Angel Lakes report and results from 29/6/11 to 3/7/11. . . Sunday 3rd July 2011 Open & League LookoutConditions: Sunny, ambient temp 21 deg, wind W 4mph, barometer 1015.
Joe Carass reveals his thoughts on Browning’s new Xitan Z7. 5 pole. Will it be another success for the tackle giant?With Browning’s Xitan range of poles growing in popularity, I couldn’t wait to have a look at the latest addition to the range – the Z7. 5 – to see if it could live up to the standard set by its predecessors.
See who is through to the Evesham Festival in the latest round of qualifiers. . . Shakespeare Qualifier Saturday 2nd July 74 fishedDrawn on unfancied peg 52, Tony Marshall put up what many anglers described as the best performance of the season so far to win with a 13-10-0 net of small fish.
We’re in an era when good-quality seatboxes are arriving at our offices every few weeks, so just how good is the new Sensas 700? Joe Carass checked one over to find out… For the past few years Sensas has been trying to make a name for itself in the seatbox market, and several models have been brought out since the company’s first designs. Now, though, I think that a product of a quality synonymous with the Sensas name has finally hit the tackle shops. The 700 box really is the perfect example of what the modern match angler is looking for in a seatbox. It has a modular design so that trays can be added for extra storage, along with a slide-out rig section where anglers can house hundreds of rigs or various other bits and bobs.
After developing a successful range of gear that all started with pole pots, the Frenzee design team has now turned its attentions to rods. Dave Harrell checks out the initial range of seven… Having worked in the fishing-tackle industry myself in a previous life, I know more than most exactly how difficult it is to break into the marketplace with a new range of angling products. I went through the exercise just over 20 years ago when I created the MAP brand, and while taking on the big boys in the industry was challenging I sometimes found myself wondering if I could make products like rods any better than (or even as good as) what was already available from long-established companies. Thankfully, at that time at least, the answer was yes and sales were good for several years before the big influx of rods from China put paid to any competitive developments I could achieve in the UK.
This new seatbox from Ultimate offers excellent value for money. It features a heavily padded pole seat, double-extending non-marking legs, five drawers and a cassette-style footplate. RRP: £149. 99 .
Joe Carass takes a close look at a new family of hooks that is already gaining favour with many top anglers on the match circuit… Even though I’m very young (well, compared to editor Dave Harrell) my angling career stretches over more than 18 years, and the original Preston PR range of hooks seems to have been available for as long as I can remember! There were many cult hooks among that range and I’ve had loads of success using several of the various patterns available. They were hugely popular but, as with all things, technologies move on and hooks can be produced nowadays that are even better than when the original range was first produced. So, having used so many of the old PR range I couldn’t wait to see what the lads at Preston had come up with in their new range. It comprises five hook patterns, which is quite a small range, but it complements the existing PR competition range of barbed hooks and the PR eyed range perfectly.
Due to the rise in popularity of pencil floats, Preston has released this pattern that looks set to continue this trend. The floats feature a stable wire stem and a plastic bristle that looks great for dotting down. They’re available in sizes from 0. 1g, right up to 1.
Dave Harrell runs the rule over the latest family of rods to come out of the Japanese tackle giant’s factory in Scotland… Every so often I find myself wondering if tackle companies can actually come up with anything new in terms of rod developments. The raw carbon fibre materials now being used haven’t changed significantly for a number of years so the only things that can be worked with are actions and cosmetics. This new family of six rods from Daiwa actually came about as a result of rods that the Scottish factory developed for the Italian market and, to use Daiwa’s words, they ‘break the rules of rod making. ’There’s no cork in sight on any of these new Airity rods as each one has a tapered butt section, which blends into its own sculptured handle and unique reel seat.
This quality PVA mesh is available in two popular sizes – 23mm and micro 18mm. The mesh is fast melting, even in cold water. The 18mm size looks perfect for winter when a small parcel of feed is all that is needed to tempt a bite. Both sizes come in 5m lengths.