Shakespeare Wonderpole  -  Fishing Product Review

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F R Fritz Nordengren

I received some good advice when I began to fish again as an adult. "Don't buy any rod and reel that comes shrink wrapped to card board -- it's just trouble."

And I think that's great advice.

But recently, I was in my local Wal Mart and saw a shrink wrapped telescoping "Wonderpole" Crappie and Bream kit from Shakespeare.  I've taken mine out for several trips and each time, some other fisherman says to me, "Gee, I was thinking about getting one of those." So I thought I would share my experience with you.

I have four favorite Crappie "holes" that I've had good luck on. Two are near beaver lodges, one is a shallow cove, and the other is a rip raped bank that has a quick drop off to about 15 feet. I've had great luck catching Crappie with the Wonderpole with all of them.

The kit includes a 10 foot (I think they also sell a 13 foot, but I didn't see one) Wonderpole, about 10 fuzzy hair jigs, a small package of crappie hooks, a few soft plastic grubs, and a few round head jigs. The kit also includes a stringer, 4 bobbers, line, and a small double sided pocket size tackle box.

About the only thing they left out was a small pair of fingernail clippers or a small knife to cut line.

The rod is a telescoping style in 4 sections down that collapses to a length of 28". The rod is rigged through a single guide on the fluorescent colored tip. Some other rods I've seen run the line through the center of the pole and out the tip for better sensitivity. That may be an improvement -- sensitivity seems fair to me on this rod. And having the line rigged out side lets you control the line in a sort-of fly fishing manner.

The line keepers are spaced so that you can easily count off line in 1 foot lengths. Most recommendations says it's easiest to manage a straight pole like this with a length of line equal to the pole. In this case, with about 10 foot of line stripped off.

I'm still experimenting with the right line to use. It comes with a reel of 8 pound mono filament, which I found to be a little stiff. Something smoother like Trilene Xl is much better. I also tried it with some 6 pound Fireline -- it is much smoother, but way too fine a diameter to really work well with.

It seems like a great rod to keep in the boat in case you run across Crappie or Bluegill that you don't want to spook.  The long reach would let you vertical jig trees or into pockets in weed beds.

Those of you who grew up with bamboo poles -- more common in the south than the north, know the fun and relaxation a simple pole like this can bring.  I let my 4 year old twins use it -- and if the bite is fast enough, it keeps their attention.

The whole kits costs right at $10.00. Cheaper than a night at the movies....and with luck, will last most of the summer and next, too!

F R Fritz Nordengren
Producer and Co-Founder
New Media for Non Profits
nordengren@nmnp.org
http://www.nmnp.org

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