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.
Sonubaits has had huge amounts of success with its Fibre Paste and One to One Paste since their launch. New for 2011 is a Tiger Fish version of the two pastes. The Tiger Fish is a blend of crushed pellets and crushed tiger nuts that have been blended together to produce a mix that carp find hard to resist!RRP: £3. 99.
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.
Given the rigours of everyday commercial fishing a quality reel line is a must these days, and this Berkley mono looks ideal. It is nice and smooth and casts very well. Supplied on 1,500-yard spools at a very competitive price, this will be ideal for the angler who has plenty of reels to fill with line. RRP: £10.
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.
Dacron connectors are all the rage at present and these versions from Maver look great. They are available in three sizes to suit elastics from a tiny No1 right up to a 20+ Dual Core, so no matter what elastic you prefer there will be a connector here to suit. Supplied with three in a pack. RRP: £2.
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.
When anglers of the calibre of Darren Cox and Steve Cooke work together to design a rod range you can probably expect something pretty good. Dave Harrell takes a look at their work… Match rod actions are something that have interested me for many years and having been involved in rod designs and developments myself in a previous career I like to think I know a bit when it comes to passing judgement on them. This new range of four feeder rods has been developed by Darren Cox and Steve Cooke, two incredibly successful feeder anglers in their own rights with a long list of match wins behind them on various waters around the UK, so as you can probably imagine I was looking forward to having a look at the finished products when they arrived at the Match Fishing office. My first reaction when I took all four rods out of the bags and set them up was one of surprise, as I’d expected to waggle another set of soft, parabolic through-action rods, which seems to be the current trend with virtually every rod producer.
Chard AC members fished the penultimate round of the Spring League in glorious conditions at Perry St Pond on Sunday. Perry St Pond, Somerset. 20 fished. The top weights were excellent and the top two in the league took the top two spots on the day.
Sensas is making big inroads into the commercial-fishery bait market and its brand-new range of soft pellets caught the eye of Joe Carass at a recent trade show – he just had to take a closer look. A nglers who fish commercial venues are spoilt for choice! Not only have they got hundreds of venues around the country to fish, they also have hundreds of baits with which to target the fish! There are many brands on the bait market these days and it’s often difficult to gain an edge over other competitors. Sensas has looked at this problem, and it would have been very easy for the company to re-badge some bulk-bought pellets and sell them on. It didn’t want to do this, however, and set out to design a range of soft pellets that would appeal to every angler who visits commercial venues… and that’s where the new commercial-fishery range of soft hooker pellets comes in.
