Match Gear (UK)

2010.... So, after a 16 year break the thought of having to start the tackle purchases off again was an exciting but dawnting prospect.

I decided to follow these simple rules:
  1. Buy the best I could afford
  2. Buy British where possible
  3. Do not become a "tackle tart" - major fail on this point!
My main aim is to get back into Match Fishing. The fishing scene has changed a lot, many commercial fisheries have dominated the more natural waters that I was used to fishing.

It easy to see why commericals have become so popular, it almost guarantees the angler of a days sport.  This is what I ended up going for:

Rods


Reels


Pole
With the pole I was debating to either go for a flagship pole or mid-range pole.  I ended deciding to go for a flagship pole and narrowed my choice down to Daiwa or Tri-cast, both british made poles. 

My selection after reading many reviews online and in the media was the Tri-Cast Excellence Pro which also turned out to be cheaper than the Daiwa.  Previous I had a Tricast Trilogy XS which was a brilliant pole for the last 6 years.  I protected the pole sections with Trevor Jean's PTFE Nose cones.  A quality hand made product.

The package you get with both poles is very good.  I requested a further two power kits and a short number 3 section. 

My elastic selection is as follows, all with pulla-bungs as I'm not a fan of drilling my top kits: 
SeatBox
Pole Rollers
After a large investment in the pole, to protect it on the bank I decided to purchase a V Roller and 2 x Flat Rollers, which should help with any bankside situations
Luggage
The Tricast Trilogy came with a deluxe pole holdall, which after a couple of months showed signs of wear.  Tricast kindly replaced it free of charge.  However I decided to review my luggage choice and selected the following:
Keepnets and Landing Nets
With the advent of commercial fisheries and their varying keepnet limit rules one or two keepnets is not the norm.  So I opted for the Cresta Rectangle and Guru Landing Nets

Landing nets I got a couple of the Guru ones and for venues that hold larger carp I purchased a MAP 24" Carp Landing Net head.

It's worthwhile setting up both landing nets just in case of a larger fish, so the landing net poles I opted for the Tri-cast XRS Easy Reach (12'), although in hindsight I should have bought two 12' handles...   this landing net pole has lasted me for coming up 10 years!

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