No problems today, no Wrigley things and no waffle (not much). With a rockhard name like the Fightback, this thing really is solid. The 14.5m of carbon (and the other stuff they put in with it) caught my eye a couple of years ago when I was fortunate enough (in un-student like fashion) to receive a little bit of FREE money :)
Its now been updated a couple of times, but is still basically the same pole. They’ve just eliminated the problems I’m about to highlight. I can also tell you about the good point though, as they haven’t changed much from what I’ve seen.
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The Pole
A pole by the way, is made up of a number of sections. Each one is very light and generally averages between 1 and 1.5 metres in length. These sections can be joined together to form a longer length. The number of sections you add is totally up to you as it just depends on how far out you want to fish. You don’t use a reel with a pole and therefore, don’t every need to cast. You just fish with a length of line going down to a float and eventually a hook. This is then just lowered in to the water below the pole tip. This makes the pole a very accurate way of fishing.
A pole is set up with in internal elastic system. A length of elastic is passed through the top 2 or 3 sections and attached to the line at the tip. This makes a perfect shock absorber so you don’t keep losing fish and breaking lines.
Sorry, I know that was waffle, but I thought the review would be better understood if you actually knew what one was :)
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My Pole
Even though the RRP. For the Maver was around £800, I paid the bargain price of only £525. What do you get for that sort of money?? Well, its by no-means a top of the range price (some push in to the stupid money boundaries of £15,000 plus but they are rare), but the pole isn’t bad.
You can get it (well, the updated better versions anyway) in lengths of either 13 or 14.5 metres (at which lengths it weighs 860 and 1150 grams respectively). The but section is 1.5m long so it could be a bit too long for some anglers rod bags. That’s not really a problem though because, like most Mavers, it comes supplied in a little holdall of its own. I’ve found this just big enough for slipping in 2 normal size rod tubes to keep the whole thing protected. At 14.5m, it comes in 2 pieces. Every section up to the 13m one will pack away inside eachother, but the last section is more parallel so has to be stored separately. This is why the 2 rod tubes are needed. Also, the last section provides a useful storage space for the spare top kits they give you.
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Spares
The number of spares they give you is always (a term used loosely) the same. I got the pole with 3 extra power top 2’s (4 extra duplicates of the top 2 sections of the pole – they allow you to have different elastics or different rigs attached to them). You will be provided with either ‘Match Top 3’s’ (lighter action with less strength for finer elastics), or ‘Power Top 2’s’ (stronger ones which are actually the same length of the usual top 3). The combination is often left up to you, or you can just find somewhere that will sell it with the spares you want. Anyway, spares are readily available from most retailers anyway, so you can buy whatever you want
Maver actually make a selection of spares for the pole. Even an Economy Top 3, which is less than half the price of the ‘real’ ones. There’s nothing wrong with them at all. Designed especially for the Fightback, they fit perfectly, its just that the materials used to make them are slightly cheaper and it is overall heavier.
If you’re up for buying the real thing, Match Top 3’s will cost you £75, while the Power Tops are a mere £60.
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The Fishing
Fishing with it: The Fightback feels pretty light t full length. It is fishable, but does sag a little. Not so easy if there’s anything more than a breeze blowing. At 13m though I have often used it for a full day without any aching arms. Its still pretty stiff at that length, and it really is just as you’d expect for the money; not brilliant but ‘good enough’.
I’ve had mine rigged up with anything from a 3 elastic right up to a 14. The 14 is the maximum they recommend which I think is about right. With the pole being so light, I do get a bit worried sometimes that its just going to crack. Maver poles are definitely some of the lightest, but they seem a little brittle sometimes too. I’ve never broken one whilst playing a fish though.
The sections have quite a wide diameter compared to some poles. If you’ve got short fingers, you’ll probably find it difficult feeding via a catapult when using it at anywhere more than 11.5 metres.
It’s an easy pole to ship (push out and bring in) as the sections are quite grippy and the put-over joints are smooth..
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Problems
The joints are my main concern on my ‘old’ Fightback. They wore down quite quickly so I covered them with some of that plasticy stuff that you shrink on to the section joints to stop the wearing. It seems to have done the job. That’s the only problem actually. It would have been far easier if I just hadn’t had any problems from the start though :)
This isn’t really a problem but…..despite me normally buying things just because they look nice, the Fightback is probably the least nice looking of all Maver poles. It does however, suit my need s perfectly, so I can put up with its look. Its just got a simple kind of blue and gold thing which as I say, I don’t particularly like.
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Problems Solved
How they’ve solved the probs: I think they’ve actually updated it twice now. The first time, they improved the joint problem (so I obviously wasn’t the only one). They heavily reinforced some of the joints with a multi-compound resin. This stopped the wearing (or slowed it anyway). They also increased the strength (so it’s now even stronger and takes a 16 elastic)!! They managed to keep the weight down too.
The second time they improved it (which brings it to where it is today), they’ve improved the joints even further, added nose cones to the ‘more used’ sections (for easier shipping).
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Overall, if you’re going to be catching lots of carp, then this is a nice pole to buy. With the improvements that have now been made, I actually recommend it quite strongly. It’s not too expensive (ha!) so if you break it, it won’t be like you’ve just bust up your ‘other one’ that cost more than the car.
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