Cane Poles

[Dan Thiem]

How many guys remember using the old bamboo cane pole?

That's all we used when we were kids. A big long bamboo pole with about 12 feet of braided line with a hook, a split, a bobber, and a crappie minnow. The bobber went under and all we had to do was lift up, raise the rod tip and the fish would eventually be landed.Then when we were done fishing we would just spiral wrap the line up around the pole and put it away.

Last year I resurected an old one and gave it a try. It was nice I could manuver the bait right down through the bull rushes.

I saw a pole deisigned for that type of fishing. It had the reel coming out of the end of the rod. That thing was probably 14 feet long. When a fish was caught the pole would have so much play and flex in it that it seemed to work great.

[Ole1855]

Dan,

I have a telescoping fiberglass one that goes from 4'-13', that's my favorite way to fish bluegills.

Ole

[deeky]

I've tried one of the newer telescoping "cane" poles with the line attached at the but end and through the eyelet at the other. I think it is a good idea, but here's my problem - When a fish was hooked, it pulled the rod over in a nice curve, but even with a few wraps around the pole, it significantly shortened the amount of line between the butt end and the tip, allowing more out between the tip and the fish, making it hard to pull the fish close enough to land because there's no way to reel in the extra line. How do you avoid this? I think it could be useful for reaching out, but then you need to get it back. Please help me.

[Riverratpete]

I'll tell ya, thats one thing you don't see anymore at bait shops up north either, they always used to have them leaning against a wall or something, I wouldn't mind giving that a go again, my grandmother and grandfather used to be pros at the old cane pole fishing, heck thats how most of us learned how to fish.

[Stratosman]

The wife's parents have a place in Brainerd and once or twice a year I take them to a panfish honeyhole I have up there and we just use canepoles, let me tell you, it's fun to watch their faces as they tangle with a 3/4lb bluegill on a 12' cane pole. We use the Bn'M crappie dusters, 12' telescopic makes them easy to transport and talk about a blast. Gets back to the roots, it's nice to simplify things once in a while.

[The Grebe]

Hi Dan...just got back from a local lake...after eating and watching American Idol, I figured I'd check Fm for about the 5th time today!

My new high speed service allows me to go through everything real quick, so I can check it more often.

My dad used to use a cane pole and that is how I started. I caught my first Walleye out of Big Lake on a cane pole.

Like everyone else, I graduated to the spinning rod and reel, first the push button, then the open face and I have stuck with the open face ever since.

Last summer, I wanted to dink around with a cane pole, the way we used to in the rivers....lower the bait straight down, lift it straight up, could fish right in the rocks and hardly ever get snagged up.

I set up about a 12 footer with eyes and fastened a small open face spinning reel to the set up. I took it to the river and wound up catching one nice smallie and one true monster smallie. I got a couple of little fiddler Walleyes, a few Rockbass and about a 5 pound pike.

It was fun for a short time....takes you back, if only for afew moments. It is out in the shed, I'll keep it around and when I get an urge, I'll put the little reel on it and try her again.

[CrazyCrawler]

I use cane poles a lot, especially when fishing for spawning crappies and sunnies. Have 3 telescopic ones, 13, 15 & 18' long but all come down to 1 1/2'. No reel, simply tie the line to the tip. Caught a 5lb. LM while fishing sunnies in 3' of water. Took me over 15 minutes to land it.(No net and was using 4lb test.) What a thrill.

Also use it when fishing smaller creek in SE Mn for trout.

[sakazulu]

Wow! I learned fishing on a bamboo cane pole just as you described. Let's see........50lb black braided, the biggest bobber Grandpa had, resetting the split shot so the minnow would move the bobber around and just enough line to run towards shore on the dock so somebody could net it and throw it into the live box halfway down the dock (does anybody remember that livebox that you would open the top and just stare at the northerns swimming around?). I have been told that guys use these "new" cane poles out in front of a trolling boat to catch northerns as they spook forward and then to the side.

[Fisher Dave]

My dad tried to get me to use a cane pole when I was young at the Minneapolis lakes.. I couldnt get used to it because I had already been fishing with conventional rods/reels before using it...

My dad got a bit worried when I kept *setting the hook* and nearly took out a few joggers with the sunnies attatched to the other end... needless to say, the cane pole was short lived...

I do have some very long rods for crappie fishing(up to 15') which often get used the same way as a cane pole.. they are deadly for spawning crappies in the reeds. It is easy just to set the bait down in some places impossible to fish in a conventional rod.

[Ole1855]

Have any of you trolled for Northern using a cane pole and a spoon? Years ago on Swan Lake by Pengilly, I watched a boat troll by using cane poles, they only had about 20-30 ft. of line out and a big spoon on the end. If they got a fish that was too big to wrestle into the boat right away, they'd throw the pole into the water and follow it around. I also had a cousin that would use a cane pole with a big sucker under a bobber to fish for Northerns, he also had a "tetherball" (SP) attached to the end of the pole and he did the same thing, if the fish was too big to land he'd throw the pole overboard and follow it around.

Ole

[Stratosman]

No but I have heard of that same thing from my grandpa, that would be interseting to say the least.

[fish-n-geek]

Neat idea Ole, unfortunately it would be illegal in Sconni these days. I'm not sure what the MN regs have to say, but in Wisconsin it would be considered "jug" fishing I believe. The definition is pretty vague, though, so this might be one of those it-depends-on-the-warden calls.

At any rate, I'm sure its a moot point, since these are just memories, and not anyone planning to do it currently.

And while I'm rambling, most of you are in MN anyway :-D

-r-

[The Grebe]

The cane pole for pike, still fishing, or trolling, has been around for quite awhile. This was gone over pretty good in posts from last season. It had to be one of the very first ways of fishing for them.

I know I used to watch oldtimers on Mille Lacs haul in some big pike on the cane poles and I'm sure that was all of 35 years ago and even at that time, I would see them come trolling by using the same method.