Match Gear (UK)
.png)
- Buy the best I could afford
- Buy British where possible
- 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
- Main Waggler - Guru Aventus 12ft Waggler
- Secondary Waggler - Drennan Acolyte Ultra 13ft
- Short and Medium Range Bomb / Feeder - Guru Aventus 10ft Feeder Rods
- Long Range Bomb / Feeder - Guru Aventus Distance Feeder 12ft
- Extra Long Range Bomb / Feeder - Guru Aventus Distance Feeder 13ft
Reels
- Daiwa TDX 3012 - Waggler/Feeder/Bomb work
- Daiwa Cast'ism 25 QDA - Long range feeder work
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:
- Match Kit x 2 - Middy Hi-Viz Solid Elastic, rated 4-6 (winter silvers)
- Match Kit x 3 - Matrix Slik, rated 4-6 (silvers)
- Match Kit x 3 - Matrix Slik, rated 8-10 (F1's and larger carp)
- F.I.S.T Kit x 3 - Nick Gilbert Twin Core Pink, rated 6-10 (F1's shallow)
- Power Kit x 3 - Matrix Slik, rated 14-16 (Margin)
SeatBox
Pole RollersAfter 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
- Rive Midsized Rollers x 2
- Rive Mini Twin Roller
- Preston Innovations Super Pro V Roller
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:
- Guru Fusion Pole Holdall
- Guru Fusion Rod Holdall
- Mosella Compact Carryall - enough room for all the bait and other terminal tackle in the Drennan Visa-Case's
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!