It's that time of year again. You can feel the first warmth in the sunshine, there's buds on the trees and the birds are singing. As a lure angler you're starting to think 'Bass'.
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 Read the rest of this entry »
On day two of the Tackle & Guns Trade Show I had the absolute pleasure of spending 20 minutes or so with Peter Koppman of Marukyu (thanks to Ben @ Art Of Fishing for the recommendation). Peter works for Marukyu, but more specifically on the Ecogear and Nories sub-brands - I guess you could say, the lure side of things. Peter is an Aussie and resides in Japan - the homeplace of Marukyu. He's an angling nut from an angling family (his parents ran fishing tournaments when he was a kid) and he speaks Japanese. In short, he's a pretty interesting guy and no doubt a 
In another monster category of 19 qualifiers, Strike Pro won the 2011 EFTTEX exhibition prize for best new hard lure last week with their Twin Minnow.
48-hours after the Tackle & Guns Show and I'm left with the opinion that perhaps saltwater anglers have done best in terms of new tackle developments this year (maybe carp anglers last year). The sheer volume of new sea fishing gear, from budget to ultra high-end was noticeable and I've been trying to understand, why 2010/2011? First thoughts were towards a trend caused by the economy - but what? I guess sea angling stands out amongst other disciplines because it is perhaps the most accessible area of the sport where you can actually catch food for the table - that certainly seems plausible given the trend in home grown fruit and veg. Maybe all those celebrity chefs 
I've just received a flyer through the post for the Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair housed at Romsey Community School in Romsey, Hampshire. The date this year is Sunday 10th October, from 9am to 3pm. I've been many times before and always enjoy working through the various stands and meeting exhibitioners - there's some true experts at these events. Buying, selling, swapping and valuations are invited.
