Matt Godfrey’s verdict on the new power pole from Sensas!
I use a Sensas pole for all my fishing and after two years of abuse it’s still going strong! When an offercame along to test the new Sensas Carp X Power 445, I couldn’t turn it down. This package is specifically designed for the UK commercial angler and I was keen to see if it met the three essential ‘S’ factors… strength, stiffness and spares!
One thing that has always impressed me with Sensas’ pole packages is their value for money. The 445 passed the spares test straightaway, coming with a generous three power top-two kits, a match top-three kit and a cupping kit, not discounting the holdall and set of water stoppers also included!
I wanted to take the pole somewhere that I could catch a few big fish but also get plenty of bites to put it through its paces. The weather was against me for catching big carp, so I decided to go to the small lake at Mill Barn Pools in Barby, Northamptonshire. This pond is full of small carp to the 2lb mark but holds a healthy smattering of bigger old specimens too.
On assembling the pole, I was immediately impressed with several of its features. The 13m section has a reinforced area covering the bottom few feet. This creates extra strength in an area that receives a lot of ill treatment from elbows. Also along the 13m and 14m sections are small numbered markers at 12in intervals to be used as distance gauges. When plumbing up on many commercials, you often find a shallow bar or drop-off halfway along a section. Rather than marking the pole with Tipp-Ex, you can simply remember the number on the section and hold the pole here thanks to the markers.
I decided to keep my approach very simple for the test, feeding a maggot line in open water and a pellet line towards the bank to my right. Not knowing what to expect, I set up two top kits with soft hollow elastics. At 13 metres the pole was exceptionally stiff, even with a Kinder pot on! The first bites from small carp were tiny dinks but with a gentle lift the fast reaction of the pole made connecting with them easy. I spent the first hour enjoying the small-fish action before having a look for some larger samples at 14 metres towards the bank.
It soon became apparent that there were a lot more small carp in the lake than I initially thought. Even after increasing the feed and trying a 6mm pellet, the crucians and goldfish still managed to get in on the action. With the 14m extension added, a small amount of rigidity was lost in the 445, but the pole remained more than comfortable to fish with and had excellent balance.
Towards the end of the session I started to connect with some feisty commons and mirrors up to the 3lb mark. These certainly led me a merry dance but not once did I feel out of control and they were a pleasure to catch on the pole.
All in all, I feel that the Carp X Power 445 is perfect for the UK’s commercial match angler. Its 14m length is more than enough for many fisheries but, unlike some mid-range poles, it performs excellently at full length. I dare say that with an extra extension it would still be manageable!
Tech Spec
Sensas Carp X Power 445
RRP: £749 (13m pole available separate at £500)
Package: 14m pole containing one match top-three kit, three power top-two kits, cupping kit with cups, pole holdall, water stopper set
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