I'm with you on that one mate. How Jules carts six Nash Power Sticks around with him 3/4 nights a week is beyond me!
Far too much faffing about!

Miguel - I was originally talking about having pods on soft banks. I have always used a pod where appropriate and for where the thing was designed for - platforms and hard banks. I suppose its all a matter of preference and style of fishing.

I just prefer to carry just a bit less gear if I can. I am always amazed between my fly fishing with just a rod and small net and a box of flies in a barbour pocket; against hauling a full rucksac, a carryall for food and clothes, a rod bag, a bedchair AND a bivvy. Are we carp anglers or the SAS in training?

Steve

Steve, I agree with you 100% about
having less gear to carry. If I could get
away with using bank sticks I would do
so. The waters I fish have no prepared
swims . There are high banks (too high
to fish from) and the only places to fish
are small rocky beaches situated between the high bank and the waters
edge. They are usually a long hike from
the road as well so bank sticks would be
a blessing to transport as compared to
a rod pod. But there is just no place to
put the sticks in the ground. So I use a
pod but not really by preference.
Miguel

At last I have discovered a topic on which I disagree with Paul Selman!
Although I own a rod pod and it is always in my van for those impossibly hard swims, I detest the damn things and always use separate bank sticks when I can. I find I am usually fishing one rod steeply angled left or right, or both, and one straight out, as I catch a lot of my carp from margin swims. I prefer to point my rods at the baits as far as possible, rather than having steep line angles at the rod top. As far as weight is concerned, three front rests with buzzers attached and three rear rests weighs no more than a pod with buzzer bars.

Loved Stephens comment about carp anglers being the SAS in training. The vast majhority of the carp anglers I know, and I do include myself in this assessment, look as though they have been enthusiastically building beer/curry bellies for years. Anything looking less like the SAS I cannot imagine!