I’ve always been a Garbolino pole fan having had several of them over the years. Garbolino were really the first tackle company to produce a carp power pole and as most of my fishing centres around carp puddles it made perfect sense at the time to use this brand. A brand I have never left in 20+ years of match fishing. 

Buying a pole is an expensive investment for your hobby and there are many poles on the market ranging from £500 to over £4,000. On the bank I see lots of ‘Tackle Tarts’ proudly having the latest top end pole set up on their rollers. But for me I don’t see the point. Don’t get me wrong these poles are fantastic bits of kit but if your prepared to spend around £1,000 on a carp power pole, this is all you need to compete at a high level. Yes the expensive poles are very light which is a huge advantage if your fishing long for silvers on rivers but when it comes to Carp Power poles I don’t see the point of the extra investment. A mid range pole package is all you need. 

For the last 5 years or so I’ve used a Garbolino 14.5 metre GMax Power C1. The graphics are now a little worn but this pole has landed hundreds if not thousands of hard fighting match carp and is still going strong. Most of these have been caught close in or in the margins, so why spend the money on 16 metres of expensive carbon. In fact I did buy a 16 metre extension but its only been out of the pole holdall a couple of times. I won’t ever consider buying a 16 metre pole for carp fishing now. All 16 metres poles are going to be heavy, even the top end ones in the wind. If I’m fishing shallow long at 14.5 metres it’s fine but having a short no.4 on really helps stiffen up the pole. 

But most carp fishing on commercials sees better bags of fish, fishing short especially later on a session or match. So I see no real benefit of fishing for carp long. You are much better spending your money on a good quality mid priced carp pole but with several top kits. Side puller kits have revolutionised pole fishing in recent years and you will surprised how light you can fish for carp these days. So these are essential. I’ve caught carp up 22lb with Garbolino poles and I’ve only ever broken one top kit while playing a carp in 20+ years fishing nearly every week, Garbolino poles are strong and that’s why I stick with Garbolino.