Fishing Articles : Assured Strike Fishing Pole Holder

If you love to fish like I do, chances are you have found yourself fishing from the bank at one time or another. Chances are you have also probably sat back, relaxed, and used a forked stick to hold your favorite fishing rod. You rummaged through nearby woods and found just the right branch broke off all the little branches to form that perfect Y shape. You baited up, cast out, and then set your rod down in the fork stick waiting for your favorite fish to give you some excitement. Although many of us may have moved on to different methods, this method is always one I seem to do throughout the year at different times. I was also very interested to see if this pole holder would live up to its claim of helping an angler catch fish while tight lining in windy conditions. Windy conditions typically make this type of fishing difficult. I received the Assured Strike Pole holder and was intrigued by its claim to enhance this style of fishing with its unique design. I must admit, the packaging was quite difficult to open, and the operating instructions tore along with the packaging. I found no way of opening the packaging without tearing the instructions. The unit itself came shrink-wrapped in cardboard and this caused some difficulty in getting started. The Assured Strike Pole Holder was larger then I imagined it would be. It抯 not hard to carry, but it is a little awkward while trying to carry your other equipment so I was a little skeptical of the product. I set the rod holder up in my back yard first and tested it with both spinning rods and bait casting rods and was pleased with how well it worked for both. Being able to adjust the unit to fit different length rods was also a nice feature. My skepticism was beginning to wane. I first used the Assured Strike Pole Holder on a February trip to a local pond that has a warm water discharge and is loaded with catfish and carp. I chose this spot because it was wintertime and I knew the carp would still be feeding, but they would be light biters this time of year. This spot is also out in the open and is typically very windy. I thought this would be the perfect setting to test out the claims of the Assured Strike Pole Holder. The 揵obbers?that you attach your line to slide up the side shaft when a fish bites. This is a very nice feature for the bank fisherman who is trying to see bites on windy days while tight lining bait on the bottom. When the wind is blowing the bobbers don抰 move, but when a fish takes your bait the bobbers slide up giving you the visual indicator to set the hook. I caught several carp and channel cats using the setup. I believe I would have missed some of the bites if I were using just a plain old forked stick. The winds were blowing pretty steady at about 10 mph and some of those bites I would not have seen. I was very pleased with the Assured Strike Pole Holder. It lived up to its claim of allowing an angler to tight line even in windy conditions. It also provides you with a means to keep your reels out of the dirt, but also gives you a visual strike indicator while tight lining. Both of which are very valuable to the bank fisherman. The only con I found with the Assured Strike Pole Holder were the packaging and it being a little on the large size for easy carrying to your spot. Besides that minor con, I was very pleased and impressed with the Assured Strike Fishing Pole Holder. It enabled me to catch these carp and catfish on a very windy day in the winter. Give it a shot and I抣l bet it will do the same for you. Pros: Detects light bites in windy conditions. Holds both spinning and casting rods. Extends to handle different length fishing rods. Collapsible for easy transport in car. Keeps your reels clean and out of the dirt.

Cons: A little awkward to handle due to its large size when carrying along with other equipment.