The dates and venue have been confirmed for China's leading fishing tackle trade show, the 2013 Guangzhou International Fishing Fair:

Date: May 10^th - 12^th ,2013

Venue: China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex

With the support of some famous tackle brands, including Shimano, Rapala, PrecisionPak, Surmount, Seven Islands, GT-BIO, Casini, Lure Unlimited, American Eagle Claw and 3-Sworo Fishing Tackle, Fish Guangzhou has now been successful for 3 years, attracting more than 400 brands and thousands of professional visitors. Visitor feedback has been great and attendance is forecast to be strong in 2013.

Fish Guangzhou 2013 expects an exhibition area of 15,000 square meters, with 500 booths, 300 exhibitors and 8000 trade visitors. During the fair, you will see fishing tackle and other related exhibits such as boats and outdoor sports clothing, plus much more.

For more information visit www.guangzhoufish.com

Until recently I hadn't really acknowledge that IMA manufactured soft-plastic lures and even once I did my immediate thoughts were that they were just filling a gap in their range and trying to maximise profits off the back of a strong reputation in hard-body lures.

I was wrong.

Luckily Top Water Lures (the UK distributor) recognised the potential and brought in some of the range. I opted for a couple of small LRF lures; the IMA Trilobite and the IMA Shirasu Snake. Very different lures but both in the 2 to 3-inch category that I prefer for ultralight fishing.

I first got to trial the IMA Trilobite, size Medium. Target species was wrasse. Even before opening the packet I could tell the lures were quality. I could see that they'd been molded very well and the level of detail in such a small lure was as good as I've seen. The lures are oily in nature, giving the impression that they are almost liquid - they are certainly supple. Although I haven't had any problems, I would imagine these are the kind of lures that could melt if left in direct sunlight or mixed with other lures. Keep them tucked away in their pretty packaging and they'll be just fine.

The Trilobite is unscented, apart from the natural smell of the material used to manufacture them. It's not attractive to me, but it didn't seem to put the fish off. The colour I opted for was 'Pro Blue'. Not really blue at all. A transparent brown colour with an oily tinge that can hint at blue in some light conditions. I opted for it as it reminded me of some successful Ecogear lures I have been using. Interestingly, on receipt of the lures I noticed an Ecogear logo on the back of the packet, which I must assume means there was collaboration between the two companies, for this lure. Anyway, the Ecogear logo always stands for quality and certainly boosts my confidence.

The IMA Trilobite is best described as a grub with a fine tail. They're ribbed (for her pleasure) down the entire length. Sometimes this ribbing is to trap air on the descent, giving off a trail of bubbles, or other times it's used to give a small lure a larger profile (bigger, more rewarding prey item) without losing the lure's flexibility by building too thick. The ultra fine tail appears to have a life of its own, even in the packet - another good sign.

You could fish these a number of ways. This kind of lure would suit Texas or Carolina with a (small) weedless hook, or on a jighead. I like the idea of the latter, especially with the kind of jighead that elevates the lure at an angle, once sat on the sea bed. This would leave that fine tail to work its magic and entice in the fish - perhaps looking like a fleeing worm. On the test day I actually opted for dropshot which as you can see worked perfectly. I had plenty of bites and no missing tails so I'm hopeful these aren't as fragile as they look. It was by no means an extended test but I saw enough to give me confidence and to have them as permanent fixtures in my lure bag.

In summary, the IMA Trilobite is a great quality lure that is sure to become an LRF favourite.

Next up is the unique looking IMA Shirasu Snake, a 3-inch lure with a tiny profile. Firstly a confession. Despite these being called 'Shirasu', which means minnow or whitebait in Japanese I wrongly identified these as worm imitations and consequently picked them in red - a favourite of mine for worm baits. Ever since I put one on a hook, dropped it in the water and flicked it about revealing the amazing action, I wish I'd chosen a fish-like colour. They're so fine and delicate that they effectively swim around on the spot when fished vertically. Fished on a dropshot rig and twitched on a slack line the lure darts, trembles and wiggles its tail enticingly.

It's not that these red versions don't catch fish. In fact I caught plenty of Pouting and a Black Bream on them in testing. I've just got a feeling they'd be extra special in silver or pearl.

Anyway, to give you more information on the design; similarly to the previous explanation of ribbing in lure design, the Shirasu Snake achieves the same prey size versus flexibility solution in an extreme way. The head section remains thickened for perhaps 2cm, enough to get a small hook securely fastened, before tapering down to a tiny tail diameter of maybe 1 to 2mm in thickness. The illusion of a thicker profile is created by sculpting blocks of 'body' along the length giving this lure an extreme action from a lure that most fish will consider worthy of seizing.

However, the superb action of the ultra fine tail does come at a price. In testing, even tiny Pouting were able to break off tail sections making the remaining lure worthless. It's not a fault of the design but it's best for you to consider these lures as expendable. They definitely catch fish and I'm sure a few people reading this would love to catch a Black Bream on a lure - so in that respect they certainly proved their worth.

Both of these lures, plus a range of others from IMA are available online at BassLures.co.uk

Just to clarify, we're not talking about 'Fishing Holidays' here, with intense angling itineraries and perhaps lavish tackle purchases for taking-on the highly targeted game fish of your choice - we're talking average family holidays abroad.

I'm sure we share the same dilemmas every holiday. You're an avid fisherman. You love fishing. You love fish. And consequently you always try to book a holiday near the coast in the hope you'll find time to flex the travel rod in between your husband/parenthood duties. And hereby lies the problem. You can't plan your angling. If you're going to pull off the tricky feat of balancing family time and fishing time you're going to have to remain flexible - ready for any opportunities that present themselves during your vacation.

While it's relatively easy to have a travel rod and reel handy in a bag along with some simple terminal tackle, there's one issue I've never been able to overcome - the problem of bait.

I'm guessing that my own international bait gathering exploits aren't all that uncommon. It started with raiding the free continental breakfast. A couple of bread rolls. A slice or two of ham. Some bacon rind (if you have the luxury of a posh breakfast!) Fine, but I'm guessing you experienced the same, mainly poor results as I did by the time you got to use your stale stash of 'bait'.

Then you probably progressed on to the bakery. You must have seen the mullet in the local harbour and bread feels like a good bet. You've seen locals using it too. Well, I admit as soon as I went to the effort to pack a collapsible cloth bucket, 'to do groundbait properly' I did start to catch a few small mullet. But all the while I was thinking of what else lurked in the depths. I can catch mullet at home!

Maybe in the same break, if you started getting desperate, or consequent trips when you'd had time to think about the key to success, you ended up at the supermarket fish counter. A couple of squid. A bag of prawns. Suddenly feels much closer to what you're used to and success seems much more achievable now. But you have to bide your time until you can fish with it. All the while that smelly bait, so perfect to attract some decent/interesting fish, is having the opposite effect on those sharing your holiday with you. I've lost count of the bait-smell related 'discussions' I've had with the missus on holiday. It's not going to ruin the holiday but it becomes all too stressful - you're on holiday!

And so to my revelation - Light Rock Fishing or LRF.

LRF is an ultralight style of lure fishing. Line can be as light as around 2lb (with 5lb much safer to start with), rods rated up to 7 or 10 grams only, sometimes tiny hooks between sizes 12 and 2 and one to three-inch lures to match. At this scale every critter found around the jetties, harbours and rock outcrops puts up a good scrap. I've found a personal-species-hunt to be most enjoyable. A fun way to kill a couple of hours here and there.

While the thought of learning to lure fish might put you off, LRF is more akin to the kind of bait fishing you may have done as a kid - fishing small ragworm baits up and down harbour walls, perhaps. A tiny amount of movement in the lure is often enough to get instant results, especially in the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean. If you still feel that this would be too far removed from your normal bait fishing then check out the amazing innovations from Japanese lure/bait companies, Ecogear & Marukyu.

I give you, the amazing Power Isome from Marukyu and the wonderful range of 'edible' lures by the name of Ecogear Aqua. Both are available in the UK through specialist mail order companies. Both are truly edible (don't try this at home). The scientists at Marukyu and Ecogear have formulated a flexible material made from edible substances and formed highly recognisable and detailed lures. These lures are packed full of things that fish like to eat, like Amino Acids. When you tempt a fish to bite your lure, it doesn't want to let go. The jury is still out as to whether these new style artificials are closer to bait than lures, but what matters is that the combination of edible material and well proven lure shapes can prove deadly. Add subtle movement to your new-style 'baits' and if there's fish there, they'll make their presence felt.

I've just come back from a week on the isle of Paxos, in Greece. It's much the same as many Mediterranean holiday destinations - hardly an angling Mecca - but with a couple of packs of Power Isome (small ragworm imitations), a couple of packs of the Ecogear Aqua Straight worms (tiny worm imitations) and a handful of more traditional looking paddletail lures I had a lot of fun, notching up a total of twelve species including, Grouper, Sea Perch, Scorpion Fish (some are poisonous abroad, so be careful!) and weird and wonderful wrasse.

Power Isome has one more trick up its sleeve. The smell. In an effort to get more people (boys and girls) into fishing in Japan, Marukyu have made Power Isome smell of... well, berries! So while those 4 day old squid are putting a strain on your love life, these neat little ragworms from Marukyu won't be. Ingenious!

LRF is a growing angling discipline in the UK. There's lots more info to be found online if you're interested and dedicated tackle for those wishing to commit. To be fair, it would be entirely possible to fashion some kit to do the job admirably. If you're a coarse angler, you're well on your way already. But in my experience, two elements are worthy of dedicated attention - line (worth investing in 3 to 5lb fluorocarbon) and the lures (one pack of Power Isome will get you catching).

You should be able to find light fluorocarbon line readily available from tackle shops serving freshwater anglers. Both Power Isome by Marukyu and the Ecogear Aqua Straight worms that I used in Greece are available mail order from BassLures.co.uk (a trusted seller)

If you need any more help and advice, please leave me a question in the comments section and I'll do my best to help. Good luck and bon voyage!

If like me, you haven't already set yourself up for the coming season, now's the time to make sure all your favourite lures are ready to go, the moment the fish are in. For hard bodied lures (plugs) that usually means checking all the hardware for signs of corrosion, bluntness or weakness. While I normally replace any iffy trebles with the excellent Daiichi Bleeding Bait treble hooks, at the end of last summer I started to play around with single hooks on some of my lures. After reading conflicting views on various fishing forums and blogs, I wanted to make my own opinion.

At this point in time, I can't conclusively say they increase hook-ups and catch rates, however I didn't feel disadvantaged in any way. I can't remember a single fish being foul hooked using single hooks and as I'm not a commercial fisherman, that doesn't bother me - in fact I'm pleased - I'm always a bit disappointed when an amazing run turns out to be a foul-hooked fish.

It's not my place to bleat on about fish welfare to you either - you'll have your own view I'm sure. In my case, seeing that I've injured a fish I plan to return is a negative experience. You know the situation - you hook a bass in the mouth with the belly hook and the tail hook swings around in the fight, leading to injury. If luck's on the fishes side but not yours, it's equally possible that on landing the fish that spare treble will find its way into you - it happens!

I'm not a hippy (not that there is anything wrong with that). But in this day and age I find myself almost ashamed to say, I like to fish a barbed hook. I understand the reasoning behind removing barbs and as I've already said I am genuinely downhearted if I inadvertently injure a fish - but having a barb, a small barb, gives me confidence - and having confidence catches me more fish. In some ways, fishing single hooks (with barbs) on my plugs is about making a healthy balance between catch-rate and conscience. So far, results are good on both counts.

Okay, confession over. This is supposed to be a tackle site after all - on to the hooks in question.

I am using the excellent Decoy Pluggin Single hooks in size 1. I don't use excessively large lures these days. I have found these work admirably as replacements for trebles sized around 4 and 6. These hooks feature a big gape which I like. It feels to me that on the belly positioned hook, the wide gape positions the hook point away from the lure body, when the lure is moving forward. When suspending, the vertical hanging hooks will reach a similar position to a standard treble. With the belly hook point facing forward and the tail facing backward, I don't feel disadvantaged at all.

Another key feature is the over-sized eye formed at a right-angle compared to a traditional eye on a fishing hook. The oversize hoop allows for fitting to the essential split-ring. The peculiar position of the eye is necessary to align the hook correctly once attached to the split-ring. Even if you could fit a standard hook over a split-ring, you would need to add an additional ring to correct the alignment.

The big question about replacing original hardware with hooks like these Decoy Pluggin Singles is over lure balance and action. I spent a lot of time reading and researching the matter when I first got into plugging in Australia and in summary, I don't think many people want to make it a science - leave that to the lure manufacturers and get on with your fishing. Treat every lure case-by-case. Test each lure. It will help if it is a lure you've used extensively before. If the lure still feels right then it will most probably still catch - it may even work better. If a lure feels wrong, don't risk killing the action of a favourite lure. If you've come around to how deadly a suspending lure is, then test this too - you may have affected the overall buoyancy - positively or negatively. Don't use the bath if you normally fish in saltwater!

If you do want to get all technical over balance, you can buy adhesive, weighted strips or pads to  re-balance your lures.

In summary, my results aren't yet conclusive. In terms of catch-rate I haven't identified any tangible increases, however I don't feel disadvantaged and am willing to start this season with them among my 'regulars'. After all, more and more of my fishing is moving over to soft plastics and I only ever fish a single, single hook!

More on the Decoy Pluggin Single 27 Hooks:

Decoy Pluggin Singles are available in sizes 8 to 2/0 (the smaller sizes are perfect for small jigs too!). You get 8 per pack and it is clearly stated they are suitable for saltwater applications. I acquired mine from MonsterTackle.co.uk where they are currently priced at £5.99 per pack. I've only ever seen them in a silver finish. Decoy is a brand I really trust having used a number of their products before. Amazing quality.

Yesterday, our HRF campaign started - not targeting Wrasse, the mainstay of this discipline, but Plaice!

While I very much doubt we can lay claim to inventing 'lure fishing for Plaice', it's not something I've heard about before - consequently I find it exciting. And while I can equally not claim to be an expert on the matter, I have given the subject a fair amount of thought over the past 12 months - since last Plaice season.

So where were our heads at, prior to yesterday? a) Clearly a Plaice is a predator, much like other flatfish found in UK waters including; the Turbot, Brill and even the humble Flounder. b) Plaice are inquisitive. I recall a story a friend told me of seeing a small Plaice swimming up the anchor rope of his boat in 10 meters of water. And c) If you find them at the right time, you can find them competing for food, in large shoals. Seems simple, but these facts have laid heavy on my mind for the past year with the ultimate conclusion being that Plaice ARE an ideal target for lure fishing.

With one false start already under our belts this year, our Plaice fishing from the boat finally started yesterday. We fish mixed ground, essentially dotted with mussel beds. The mark we fished yesterday was between 13 and 17 meters deep. It would be unfishable, with any kind of finesse in anything other than a neap tide. I don't think the tide inhibits the fish, but success comes from imparting a good action on the lure and having the ability to feel when the fish has the lure in its mouth. We're lucky having our boat located near some lucrative Plaice fishing grounds, but in reality I can't see why what follows can't be replicated in numerous places around the country. In fact, a shallower venue could actually prove to be better/easier/more productive.

There lies the biggest hurdle. Fishing in 17m of water with a 14g jighead is tough. It's amazing just how much tide there is at traditional 'slack tide' when you've scaled down this light! In addition, 17 metres of braid really grips the water column. I've actually noted the rate of the descent slows, the deeper the lure gets. I've put this down to the 'grip' or friction of the line against the water surrounding it. Indeed, maybe more to do with buoyancy, but regardless, you need to deal with the effects.

Initially I tackled the problem by fishing dropshot. Thought being that I could fish a heavier weight to get down and stay in contact with the sea-bed, while using slack to impart action on the lure - rather than fighting the sinker. Problem was that in this depth (usually use this tactic successfully in shallower water) the water's friction/buoyancy combined with the bow of line caused by even a hint of tide meant the rig was always under tension and therefore almost impossible to impart any real action.

Jigheads were going to be the order of the day.

Note - jigheads over 14g with smaller hooks are hard to come by. We inherit a lot of jig heads meant for Bass and clearly even a small bass can inhale a 4/0. Now although I realise Plaice can expand their mouths considerably, I'd still have more confidence with a hook size between 2 and 1/0. Despite now having a wide choice of jigheads in the UK, I don't believe many fit those requirements - certainly at the heavier end of the scale.

Far from the ideal, we started with these two set-ups:

1. a 14g Sakura Labrax articulated jighead attached to a 1/0 offset Gamakatsu EWG Worm Hook in red (I had in mind to fish a worm imitation). While I still grimace a little bit at the look of the end result, it didn't look too bad in the water. The bait I had in mind was the 6-inch Berkley Gulp Sandworm - I opted for the Bloody red colour.
2. an Ecogear Iwashi Head - one of the few jigheads to fit the criteria at 14g with a 1/0 hook. On this we fished the excellent Ecogear Aqua Milfle 3-inch curl tail grub

Neither looked particularly well balanced out of the water, but worked well within.

We were able to reach bottom vertically below us if we flicked the lures slightly up tide. We could just about feel the bottom if we used our senses and watched the line as well as the feel of the rod.

Amazingly, results were instantaneous! The tap-tap signaled the presence of a fish and even at depth the severity hinted at a decent-sized predator. The Ecogear Aqua Milfle was first to land a fish - a beautiful Plaice of around a pound. We were stoked but hardly stopped to celebrate as we knew this wasn't a fluke and that there were more fish to be caught. The articulated Gulp Sandworm wasn't far behind in landing a similarly sized fish. I was pleasantly surprised that even smaller Plaice were able to engulf the wide gape hook on a moving bait.

What followed was a special session, that I doubt we will ever forget. We didn't experiment too much, as what we were using was working well and to be honest, we never really expected the fish to keep coming as long as they did. Bites were plentiful and when we achieved a hook-up, the Plaice fought gallantly on the light tackle. This was as much fun as I've ever had catching Plaice before. In fact, more so.

Incidentally, the Marukyu Power Isome worm was my only distraction from the Sandworm. I had two drops and caught one fish so was in no way a fair test - especially as it was realistically too small to fish on the 1/0 Gamakatsu.

On the day, the Ecogear Milfle proved to be the best performing lure. I assume the smaller profile allowed the fish to find the hook point sooner, while it clearly didn't put the fish off striking. I'm not normally a fan of curl tail grub designs and I have had the thought that the Milfle does look a bit uninteresting in the packet, however it's clear that Ecogear's superb design and bait technology excel when it comes to catching the fish, rather than the angler. The limpness of the tail is impressive; the suppleness of the material used allowing the the tail to extend and quiver at even the slowest pace (and on the drop). Undeniably Ecogear have superb know-how in manufacturing artificial bait that fish find instinctively attractive. The 'magic juice' that these lures come suspended in clearly serves a purpose and may well be a glimpse of wider used baits of the future.

In summary, Plaice are definitely targetable by lure tactics. It feels like they are perfectly suited to the HRF discipline, being found in an average size of 1-2lb with specimens up to around 6lb. We have a long way to go to perfect our tactics and there are currently some shortcomings in the tackle market for suitable jigheads suitable for this style and venue.

Very much looking forward to the next opportunity.

If you've had success catching flatfish on lures, please do let us know in the comments section below.

Ecogear Aqua Milfle 3-inch lures and Marukyu Power Isome (Large) are available from www.BassLures.co.uk - get some and have a play!

Granted, the new Art of Fishing shop in Plymouth is specialist. It only sells tackle to lure fishermen and women. But Ben Field, the owner, has made a tremendous effort in sourcing a fantastic range of lure fishing equipment from around the globe and making it accessible to UK anglers. Exclusive spinning reels from Japan. Lure rods from France. Soft plastics from the US and Australia, to name but a few. Not only that. He's one of a small number of individuals that continue to raise the profile of emerging disciplines including LRF (Light Rock Fish), HRF (Hard Rock Fish) and of course, modern bass fishing.

Ben and his partner Jo made a brave move when they bought a traditional fishing shop (their first shop) in St Merryn, Cornwall and turned their back on the existing revenue streams, choosing to use the wall space to display rows and rows of high-quality hard and soft body lures. In modern lure fishing terms that was a long time ago and the rest, as they say, is history. As someone who also believes in a future of fun and active fishing using light and well-balanced tackle, I'm hugely encouraged that The Art of Fishing concept has not only survived in difficult economic times, but clearly thrived, to the point where they are opening a second, larger store on the south coast.

So it was with great excitement and a sense of belonging that we headed down the A303 early on Saturday morning. We felt even more proud about our sport when angling legend, Keith Arthur mentioned the store opening on his Fisherman's Blues radio show, live on TalkSPORT - a blessing?

The sun was shining as we drove into the Barbican area of Plymouth where the shop is situated - literally 100 yards from the sea and decent fishing.

We entered a busy shop. From a little ear wigging it was clear that there was a healthy mix of visitors (not just tackle anoraks like me!) There were local lure anglers, anglers we recognised from the specialist lure blogs and forums, a couple of distributors and press. It was also clear that there were a number of more traditional anglers present. The ones I overheard seemed to be enjoying the event and discovering a new side to their sport. I should say, that while lure angling does have an elite end with a price tag to match, Ben has made effort to cater for everyone. A good example would be his exclusive LRF Starter Kits that include everything to get you going for around £99.

Lure fishing 'can' be technical and the choice of lures and techniques a little bewildering at times (for all of us). It's a relatively new sport and everyone is learning. Visiting a store like Art of Fishing gives you access to expert advice and a fast-track to success. New staff member and local lad, Matt Newcombe is no newbie. With countless lure fishing hours under his belt, local knowledge and a massive amount of hands-on experience with much of the tackle in-store, he is an asset to any visitor. He's even had an intercontinental LRF tournament win (you can ask him about that!)

As we already stated, there's a vast array of tackle on offer from various premium lure fishing brands. The Art of Fishing has always heavily promoted the likes of Ecogear, Deps and Daiwa, but the larger premises has allowed them to expand the range to include nearly everything on Ben's wish-list. New products include Major Craft rods, hPa luggage, Illex lures and Vanfook hooks.

Graphiteleader rods were the stars of the show for us. With the excellent light-tackle fishing marks just yards away, we had our LRF heads on. Two Graphiteleader LRF rod ranges were on proud display in both solid and tubular tip variants - the Calzante EX and Corto EX. We both fell for the same rod - one of the Calzantes - and Dan won out, purchasing on impulse.

What was a particularly great experience was just how quickly the new rod was in use. There are literally miles of the finest LRF fishing grounds I have ever seen. That evening we had our best LRF session of the year so far, catching 7 species early in the season - including two firsts. With just one visit under my belt I'm hardly a Plymouth expert, but it feels like Plymouth is arguably the epicentre for LRF fishing in the UK. Ben certainly thinks so and has some ambitious plans for later in the year.

We had a great weekend in Plymouth with The Art of Fishing gang and some great fishing. If you're into LRF or just interested to learn more and give it a try then I'd definitely recommend that you swing by sometime. Awesome place.

The Art of Fishing, Plymouth: 1 Citadel Ope, The Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2JY

Opening hours: From 9am to 5.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday (10am start on Sundays)

www.artoffishing.co.uk

From the picture acquired from a German website, it is clear that the new Daiwa Infinity Q Custom is built upon the pre-2010 Certate chassis. As such it doesn't feature Mag Seal, but it does feature a load of Daiwa's greatest innovations, including; Real Four, Digigear II, Hardbody-Z, ABS spool, Airbail and Twistbuster II. Despite not being the absolute latest carnation, fear not, this is a top grade spinning reel and one of the Daiwa reels that is made in Japan. I fish with two original Infinity Q reels alongside a Certate and they compete admirably.

There are two visible differences that I can make out. The rotor looks to have had a redesign, with the non-roller arm featuring a unique cut out - neither that of the original Infinity Q or the later Infinity Q Zaion.

The other, obvious addition is a new spool design. It looks roughly similar to the original part, but features attractive cut-outs along the lower edge, red highlights and carbon insert finish - in no way similar to that featured on the Morethan Branzino, by the way. It's a unique look for Daiwa, but I think my preference would still be for an RCS Custom spool. At this point it purely comes down to taste. I believe one downside with this carbon spool is the lack of a line clip.

Internally the Infinity Q Custom features the same 4.8:1 gear ratio. However, the new reel has 6 bearings, in comparison to 9 in previous models. Two of the six are corrosion proof CRBB but I have to question where 3 bearings have been lost. I expect that one, or even two bearings could be in the handle - which can be easily upgrade with an RCS Custom knob or handle - however it is worth further investigation if you're considering buying one.

These new reels are available in limited quantities across 2500 and 3000 sizes priced from around 300 Euro (£250).

While at first this may not appear to be a major revelation, it has the potential to do the sport a great deal of good.  It's clear that Fladen wants to make inroads into the high street - especially large retailers and supermarket chains - and with Matt's endorsement supporting this advance, it feels like there's every chance of success.

The Matt Hayes Adventure range of fishing tackle and accessories looks to make fishing equipment accessible once again, popularising the sport. I'm sure there are countless others that, like me got into angling with a Winfield fishing set bought from good old Woolworths, in the local town. If it hadn't have been so easy and accessible to get into fishing with the minimum of fuss, I really don't know if I would now have this delightful passion for angling. In my mind, it's that accessibility that will give Matt the reach into the non-angler audience, and Fladen the potential to drive some immense volume and margins. For us - we get a much needed injection of fresh blood into the sport, that arguably preserves our past-time for the future and offers us a realistic opportunity to be able to pass this interest onto the next generation.

Smaller retailers and tackle shops may argue that the widespread accessibility of fishing tackle in every town will see the death of the local, independent tackle shop - I disagree. For one, these new anglers will require bait - and I'm guessing live bait will feature at some point in most angling careers, even early on. I have seen it on the continent, but I don't think we'll be seeing live bait in supermarkets any time soon. Once the angler is up and fishing with their starter set and at the point they're thinking about live bait, the tackle specialist can capitalise on these frequent visits. It's plain to see that a number of these newly introduced, informal fishermen/women will go on to get bitten by the angling bug, and be life long customers of fishing tackle stores.

I have some experience in marketing principals and I can immediately see the true advertising value of a presence for fishing, on the high street. We'd be kidding ourselves if we thought we're close to replicating what you see in the U.S with prime-time angling related advertising and feature events like Bassmaster Tournaments. The size of the UK angling market - as successful as it has been - can not support that level of publicity or investment, and without such is not likely to grow an awful lot bigger. It's activity like this between Fladen and Matt Hayes that gives the sport some highly valuable airtime with the wider audience.

I for one am very excited to see how this venture goes. I wish Fladen and Matt the very best of luck.

Matt Hayes Adventure fishing tackle will be in the shops as early as June this year and will feature around 100 items of tackle across freshwater, carp and sea fishing disciplines.

As yet we're unsure which national store groups will promote Matt Hayes Adventure tackle. It has been confirmed that both Fladen and Matt Hayes have exhibited their goods to major UK retailers at this year's Spring Fair International trade event, at the NEC. I would assume it's fairly likely that Argos might feature here, either supplementing or replacing its current ranges. We'll wait and see.

Lynx Fishing have developed a technique called Precision Compression Technology. The process is said to join line while sustaining 100% of its original strength (traditional knots can weaken line by as much as 50%). What's more, the technique is said to achieve this result without the use of heat or glue.

At this early stage we're not sure whether the technology is only viable on a large scale - i.e. manufacture - or whether the technology can be sized to enable the process to be carried out by the angler. One of the limited tit-bits of information that has been released is that Lynx Fishing will initially offer 'a range of rigs', so perhaps it will be limited to a manufacturing process, for now. We could speculate that this either means the device involved is big or expensive (or both).

Regardless, as a light-line angler myself, I'd welcome any technique that would enable me to fish line of thinner diameter without the fear of weakening it with standard knots. In addition, there is huge potential for a device that makes attaching line to terminal tackle, easy for the masses.

Only time will tell I guess. The official launch of Lynx Fishing is planned for the European Fishing Tackle Trade Exhibition, held in Paris this June.

If you'd like to join us in keeping an eye out for more news on Lynx Fishing and their Precision Compression Technology, here's the address of their holding page : www.lynx-fishing.com

The Big One 2012 is being hosted at FIVE Farnborough - across Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th of March. The massive purpose built venue is totally covered from the elements so you need not worry about the weather on the day. It's also easy to park with free parking for 10,000 vehicles.

Again, this year sees two seminar theatres featuring talks by the UK's top anglers and angling celebrities. These are always highly popular so make sure you find a space ahead of time so not to miss out. Previous years have seen scores of anglers queued up outside the seminars trying to follow the talks. Some of this year's angling personalities attending include; Matt Hayes, Keith Arthur, John Wilson, Mick Brown, Ian Russel, Ian Chillcot and many, many more.

As well as the UK's biggest tackle discounters and mail order companies selling stock at heavily discounted prices, the tackle industry has acknowledged the importance of this now regular event and you can expect to see fishing tackle manufacturers proudly debuting their latest products to attendees - more than any year previous. So whether you're looking to stock up on essentials for the next season whilst saving a few quid, or whether you want to know what the hottest new products will be in 2012, The Big One is the place to be.

As we've found first hand in previous years, there are genuine bargains and savings to be hard - seek and you shall find!

Advance ticket holders are able to access the The Big One show at the following times: Saturday 8.30am and Sunday 9.30am. That's an hour ahead of those that pay on the door. You can buy in advance here: www.fishfacepromotions.co.uk/tickets.html

Postcode for the Sat Nav is GU14 6AZ ('Five' Farnborough)

FishFace Promotions have again held the ticket price at £10 per adult. A two day ticket can be purchased for £15. Concessions are available for under 16s and OAPs, priced £6. Under 12s go free!