The best fishing catapults

The Guru Adjustable Catapult is a great all-round catapult that is perfect for most short to medium range fishing, whether that be a pole at 16m or a bomb up to 30m. The catapult has slots on the arm that allow you to tension the elastic how you want to, so you can adjust it to suit the type of angling you're doing.

The mesh pouch holds plenty of bait and helps group it nice and tight, helping to maintain your accuracy. There is an improved ridged grip on the handle which is especially useful when holding a pole. The elastic is durable, which helps in prolonging the life of the catapult and you can easily change it when it deteriorates.

Matrix have revolutionised the catapult with their latest Matrix Silk Catapult offering. It is a completely twist free design, that removes the headache of having to untangle the catapult every time you use it. The Slik elastic offers a much more durable product than a standard catapult elastic, meaning you will have to change it far less than you would have to normally and it also maintains its memory so it doesn't loose any elasticity.

The pouch is made from a soft and flexible rubber material, and it is perfect for feeding smaller particle baits like maggots and pellets. The medium version is great for pole work, while the large version is better for fishing out in the lake at range. The key thing with these catapults is how precise they are, the grouping of the bait is incredibly tight and the more accurate you are, the more you'll catch. These catapults also benefit from two elastic strengths, so you're sure to find one that is right for you - they are seriously good catapults!

A special cup on the Drennan Softened Groundbait Catapult gently cradles hard balls or soft fist-shaped ‘barrels’ of groundbait, which prevents them being crushed when loading the catapult to fire them in. Three different grades of elastic cover a range of distances from 20m to 50m, ensuring accurate feeding.

Drennan’s groundbait catapults have always been top notch, and this latest incarnation is the best yet. Not only great for groundbait, its super-sized pouch is also ideal for heaping in corn or pellets. If you need to put balls of groundbait out at range, you definitely want to check out the Softfeed from Drennan, as they are perfect for the task.

Designed for using with Preston's very popular pole elastic range, the Preston Innovations Dura Slip Catapult benefits from that very elastic in sizes 17 and 19 to ensure you get a fantastic performing product. The elastic is not hollow, so it tends to be more durable and powerful, maximising the distance and the time you'll get out of it before it has to be changed. The handy PTFE bush system makes changing the elastic really quick and easy when it does require changing.

The design all but eliminates twisting, so you'll never have the annoyance of untwisting your catapult again, the elastic having no twist in it also benefits how accurate it is. As the elastic is in its natural position, it will follow the line you set perfectly when tensioning it, allowing the trajectory of the bait to follow exactly where you want it to go. This makes for a very accurate catapult and you'll notice the difference in the grouping of your bait when using one.

With four different models in the Drennan Revolution Catapult range, there is sure to be a catapult that will suit any style of angling. The Revolution name comes from the clever anti-twist system Drennan have incorporated into these catapults. The super slick rotation bearing pegs attach the elastic to the frame and are free to spin, this means they don't allow the elastic to wrap around itself when in use, to minimise the amount of twist, something we have all experienced with catapults of old.

The lighter catapults have a special synthetic elastic that is very stretchy and allows accurate baiting up to around 16m, perfect for pole or short range float fishing. The stronger catapults in the range have a heavy duty latex elastic, this doesn't last as long but it allows a lot more power to be generated, and as such can fire bait much further out, ideal for feeding particles on a feeder line or out into the river when float fishing. The good thing is, even when fully retracted, it still maintains a great level of accuracy, which is important when using lighter baits like maggots, that have a tendency to spread.

If you're looking to put large particles like boilies or dog biscuits any distance, you need a strong catapult, you simply won't get the distance with a smaller framed, lighter version. The Korda Katapult is a great option, not only is the frame lightweight and durable, the elastic is strong and will enable you to get the bait out at range, with distances of 60-70m achieved with 16mm boilies.

The medium version in the range has a much larger pouch than the other two and this is to allow heavy baiting close in, whether you want to bait with lots of particles or if you are floater fishing and want to maintain a good amount of floaters going into the swim. All the catapults in the range feature a new and improved bearing system to attach the elastic to the frame, this helps alleviate the elastic twisting, so you can bait up much more efficiently.