Sensas Pole Net review

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When I first saw these tiny net cups, I was not sure if they were landing nets for sticklebacks or actually pole cups! They looked a bit gimmicky and strange. However, my opinion of these tiny nets has changed since I started using them as pole cups. They are definitely not gimmicky, in fact they are absolutely BRILLIANT! The nets come in two sizes (small and large) and fit a standard Garbolino or Sensas pole cup thread. These are the ones where the male screw is on the end of your cupping kit section and the female screw-in part, is on the cups' ring.

Using a net cup has three distinct advantages over a solid plastic variety. The first obvious one is weight. The net cup is light and feels much quicker through the air as you are shipping the cup backwards and forwards during feeding. The second is that there is no chance of water or wind catching the net. I have fished with these net cups in near storm conditions and it is noticeable just how little drag you feel when shipping in and out. The third, and perhaps best advantage, is that bait does not bounce out like it does on a standard plastic cup. This is especially highlighted when shipping out small top-up balls, they just sit in the net and don't move at all!

I was worried at first that the net cup wouldn't be very good at trickling loosefeed, like casters and pellets, in an arc across a swim, but it actually does this quite well. Another thing I like about the net cup, is how easy it is to spread loosefeed by flicking the cup upwards and letting the bait spread and land with a bit of a splash. This is a particularly good tactic when roach fishing and you want the bait spread out a bit quickly. A plastic cup is much too heavy to do this effectively. Some anglers might worry that others will see through the net and find out what they’re feeding, which obviously they can’t do if it's a plastic cup. OK, so perhaps any deeply-paranoid anglers should avoid net cups, but for the rest of us, the advantages in speed and weight no doubt far outweigh any concerns about giving bait secrets away!

My main concern about the nets was that the mesh may be liable to rot over a period of time, or even worse, the mice will get at them if you leave them lying around in net bags over the winter. The other area which may cause a problem is when fishing tight to far bank bushes. Being mesh netting, there is a chance that the net cup may get caught up in a bramble, or bush.

Apart from these minor concerns, it is a well thought out and genuinely useful piece of kit, which I would recommend you to buy and try out. Once you get over the jokes about the size of your landing net and actually start using it, I'm sure you will see and appreciate all the advantages. Finally, you may only want to use the larger model, as it is all you may need to cover every situation although I see no advantage in using the smaller net, even when cupping out small balls of feed.

Dave Ewing

Editors comment: I also used the net cups and found them a bit strange at first, as I was use to the more bulky pot variety However, they certainly proved effective when shipping out balls of groundbait, whether large or small. My initial problem was one of attachment. Unlike Dave Ewing's pole, my is neither Garbolino or Sensas, which meant that my pole cups screw connector was the opposite way round... female to male as opposed to the Sensas male to female.


The problem was easily solved by locating a spare top section for my cupping kit and simply gluing on the male attachment, which Sensas thoughtfully supply with every net cup. My only disagreement with Daves review, is that while he may prefer using the larger net, I believe that the smaller net cup is likely to find greater favour with those anglers who need to limit their feeding strategies to just small amounts of loosefed squat or pinkie on hard venues, or during severe weather conditions. These pole nets really do tick all the boxes and should be available from all good Sensas outlets, assuming they haven't run out of them already!!!