Bob Riggins
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Push poles are usually either fiberglass, graphite or a hybrid of both. There are some high end poles made of Kevlar, but they are big bucks. About every inshore boat around here has a push pole. They are usually 19 to 21 feet. Graphite seems to be the favored material due to weight and stiffness. The price of the poles ranges from about $300 up to about $1,000.
There are three companies I am familiar with. Pole Cat makes a decent pole in the $300 to $400 range. Stiffy it probably the best know maker. Their poles are in the $300 to $800 range, although they make a lighter 14′ pole for kayaks and canoes for under $200. Another company is Stinger that makes poles similar to Pole Cat, but I don’t really know much about them. There are a lot of small manufactures of push poles around Florida. They are relatively easy to manufacture, so there are a lot of off brands. Other brands I know nothing about are Northstar and G. Loomis.
If you are going to be in a Gheenoe type boat without a poleing platform, you could probably use a fiberglass kayak or canoe pole at about 12′ to 14′. If you are going to install a poleing platform, you will probably need a 16′ to 18′ pole.
http://www.stiffypushpoles.com/
http://www.polecatpushpoles.com/
Probably the best place to post the question would be on the Florida Sportsman forum:
I use $100 bills as leader straighteners, when one wears out then I just throw it in the river and pull out a crisp new one.
Gee, thanks Carter, I was wondering where all those $100 bills were coming from.
Is it just me or is there a bigger difference between a 5wt and a 6wt in any particular rod model than between any two other weights.
Since I am primarily saltwater, my answers will probably be a little different.
1. Most of my reels are gear driven synthetics. I really like Lamson reels with the conical drives, but I don’t know how that fits in.
2. Most of my reels are in the $100 to $400 range (retail), however, I have never actually paid over $300 for a reel.
3. I set my drags by feel. Even in saltwater, I keep the drags a light as possible to avoid backlashing. I always adjust drag by palming the reel. I’ve never lost a fish because of over tight drag.
4. My favorite reels are a Lamson Lightspeed for salt and a Lamson Radius for coldwater, so I guess the answer would be yes. Next to favorite reels are a Redington GD and a Redington Backwater, which tend to be a little more traditional.
5. I hate to get the first ding in a reel. So It’s nice to sometimes get it over with. As long as it doesn’t affect performance, dings are not important after that. I don’t think I would pay extra for a dingproof finish. I don’t particularly like black reels, but I do like the smoke finishes and machined aluminum finishes. Black shows the dings to much.
6. I see no advantage of cork drags over modern synthetics. I wouldn’t pay extra for a reel with a cork drag, although many saltwater fishermen swear by them.
I would agree with Carter, if you had experience in custom spacing guides on the blank, but I’ve built several rods and I still can’t tell exactly where the guides should go.
