not particularly expensive.

2) 2nd section power kits
OK, so buying power kits and short No. 4’s may not be too everyone’s taste. You may not know where to get them or simply not be happy with the idea of using more powerful and slightly heavier top kits with your pole. What most anglers do not realise is that any pole can be made strong enough to tackle big fish by using just their match tops which are made up of three sections. Simply remove the top fine tip and thread the elastic straight through the remaining two sections. What this does is greatly stiffen the action of the pole and, providing you play big fish sensibly by keeping the pole low and using the elastic rather and the pole to play these fish, it’s possible to catch carp to around 5 kilos by this simple adjustment.

You’ll need to find some special No.2 section bushes, which I believe Preston makes. They made out of a slightly stretchier plastic, which fits easily over the end of your second section. The problem with this ‘quick fix’ is that you use up a top three kit each time, as obviously you will have to run your elastic through the 2nd and 3rd sections. However, it’s amazing when you think that just about any pole can be transformed into a big fish pole… simply by removing the top fine section!

Setting up kits with strong elastics
Cutting back for bushes
I set up three power kits for our test and to keep things as equal as possible I cut all three back by the same amount and used a Drennan large external carp bush on each. I could have cut the solid elastic kit back slightly less, but I preferred all the kits to be the same length for cupping accuracy. Being cut back that little bit more also makes the sections stiffer. You need to accept that you will loose some length on every kit when you use hollow elastic simply because they are thicker. However, as I have already explained, by using power kits you will loose less length over a match kit because of the taper.

The Drennan hollow bushes are superbly designed because the bulb at the end comes into play when you’re preparing to net a fish. The bulb maximises the compression on the elastic as it rolls over it. Remember, with hollow once you start to compress and flatten the elastic, you can almost stop it stretching anymore. By lifting the pole high in the air you create an acute angle on the elastic, which flattens over the bulb allowing you more control over a big fish

Stonfo’s
I prefer to use Stonfo’s rather than a crowsfoot connector, even when tackling big fish. I know many of you prefer the crowsfoot, but I find Stonfo’s reliable and easy to use and I can honestly say that I’ve rarely had any problems with them. One other point in favour of Stonfo’s is that Alan Scotthorne uses them as well for his big fish, so if it’s good enough for Alan!!! These are my own personal views, of course, there is nothing wrong with the crowsfoot connector, I happen to be a Stonfo man, that’s all.

However, when it comes to using a Stonfo with hollow elastic you do have to get the right connectors… let me explain. Hollow elastics, including Hydro, are much thicker than normal elastics, for example, the black Hydro has a diameter of 2.6 mm compared to the solid Vespe’s 1.8mm, with the Preston hollow slightly thicker than the Hydro.

Because of these increased thicknesses, they make a much bigger knot, so much so that it’s impossible to use a normal Stonfo. To solve this problem you MUST choose one of the special hollow elastic connectors. My preference is for the Drennan variety, which, are two part connectors and have these advantages:

• The connector section has a large hole in it so that you can easily thread a hollow elastic through it

• The single cap section has a hollow ball at the top of it to hold the elastic from your connector knot

• They are easy to use. To block the connector simply slide the cap down over the Stonfo. Being only two-piece there is less to go wrong with them

• They are made of soft plastic so they are cushioned slightly should they bounce against your pole bush

• They are very visible, so you can see easily how much elastic a fish has out, even when the elastic is under the surface!

Tensioning elastics
The tension you set on these big elastics is the single most important factor in getting the best out of them… let me explain. I set up my three different elasticated tops and tested them over the course of a couple of weeks. I visited several waters, which were packed with fish… plenty of small and mid-sized samples, but also where I also stood a decent chance of hooking a lump. The problem I faced was how to get the elastic to come out easily on the small fish yet handle the larger ones if they come along? This is something many UK anglers regularly face week in week out, on our mixed fisheries. For example, when you have loads of fish, both big and small, which all take pellet, how can you manage to cope with landing the big ones without bumping off the small ones? The answer is simply by setting the correct tension on your chosen elastic.

Most UK matchmen will use strong elastics capable of handling the bigger fish and to limit the number of small fish they bump off they set the elastic’s tension quite slack, so that it slowly crawls back into the pole tip. By doing this they minimise the number of small fish lost while still retaining power in the elastic to handle a big one. The principle is a sound one... use elastic strong enough to cope with the biggest fish you might encounter, but set the tension slack enough to give you a chance on all the smaller fish you might hook. This approach has its limitations, for example, it doesn’t work so well if there are snags in the swim which the fish can easily get to, so you need to apply the exact opposite and wind up the tension to keep the fish from the snag. This means that you will bump most, if not all small fish that come along… but at least you should get that lump!

Tension Bungs
I have already set out just how important tension is on elastic. To control your tension and make sure your elastics are always set correctly you will once again have to distinguish between hollow and solid elastics because of their thickness. My favourite tensioners for solid’s are made by Vespe, but they have a small winder on them and there was no way I could start wrapping the thick hollow elastics around them. For the hollow elastic you need a purpose made tension bung with a big winder, capable of holding very thick elastic. Preston market a model ideal for this purpose. It has a long winder but is heavier than the Vespe model as its made of a slightly harder plastic. It did initially rattle a bit in my power kit but this diminished after a couple of big fish had embedded it in. However, every time I adjusted the tension it would start to rattle again. I think the slightly more yielding plastic on the Vespe model helps the bung seat better in the pole, whereas the Preston model needs a bit more pressure to secure it in place. One final observation on tensioners. It is much easier to make fine tunings on the tension of solid elastic because the winder is shorter so each turn on the winder pulls back less elastic. One turn of elastic on a Preston bung is actually 11 cm of elastic! Like I said, this is an observation rather than a criticism. Hollow elastics are more supple anyway and probably require less in the way of actual fine-tuning than solid ones.

Conclusion
If you are going to get the most from large hollow elastics you MUST set up your kits with the appropriate connectors and tensioners for the elastics you are using. First, accept that you will have to cut your kits back a fair amount. Many anglers will do this normally to stiffen their poles but this is something you MUST do with big carp hollow elastics. I fit the Drennan bushes externally but top anglers like Alan Scotthorne actually cut their power kits back more and fit these bushes INTERNALLY. Secondly, bushes need a large bore and preferably a large surface area for the elastic to roll over. And finally, because you have to use the special large connectors and tensioners, instead of normal ones there is a slight weight gain, add to this the fact that hollow elastic is thicker and weighs more, there is no doubt that using hollow elastics inevitably mean heavier top kits. What you need to decide as an angler is whether the benefits of using hollow, in terms of their action, are worth the gain in weight to your top kits.

Coming Soon Part 2 shows how the elastics performed under pressure in the...