Most pole anglers use a roost to keep their spare top kits safe from breakages, but could you be using yours in the wrong manner?
This week I show you how switching the side you have it on could make a huge difference to how effective you are on the bank.
Related: Best Fishing Poles
I fish a wide range of commercials and natural waters and always see anglers overloading the left-hand side of their box.
A bait tray is an essential item on this side if, like most anglers, you’re right-handed, but there’s no need for anything else to be piled on this left-hand side.
With your roost to the left you have to swivel uncomfortably and maybe move items out of the way to pick up a top kit with your right hand.
Having it on the left could also lead to breakages. I have lost count of the number of anglers I have seen go to net a fish, only for it to come off at the very last second. Their landing net handle flies back in frustration and they end up with expensive top kits being smashed by the pressure.
As mentioned above, the left-hand side of most seatboxes is overloaded, but the right-hand side is the complete opposite.
There’s always a huge gap and for some reason anglers don’t put it to good use. This is the ideal place to put your top kit roost.
It will be much easier to reach the top kits, and there is absolutely no chance at all of smashing them with a stray landing net handle!
Set the roost so that it is a foot or two off the ground and doesn’t get in the way of you shipping back but at the same time is reachable without having to bend over too much.
All of this advice is for right-handed anglers – reverse the process if you are left-handed.