On Test: Middy 12.5m Battle Zone V2 - 05/03/2010

With deadlines looming and a grim long-term forecast we had no choice but to don our thermals, pack the icebreakers and set off to Tunnel Barn Farm. While most venues’ inhabitants had shut up shop, I knew that we would catch a few whatever the weather threw at us, and so it proved.

The ice made it impossible to fish very far out and that gave us the perfect excuse to test poles at the cheaper end of the spectrum. I was to use the Middy Battle Zone V2 and I was keen to see how it performed in such adverse conditions.

The V2 is the successor to the original Battle Zone, which has easily been one of Middy’s best sellers. It comes as an 11m pole with a free 12.5m extension and, along with a top-three kit inside the pole, it is also supplied with two power top twos. There aren’t many poles that carry a No24-elastic rating but this one does and that paints a clear picture that it will handle zoo creatures without letting you down! One look at the wall strength on every section is enough to substantiate that boast and because I wasn’t expecting to hook anything monstrous during our session, I was more interested in the pole’s all-round manageability.

Tom and I sat on adjacent pegs on House Pool and I knew that a mixture of bronze and red maggots was all we’d need to tempt a few bites. After an hour’s graft I managed to break a decent channel through the ice for both of our pegs (Tom’s ice breaker was as much use as a conker on a demolition site!), which would allow me to test the pole up to 11 metres. This was perfect because although the 12.5m section is a useful extra, this pole is far more at home at 11 metres and less.

After trimming one of the power kits to fit a generous 3mm bush I was left with a 2.3m top two to thread my doubled-up No5 elastic through. A 4x14 float on 0.12mm line to a 0.10mm hooklength and size 20 Drennan Silverfish Pellet hook was all I needed to present bronze maggots a couple of inches overdepth. Feeding 10 maggots at the start I then dripped in four or five every cast afterwards. My plan was to feed slightly short of the ice edge and then present my hook bait just past this area.

It took half an hour before I hooked a stockie, followed by a procession of chunky roach to 6oz. These were not what I was after, though, so I stepped the feed up to 10 to 20 maggots, which seemed to do the trick because several quality F1s to almost 2lb followed. It was great fun holding on as these feisty F1s tried to escape under the ice and after three hours (and several breaks to have a hot cuppa!) we had both caught a respectable bag of fish. Needless to say I won our £1 side bet (again) and I’m starting to question whether or not Tom faces the right way when he’s fishing!

Although naturally much heavier than I’m used to, the pole was not unwieldy. I found that a correctly positioned pole roller is a must, however, because the base sections are quite heavy when you ship back. The finish was quite good and although shorter than I am used to the top kits are sturdy and not overly bendy. The No24-elastic rating doesn’t need questioning and this pole could easily double up as a ‘margin pole’.

Finally, a nice touch is the free set of cups plus two full elastication sets, including elastic, bungs, bushes and connectors. I’m sure that if you bought this pole from a decent tackle shop they might even elasticate it for you. If you shop around you should be able to pick one up for a lot less than the £325 full RRP. With all of this in mind, the Battle Zone is a solid, usable pole that will cope with even the biggest of fish.

• Jon Arthur

TECH SPEC

Middy Battle Zone V2

• Stated length: 12.5m
• Actual length: 12.45m
• Closed length: 1.6m
• Power top-two kit length: 2.71m
• Power top-two kit length (fitted with 3mm bush): 2.3m
• Power kit elastic rating: No24
• Standard kit elastic rating: No16
• Package: 12.5m pole, two power top two kits, Click Cups, Slide Cups, two elastication kits, cloth bag
• RRP: £325
• SSP: N/A
• Spares: Power top two £35