Time for new bank sticks

I can't remember the last time I bought bank sticks - let alone decided the time was right for a total refurb of the bent collection I've soldiered on with for the last couple of winters because I was too tight to change them.

Mates always seem to have natty new bank sticks, with the 'in' names on them. One even has carbon fibre ones. I always liked the Dinsmores ones, with the screw points you could use to get a firm support for your rods.

I'm now ditching these in favour of the arrow-pointed variety. They might not be the trendiest name on the riverbank, but one thing I will say about Dinsmores is their bank sticks last.

The one problem I've had with them is when it comes to changing rests or alarms around when I'm fishing steep banks, need to sink the rod tops to beat floating weed, or need to fish 'em up high to keep the line off the water in flow.

I use rests that have metal threaded screws on them, because plastic ones have a habit of breaking, especially when it's taters in the Fens. But they always seem to stick after a while, which is where accessory two comes into play.

I keep a can of WD40 in the back of the car and sometimes spray the threads to make sure I can get heads off if I need to change them round. Before putting the alarms and heads on my new sticks, I gave them a good soaking in WD.

A tiny detail, maybe. But sometimes being able to change things quickly makes the difference.