Founded on 12th September 2023. A bit of banter, a new products list, and a step into the Tackle world.
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog. As the weather is starting to turn, we have been delighted to see so many of you looking to get back out on the bank. The countdown is now on until the clocks go forward and the fish to start feeding properly again, we can’t wait! And with several reports of tench being caught in local waters over the last week, it looks as though the warmer temperatures are already having an effect.
In new product news we promised you an item review this week, and that product is the Drennan Visi Wag No.1s. While these are not new to the market, we wanted to discuss them as they are a fantastic choice when float fishing for tench fishing (which is just about starting for the year), and have been used by myself. The thick and visible tip makes them a brilliant choice when there is a lot of ripple on the water, and their loaded design ensures that they fly smoothly through the air when casting. I also love the multicoloured tip design, as it allows me to easily see when I’ve had a lift bite or if my bait/shots further down the line are being held up in the water (perhaps by weed). They are also extra-durable, trust me, I bash my tackle around no end, and another advantage of the loaded design is that it allows me to easily switch my float for a smaller/bigger one if the wind changes without having to add or remove loads of shot from my line. Luckily, Drennan also have a similar model that has a finer tip which is perfect when the fish aren’t feeding confidently and you're getting less aggressive bites: These are the Visi Wag No.2s. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve switched between the two models during a session depending on how the fish are feeding on the day, it’s a great advantage to using these floats. We have them in stock both in store and on our ebay site, and I’ve attached the links to Drennan’s own description of them in the text if you’d like a further look. I can’t recommend them highly enough, and I hope they are as useful for you as they have been for me.
Before we go we have a couple of other things that have caught our attention this week and that we wanted to share with you! Firstly, that Mason Richie won NAFA’s fish of the year for 2024 after catching a monster 2lb perch from Wheel Pond, pipping Jason Craven’s beautiful Common Carp from first pond in the vote by NAFA’s anglers. And secondly, we are excited to share with you that Preston Innovations are launching a host of new products over the coming weeks, with some really impressive new bits included. We will be reviewing them as they come out, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, take care all, see you soon!
Like Back to Top Seen 432 times Liked 2 times
x
Subscribe to Updates
If you enjoyed this, why not subscribe to free email updates ?
Subscribe to Blog updates
Alternatively, you can subscribe via RSS 
All email subscriptions must be confirmed to comply with GDPR.
Related Posts
Tackle Trader | 18th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog, we hope you've had a great week. You'll be glad to hear that the local fishing has once again been fantastic this week, and with numerous reports of tench being caught from NAFA's Rackerhayes lakes and some big carp being landed too. Last weekend's NAFA Carp match saw the pick of the Carp bags, with Tim Frost taking the win with two carp for 46lb 10oz from peg 20 on Island, including a 25lb 12oz beauty of a common. Leon Wilson managed second with a single carp for 30lb 8oz from peg 4 on Dores, with Lloyd Radford third with another single carp for 27lb 12oz from peg 25 on Island. Unfortunately we don't have a product review for you today, but we will be returning with one for you next week, and it's another one of my favourite products that is a must-have for your carp fishing this spring. In the meantime we will leave you with our opening hours the Easter weekend and a reminder of the upcoming senior match next weekend: NAFA Charity Open - 27/04 Enjoy your holiday everyone, see you soon. ...
Tackle Trader | 08th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog. What a beautiful week it’s been again, the weather couldn’t be much better for April! And you’ll be glad to hear that it’s been another productive week for local course fishing too, with the water temperatures warming the fish are switching on and we aren’t far off them having a proper munch now. Having walked around Rackerhayes yesterday there were plenty of fish moving, and it felt like the air was really on its way to those lovely summer temperatures that we are all looking forward to. This week I’m giving a product review to one of my favourite match fishing items for Carp too, and I’ve been really excited about this one. The product is the the Preston soft cad pole pot, which is in my opinion the best soft pot on the market. Firstly, I just love soft pots because they allow you to group your bait so tightly that is especially important when fishing for less aggressively feeding fish, I couldn’t honestly now imagine my box without them. But what separates the Preston Cad Pots for me is their brilliantly thought through design. I’ve found it tough to come across a soft pot that stays on your pole when dipping your tip under the water, that the bait stays in when shipping out, and that don’t look conspicuous to feeding fish below your pole tip; but this one has the lot. They grip brilliantly on your pole, meaning that you very rarely lose one when playing fish, their white and blue colour matches the sky in virtually all conditions meaning that fish are less aware when you're fishing over them, and the circular cap design holds bait in brilliantly and makes it easy to tap it out once you’ve shipped your pole out over where you’re fishing. What adds to using these pots is that they are fantastic for all types of pole fishing. I often use them when cupping small nuggets of groundbait in for roach and skimmer fishing, when drip feeding maggots for tench, and of course when feeding small amounts for finicky carp. I personally stick to smaller pots whenever possible because I think it limits the chances of spooking feeding fish when holding the pole over them, but the big size also does a fantastic job of feeding large amounts if you don’t have a cupping kit. Coming onto the market at £4.99, these are a brilliant price and a must-have for your pole fishing not just this summer but through all seasons. I just wanted to say a thank you to all readers of this blog, I’m loving writing these reviews and I hope they are helpful to you, we’d love to hear your feedback in the shop if you've been reading weekly. I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks, until that time take care and tight lines....
Tackle Trader | 28th March 2025 | Blogging
Hello all and welcome back, we hope you're having a fantastic week. We’re here with a short update, and are discussing the results from the NAFA winter league matches, with the Junior league concluding last weekend. And a huge congratulations goes to Noah who won both the match on Bradley with 8lb 10oz (peg 11), and the league overall, well done! The seniors also had an away day at Goodiford Mill for their penultimate winter league match on Sunday, with Jamie Pearce taking the win with an impressive 150lb 14oz on Peg 42. Gary Webber had 89lb 12oz from peg 11 for second, with Sam Powell bagging 67lb 2oz (peg 42) to take third. Next week we will be reviewing another must-have product for your Carp fishing this spring, so please be sure to pop back for that. Until then take care all, and tight lines. NAFA Junior League final results 1st, Noah with 7 points, dropped score 6 =1st, Liam with 7 points, dropped score 11 2nd Jamie with 8 points 3rd Saul with 11 points 4th Tom with 15 points 5th Elle with 18 points...
Tackle Trader | 21st March 2025 | Blogging
Good morning everyone, we’ve got another blog article for you this week, and what a fine week it has been! The sun is finally with us and yesterday was absolutely stunning, the warmest day of the year so far. While the weather isn’t exactly perfect for fishing, it does mean that the water temperatures will be warming and the fish will be starting to feed. And that means all the more reason for another product review on an item of tackle perfect for Tench, Bream and Carp, and this week I’ve gone for some of my favourite items in my kitbag, the Drennan match catapults. Coming in several different elastic ratings, my picks of the bunch are the Waggler range medium and Pole range medium. I find these ratings cover all the distances I need, and maintain grouping of my bait (no matter what the bait is) when firing it out, whereas the lighter versions sometimes spread it as I feel I’m having to over-stretch the elastic to hit the range. A fair few match anglers that I’ve fished with use the Waggler ranges even when fishing the pole as they say their bait groups better, but I personally find I lose some control of the range when using an over-heavy elastic. Additionally, I find that the elastics on these pults are about as durable as any on the market, which is vital when you're fishing a match and don’t have time to stop and repair a broken elastic, and also don’t want to be spending money to replace them week after week. Their strong frame designs also very rarely bend or break, meaning that they last for years. The pouches may be the only questionable part of these cattys, and I was sceptical when they were first updated as I was always a fan of the old soft mesh style (especially when feeding maggots), but I have to say I’ve had a lot less issues than I feared. The bait still fires in a great line, it stays in the pouch fine when you're firing, and these pouches are much more durable than their predecessors. As a result, these cattys are almost faultless, I believe that they are a vital part of any tackle bag, and while their job is seemingly very simple, they do it very well. I hope you have found this review helpful; I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks’ time. As ever before you go this week, we will leave you with a reminder of the upcoming local match dates so that you can book in or avoid them if you're out for a pleasure session. The next NAFA senior match will be round 5 of the Tackle Trader Winter League on Goodiford Mill this Sunday (23rd), while the next junior match will be on Bradley tomorrow (22nd, the final match of the Winter League). Tight lines all and until next time, take care....
Tackle Trader | 18th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog, we hope you've had a great week. You'll be glad to hear that the local fishing has once again been fantastic this week, and with numerous reports of tench being caught from NAFA's Rackerhayes lakes and some big carp being landed too. Last weekend's NAFA Carp match saw the pick of the Carp bags, with Tim Frost taking the win with two carp for 46lb 10oz from peg 20 on Island, including a 25lb 12oz beauty of a common. Leon Wilson managed second with a single carp for 30lb 8oz from peg 4 on Dores, with Lloyd Radford third with another single carp for 27lb 12oz from peg 25 on Island. Unfortunately we don't have a product review for you today, but we will be returning with one for you next week, and it's another one of my favourite products that is a must-have for your carp fishing this spring. In the meantime we will leave you with our opening hours the Easter weekend and a reminder of the upcoming senior match next weekend: NAFA Charity Open - 27/04 Enjoy your holiday everyone, see you soon. ...
Tackle Trader | 08th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog. What a beautiful week it’s been again, the weather couldn’t be much better for April! And you’ll be glad to hear that it’s been another productive week for local course fishing too, with the water temperatures warming the fish are switching on and we aren’t far off them having a proper munch now. Having walked around Rackerhayes yesterday there were plenty of fish moving, and it felt like the air was really on its way to those lovely summer temperatures that we are all looking forward to. This week I’m giving a product review to one of my favourite match fishing items for Carp too, and I’ve been really excited about this one. The product is the the Preston soft cad pole pot, which is in my opinion the best soft pot on the market. Firstly, I just love soft pots because they allow you to group your bait so tightly that is especially important when fishing for less aggressively feeding fish, I couldn’t honestly now imagine my box without them. But what separates the Preston Cad Pots for me is their brilliantly thought through design. I’ve found it tough to come across a soft pot that stays on your pole when dipping your tip under the water, that the bait stays in when shipping out, and that don’t look conspicuous to feeding fish below your pole tip; but this one has the lot. They grip brilliantly on your pole, meaning that you very rarely lose one when playing fish, their white and blue colour matches the sky in virtually all conditions meaning that fish are less aware when you're fishing over them, and the circular cap design holds bait in brilliantly and makes it easy to tap it out once you’ve shipped your pole out over where you’re fishing. What adds to using these pots is that they are fantastic for all types of pole fishing. I often use them when cupping small nuggets of groundbait in for roach and skimmer fishing, when drip feeding maggots for tench, and of course when feeding small amounts for finicky carp. I personally stick to smaller pots whenever possible because I think it limits the chances of spooking feeding fish when holding the pole over them, but the big size also does a fantastic job of feeding large amounts if you don’t have a cupping kit. Coming onto the market at £4.99, these are a brilliant price and a must-have for your pole fishing not just this summer but through all seasons. I just wanted to say a thank you to all readers of this blog, I’m loving writing these reviews and I hope they are helpful to you, we’d love to hear your feedback in the shop if you've been reading weekly. I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks, until that time take care and tight lines....
Tackle Trader | 28th March 2025 | Blogging
Hello all and welcome back, we hope you're having a fantastic week. We’re here with a short update, and are discussing the results from the NAFA winter league matches, with the Junior league concluding last weekend. And a huge congratulations goes to Noah who won both the match on Bradley with 8lb 10oz (peg 11), and the league overall, well done! The seniors also had an away day at Goodiford Mill for their penultimate winter league match on Sunday, with Jamie Pearce taking the win with an impressive 150lb 14oz on Peg 42. Gary Webber had 89lb 12oz from peg 11 for second, with Sam Powell bagging 67lb 2oz (peg 42) to take third. Next week we will be reviewing another must-have product for your Carp fishing this spring, so please be sure to pop back for that. Until then take care all, and tight lines. NAFA Junior League final results 1st, Noah with 7 points, dropped score 6 =1st, Liam with 7 points, dropped score 11 2nd Jamie with 8 points 3rd Saul with 11 points 4th Tom with 15 points 5th Elle with 18 points...
Tackle Trader | 21st March 2025 | Blogging
Good morning everyone, we’ve got another blog article for you this week, and what a fine week it has been! The sun is finally with us and yesterday was absolutely stunning, the warmest day of the year so far. While the weather isn’t exactly perfect for fishing, it does mean that the water temperatures will be warming and the fish will be starting to feed. And that means all the more reason for another product review on an item of tackle perfect for Tench, Bream and Carp, and this week I’ve gone for some of my favourite items in my kitbag, the Drennan match catapults. Coming in several different elastic ratings, my picks of the bunch are the Waggler range medium and Pole range medium. I find these ratings cover all the distances I need, and maintain grouping of my bait (no matter what the bait is) when firing it out, whereas the lighter versions sometimes spread it as I feel I’m having to over-stretch the elastic to hit the range. A fair few match anglers that I’ve fished with use the Waggler ranges even when fishing the pole as they say their bait groups better, but I personally find I lose some control of the range when using an over-heavy elastic. Additionally, I find that the elastics on these pults are about as durable as any on the market, which is vital when you're fishing a match and don’t have time to stop and repair a broken elastic, and also don’t want to be spending money to replace them week after week. Their strong frame designs also very rarely bend or break, meaning that they last for years. The pouches may be the only questionable part of these cattys, and I was sceptical when they were first updated as I was always a fan of the old soft mesh style (especially when feeding maggots), but I have to say I’ve had a lot less issues than I feared. The bait still fires in a great line, it stays in the pouch fine when you're firing, and these pouches are much more durable than their predecessors. As a result, these cattys are almost faultless, I believe that they are a vital part of any tackle bag, and while their job is seemingly very simple, they do it very well. I hope you have found this review helpful; I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks’ time. As ever before you go this week, we will leave you with a reminder of the upcoming local match dates so that you can book in or avoid them if you're out for a pleasure session. The next NAFA senior match will be round 5 of the Tackle Trader Winter League on Goodiford Mill this Sunday (23rd), while the next junior match will be on Bradley tomorrow (22nd, the final match of the Winter League). Tight lines all and until next time, take care....
Recent Posts
Tackle Trader | 18th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog, we hope you've had a great week. You'll be glad to hear that the local fishing has once again been fantastic this week, and with numerous reports of tench being caught from NAFA's Rackerhayes lakes and some big carp being landed too. Last weekend's NAFA Carp match saw the pick of the Carp bags, with Tim Frost taking the win with two carp for 46lb 10oz from peg 20 on Island, including a 25lb 12oz beauty of a common. Leon Wilson managed second with a single carp for 30lb 8oz from peg 4 on Dores, with Lloyd Radford third with another single carp for 27lb 12oz from peg 25 on Island. Unfortunately we don't have a product review for you today, but we will be returning with one for you next week, and it's another one of my favourite products that is a must-have for your carp fishing this spring. In the meantime we will leave you with our opening hours the Easter weekend and a reminder of the upcoming senior match next weekend: NAFA Charity Open - 27/04 Enjoy your holiday everyone, see you soon. ...
Tackle Trader | 08th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog. What a beautiful week it’s been again, the weather couldn’t be much better for April! And you’ll be glad to hear that it’s been another productive week for local course fishing too, with the water temperatures warming the fish are switching on and we aren’t far off them having a proper munch now. Having walked around Rackerhayes yesterday there were plenty of fish moving, and it felt like the air was really on its way to those lovely summer temperatures that we are all looking forward to. This week I’m giving a product review to one of my favourite match fishing items for Carp too, and I’ve been really excited about this one. The product is the the Preston soft cad pole pot, which is in my opinion the best soft pot on the market. Firstly, I just love soft pots because they allow you to group your bait so tightly that is especially important when fishing for less aggressively feeding fish, I couldn’t honestly now imagine my box without them. But what separates the Preston Cad Pots for me is their brilliantly thought through design. I’ve found it tough to come across a soft pot that stays on your pole when dipping your tip under the water, that the bait stays in when shipping out, and that don’t look conspicuous to feeding fish below your pole tip; but this one has the lot. They grip brilliantly on your pole, meaning that you very rarely lose one when playing fish, their white and blue colour matches the sky in virtually all conditions meaning that fish are less aware when you're fishing over them, and the circular cap design holds bait in brilliantly and makes it easy to tap it out once you’ve shipped your pole out over where you’re fishing. What adds to using these pots is that they are fantastic for all types of pole fishing. I often use them when cupping small nuggets of groundbait in for roach and skimmer fishing, when drip feeding maggots for tench, and of course when feeding small amounts for finicky carp. I personally stick to smaller pots whenever possible because I think it limits the chances of spooking feeding fish when holding the pole over them, but the big size also does a fantastic job of feeding large amounts if you don’t have a cupping kit. Coming onto the market at £4.99, these are a brilliant price and a must-have for your pole fishing not just this summer but through all seasons. I just wanted to say a thank you to all readers of this blog, I’m loving writing these reviews and I hope they are helpful to you, we’d love to hear your feedback in the shop if you've been reading weekly. I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks, until that time take care and tight lines....
Tackle Trader | 28th March 2025 | Blogging
Hello all and welcome back, we hope you're having a fantastic week. We’re here with a short update, and are discussing the results from the NAFA winter league matches, with the Junior league concluding last weekend. And a huge congratulations goes to Noah who won both the match on Bradley with 8lb 10oz (peg 11), and the league overall, well done! The seniors also had an away day at Goodiford Mill for their penultimate winter league match on Sunday, with Jamie Pearce taking the win with an impressive 150lb 14oz on Peg 42. Gary Webber had 89lb 12oz from peg 11 for second, with Sam Powell bagging 67lb 2oz (peg 42) to take third. Next week we will be reviewing another must-have product for your Carp fishing this spring, so please be sure to pop back for that. Until then take care all, and tight lines. NAFA Junior League final results 1st, Noah with 7 points, dropped score 6 =1st, Liam with 7 points, dropped score 11 2nd Jamie with 8 points 3rd Saul with 11 points 4th Tom with 15 points 5th Elle with 18 points...
Tackle Trader | 21st March 2025 | Blogging
Good morning everyone, we’ve got another blog article for you this week, and what a fine week it has been! The sun is finally with us and yesterday was absolutely stunning, the warmest day of the year so far. While the weather isn’t exactly perfect for fishing, it does mean that the water temperatures will be warming and the fish will be starting to feed. And that means all the more reason for another product review on an item of tackle perfect for Tench, Bream and Carp, and this week I’ve gone for some of my favourite items in my kitbag, the Drennan match catapults. Coming in several different elastic ratings, my picks of the bunch are the Waggler range medium and Pole range medium. I find these ratings cover all the distances I need, and maintain grouping of my bait (no matter what the bait is) when firing it out, whereas the lighter versions sometimes spread it as I feel I’m having to over-stretch the elastic to hit the range. A fair few match anglers that I’ve fished with use the Waggler ranges even when fishing the pole as they say their bait groups better, but I personally find I lose some control of the range when using an over-heavy elastic. Additionally, I find that the elastics on these pults are about as durable as any on the market, which is vital when you're fishing a match and don’t have time to stop and repair a broken elastic, and also don’t want to be spending money to replace them week after week. Their strong frame designs also very rarely bend or break, meaning that they last for years. The pouches may be the only questionable part of these cattys, and I was sceptical when they were first updated as I was always a fan of the old soft mesh style (especially when feeding maggots), but I have to say I’ve had a lot less issues than I feared. The bait still fires in a great line, it stays in the pouch fine when you're firing, and these pouches are much more durable than their predecessors. As a result, these cattys are almost faultless, I believe that they are a vital part of any tackle bag, and while their job is seemingly very simple, they do it very well. I hope you have found this review helpful; I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks’ time. As ever before you go this week, we will leave you with a reminder of the upcoming local match dates so that you can book in or avoid them if you're out for a pleasure session. The next NAFA senior match will be round 5 of the Tackle Trader Winter League on Goodiford Mill this Sunday (23rd), while the next junior match will be on Bradley tomorrow (22nd, the final match of the Winter League). Tight lines all and until next time, take care....
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog. As the weather is starting to turn, we have been delighted to see so many of you looking to get back out on the bank. The countdown is now on until the clocks go forward and the fish to start feeding properly again, we can’t wait! And with several reports of tench being caught in local waters over the last week, it looks as though the warmer temperatures are already having an effect.
In new product news we promised you an item review this week, and that product is the Drennan Visi Wag No.1s. While these are not new to the market, we wanted to discuss them as they are a fantastic choice when float fishing for tench fishing (which is just about starting for the year), and have been used by myself. The thick and visible tip makes them a brilliant choice when there is a lot of ripple on the water, and their loaded design ensures that they fly smoothly through the air when casting. I also love the multicoloured tip design, as it allows me to easily see when I’ve had a lift bite or if my bait/shots further down the line are being held up in the water (perhaps by weed). They are also extra-durable, trust me, I bash my tackle around no end, and another advantage of the loaded design is that it allows me to easily switch my float for a smaller/bigger one if the wind changes without having to add or remove loads of shot from my line. Luckily, Drennan also have a similar model that has a finer tip which is perfect when the fish aren’t feeding confidently and you're getting less aggressive bites: These are the Visi Wag No.2s. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve switched between the two models during a session depending on how the fish are feeding on the day, it’s a great advantage to using these floats. We have them in stock both in store and on our ebay site, and I’ve attached the links to Drennan’s own description of them in the text if you’d like a further look. I can’t recommend them highly enough, and I hope they are as useful for you as they have been for me.
Before we go we have a couple of other things that have caught our attention this week and that we wanted to share with you! Firstly, that Mason Richie won NAFA’s fish of the year for 2024 after catching a monster 2lb perch from Wheel Pond, pipping Jason Craven’s beautiful Common Carp from first pond in the vote by NAFA’s anglers. And secondly, we are excited to share with you that Preston Innovations are launching a host of new products over the coming weeks, with some really impressive new bits included. We will be reviewing them as they come out, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, take care all, see you soon!
Like Back to Top Seen 432 times Liked 2 times
x
Subscribe to Updates
If you enjoyed this, why not subscribe to free email updates ?
Subscribe to Blog updates
Alternatively, you can subscribe via RSS
All email subscriptions must be confirmed to comply with GDPR.
Related Posts
Tackle Trader | 18th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog, we hope you've had a great week. You'll be glad to hear that the local fishing has once again been fantastic this week, and with numerous reports of tench being caught from NAFA's Rackerhayes lakes and some big carp being landed too. Last weekend's NAFA Carp match saw the pick of the Carp bags, with Tim Frost taking the win with two carp for 46lb 10oz from peg 20 on Island, including a 25lb 12oz beauty of a common. Leon Wilson managed second with a single carp for 30lb 8oz from peg 4 on Dores, with Lloyd Radford third with another single carp for 27lb 12oz from peg 25 on Island. Unfortunately we don't have a product review for you today, but we will be returning with one for you next week, and it's another one of my favourite products that is a must-have for your carp fishing this spring. In the meantime we will leave you with our opening hours the Easter weekend and a reminder of the upcoming senior match next weekend: NAFA Charity Open - 27/04 Enjoy your holiday everyone, see you soon. ...
Tackle Trader | 08th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog. What a beautiful week it’s been again, the weather couldn’t be much better for April! And you’ll be glad to hear that it’s been another productive week for local course fishing too, with the water temperatures warming the fish are switching on and we aren’t far off them having a proper munch now. Having walked around Rackerhayes yesterday there were plenty of fish moving, and it felt like the air was really on its way to those lovely summer temperatures that we are all looking forward to. This week I’m giving a product review to one of my favourite match fishing items for Carp too, and I’ve been really excited about this one. The product is the the Preston soft cad pole pot, which is in my opinion the best soft pot on the market. Firstly, I just love soft pots because they allow you to group your bait so tightly that is especially important when fishing for less aggressively feeding fish, I couldn’t honestly now imagine my box without them. But what separates the Preston Cad Pots for me is their brilliantly thought through design. I’ve found it tough to come across a soft pot that stays on your pole when dipping your tip under the water, that the bait stays in when shipping out, and that don’t look conspicuous to feeding fish below your pole tip; but this one has the lot. They grip brilliantly on your pole, meaning that you very rarely lose one when playing fish, their white and blue colour matches the sky in virtually all conditions meaning that fish are less aware when you're fishing over them, and the circular cap design holds bait in brilliantly and makes it easy to tap it out once you’ve shipped your pole out over where you’re fishing. What adds to using these pots is that they are fantastic for all types of pole fishing. I often use them when cupping small nuggets of groundbait in for roach and skimmer fishing, when drip feeding maggots for tench, and of course when feeding small amounts for finicky carp. I personally stick to smaller pots whenever possible because I think it limits the chances of spooking feeding fish when holding the pole over them, but the big size also does a fantastic job of feeding large amounts if you don’t have a cupping kit. Coming onto the market at £4.99, these are a brilliant price and a must-have for your pole fishing not just this summer but through all seasons. I just wanted to say a thank you to all readers of this blog, I’m loving writing these reviews and I hope they are helpful to you, we’d love to hear your feedback in the shop if you've been reading weekly. I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks, until that time take care and tight lines....
Tackle Trader | 28th March 2025 | Blogging
Hello all and welcome back, we hope you're having a fantastic week. We’re here with a short update, and are discussing the results from the NAFA winter league matches, with the Junior league concluding last weekend. And a huge congratulations goes to Noah who won both the match on Bradley with 8lb 10oz (peg 11), and the league overall, well done! The seniors also had an away day at Goodiford Mill for their penultimate winter league match on Sunday, with Jamie Pearce taking the win with an impressive 150lb 14oz on Peg 42. Gary Webber had 89lb 12oz from peg 11 for second, with Sam Powell bagging 67lb 2oz (peg 42) to take third. Next week we will be reviewing another must-have product for your Carp fishing this spring, so please be sure to pop back for that. Until then take care all, and tight lines. NAFA Junior League final results 1st, Noah with 7 points, dropped score 6 =1st, Liam with 7 points, dropped score 11 2nd Jamie with 8 points 3rd Saul with 11 points 4th Tom with 15 points 5th Elle with 18 points...
Tackle Trader | 21st March 2025 | Blogging
Good morning everyone, we’ve got another blog article for you this week, and what a fine week it has been! The sun is finally with us and yesterday was absolutely stunning, the warmest day of the year so far. While the weather isn’t exactly perfect for fishing, it does mean that the water temperatures will be warming and the fish will be starting to feed. And that means all the more reason for another product review on an item of tackle perfect for Tench, Bream and Carp, and this week I’ve gone for some of my favourite items in my kitbag, the Drennan match catapults. Coming in several different elastic ratings, my picks of the bunch are the Waggler range medium and Pole range medium. I find these ratings cover all the distances I need, and maintain grouping of my bait (no matter what the bait is) when firing it out, whereas the lighter versions sometimes spread it as I feel I’m having to over-stretch the elastic to hit the range. A fair few match anglers that I’ve fished with use the Waggler ranges even when fishing the pole as they say their bait groups better, but I personally find I lose some control of the range when using an over-heavy elastic. Additionally, I find that the elastics on these pults are about as durable as any on the market, which is vital when you're fishing a match and don’t have time to stop and repair a broken elastic, and also don’t want to be spending money to replace them week after week. Their strong frame designs also very rarely bend or break, meaning that they last for years. The pouches may be the only questionable part of these cattys, and I was sceptical when they were first updated as I was always a fan of the old soft mesh style (especially when feeding maggots), but I have to say I’ve had a lot less issues than I feared. The bait still fires in a great line, it stays in the pouch fine when you're firing, and these pouches are much more durable than their predecessors. As a result, these cattys are almost faultless, I believe that they are a vital part of any tackle bag, and while their job is seemingly very simple, they do it very well. I hope you have found this review helpful; I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks’ time. As ever before you go this week, we will leave you with a reminder of the upcoming local match dates so that you can book in or avoid them if you're out for a pleasure session. The next NAFA senior match will be round 5 of the Tackle Trader Winter League on Goodiford Mill this Sunday (23rd), while the next junior match will be on Bradley tomorrow (22nd, the final match of the Winter League). Tight lines all and until next time, take care....
Tackle Trader | 18th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog, we hope you've had a great week. You'll be glad to hear that the local fishing has once again been fantastic this week, and with numerous reports of tench being caught from NAFA's Rackerhayes lakes and some big carp being landed too. Last weekend's NAFA Carp match saw the pick of the Carp bags, with Tim Frost taking the win with two carp for 46lb 10oz from peg 20 on Island, including a 25lb 12oz beauty of a common. Leon Wilson managed second with a single carp for 30lb 8oz from peg 4 on Dores, with Lloyd Radford third with another single carp for 27lb 12oz from peg 25 on Island. Unfortunately we don't have a product review for you today, but we will be returning with one for you next week, and it's another one of my favourite products that is a must-have for your carp fishing this spring. In the meantime we will leave you with our opening hours the Easter weekend and a reminder of the upcoming senior match next weekend: NAFA Charity Open - 27/04 Enjoy your holiday everyone, see you soon. ...
Tackle Trader | 08th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog. What a beautiful week it’s been again, the weather couldn’t be much better for April! And you’ll be glad to hear that it’s been another productive week for local course fishing too, with the water temperatures warming the fish are switching on and we aren’t far off them having a proper munch now. Having walked around Rackerhayes yesterday there were plenty of fish moving, and it felt like the air was really on its way to those lovely summer temperatures that we are all looking forward to. This week I’m giving a product review to one of my favourite match fishing items for Carp too, and I’ve been really excited about this one. The product is the the Preston soft cad pole pot, which is in my opinion the best soft pot on the market. Firstly, I just love soft pots because they allow you to group your bait so tightly that is especially important when fishing for less aggressively feeding fish, I couldn’t honestly now imagine my box without them. But what separates the Preston Cad Pots for me is their brilliantly thought through design. I’ve found it tough to come across a soft pot that stays on your pole when dipping your tip under the water, that the bait stays in when shipping out, and that don’t look conspicuous to feeding fish below your pole tip; but this one has the lot. They grip brilliantly on your pole, meaning that you very rarely lose one when playing fish, their white and blue colour matches the sky in virtually all conditions meaning that fish are less aware when you're fishing over them, and the circular cap design holds bait in brilliantly and makes it easy to tap it out once you’ve shipped your pole out over where you’re fishing. What adds to using these pots is that they are fantastic for all types of pole fishing. I often use them when cupping small nuggets of groundbait in for roach and skimmer fishing, when drip feeding maggots for tench, and of course when feeding small amounts for finicky carp. I personally stick to smaller pots whenever possible because I think it limits the chances of spooking feeding fish when holding the pole over them, but the big size also does a fantastic job of feeding large amounts if you don’t have a cupping kit. Coming onto the market at £4.99, these are a brilliant price and a must-have for your pole fishing not just this summer but through all seasons. I just wanted to say a thank you to all readers of this blog, I’m loving writing these reviews and I hope they are helpful to you, we’d love to hear your feedback in the shop if you've been reading weekly. I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks, until that time take care and tight lines....
Tackle Trader | 28th March 2025 | Blogging
Hello all and welcome back, we hope you're having a fantastic week. We’re here with a short update, and are discussing the results from the NAFA winter league matches, with the Junior league concluding last weekend. And a huge congratulations goes to Noah who won both the match on Bradley with 8lb 10oz (peg 11), and the league overall, well done! The seniors also had an away day at Goodiford Mill for their penultimate winter league match on Sunday, with Jamie Pearce taking the win with an impressive 150lb 14oz on Peg 42. Gary Webber had 89lb 12oz from peg 11 for second, with Sam Powell bagging 67lb 2oz (peg 42) to take third. Next week we will be reviewing another must-have product for your Carp fishing this spring, so please be sure to pop back for that. Until then take care all, and tight lines. NAFA Junior League final results 1st, Noah with 7 points, dropped score 6 =1st, Liam with 7 points, dropped score 11 2nd Jamie with 8 points 3rd Saul with 11 points 4th Tom with 15 points 5th Elle with 18 points...
Tackle Trader | 21st March 2025 | Blogging
Good morning everyone, we’ve got another blog article for you this week, and what a fine week it has been! The sun is finally with us and yesterday was absolutely stunning, the warmest day of the year so far. While the weather isn’t exactly perfect for fishing, it does mean that the water temperatures will be warming and the fish will be starting to feed. And that means all the more reason for another product review on an item of tackle perfect for Tench, Bream and Carp, and this week I’ve gone for some of my favourite items in my kitbag, the Drennan match catapults. Coming in several different elastic ratings, my picks of the bunch are the Waggler range medium and Pole range medium. I find these ratings cover all the distances I need, and maintain grouping of my bait (no matter what the bait is) when firing it out, whereas the lighter versions sometimes spread it as I feel I’m having to over-stretch the elastic to hit the range. A fair few match anglers that I’ve fished with use the Waggler ranges even when fishing the pole as they say their bait groups better, but I personally find I lose some control of the range when using an over-heavy elastic. Additionally, I find that the elastics on these pults are about as durable as any on the market, which is vital when you're fishing a match and don’t have time to stop and repair a broken elastic, and also don’t want to be spending money to replace them week after week. Their strong frame designs also very rarely bend or break, meaning that they last for years. The pouches may be the only questionable part of these cattys, and I was sceptical when they were first updated as I was always a fan of the old soft mesh style (especially when feeding maggots), but I have to say I’ve had a lot less issues than I feared. The bait still fires in a great line, it stays in the pouch fine when you're firing, and these pouches are much more durable than their predecessors. As a result, these cattys are almost faultless, I believe that they are a vital part of any tackle bag, and while their job is seemingly very simple, they do it very well. I hope you have found this review helpful; I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks’ time. As ever before you go this week, we will leave you with a reminder of the upcoming local match dates so that you can book in or avoid them if you're out for a pleasure session. The next NAFA senior match will be round 5 of the Tackle Trader Winter League on Goodiford Mill this Sunday (23rd), while the next junior match will be on Bradley tomorrow (22nd, the final match of the Winter League). Tight lines all and until next time, take care....
Recent Posts
Tackle Trader | 18th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog, we hope you've had a great week. You'll be glad to hear that the local fishing has once again been fantastic this week, and with numerous reports of tench being caught from NAFA's Rackerhayes lakes and some big carp being landed too. Last weekend's NAFA Carp match saw the pick of the Carp bags, with Tim Frost taking the win with two carp for 46lb 10oz from peg 20 on Island, including a 25lb 12oz beauty of a common. Leon Wilson managed second with a single carp for 30lb 8oz from peg 4 on Dores, with Lloyd Radford third with another single carp for 27lb 12oz from peg 25 on Island. Unfortunately we don't have a product review for you today, but we will be returning with one for you next week, and it's another one of my favourite products that is a must-have for your carp fishing this spring. In the meantime we will leave you with our opening hours the Easter weekend and a reminder of the upcoming senior match next weekend: NAFA Charity Open - 27/04 Enjoy your holiday everyone, see you soon. ...
Tackle Trader | 08th April 2025 | Blogging
Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to our blog. What a beautiful week it’s been again, the weather couldn’t be much better for April! And you’ll be glad to hear that it’s been another productive week for local course fishing too, with the water temperatures warming the fish are switching on and we aren’t far off them having a proper munch now. Having walked around Rackerhayes yesterday there were plenty of fish moving, and it felt like the air was really on its way to those lovely summer temperatures that we are all looking forward to. This week I’m giving a product review to one of my favourite match fishing items for Carp too, and I’ve been really excited about this one. The product is the the Preston soft cad pole pot, which is in my opinion the best soft pot on the market. Firstly, I just love soft pots because they allow you to group your bait so tightly that is especially important when fishing for less aggressively feeding fish, I couldn’t honestly now imagine my box without them. But what separates the Preston Cad Pots for me is their brilliantly thought through design. I’ve found it tough to come across a soft pot that stays on your pole when dipping your tip under the water, that the bait stays in when shipping out, and that don’t look conspicuous to feeding fish below your pole tip; but this one has the lot. They grip brilliantly on your pole, meaning that you very rarely lose one when playing fish, their white and blue colour matches the sky in virtually all conditions meaning that fish are less aware when you're fishing over them, and the circular cap design holds bait in brilliantly and makes it easy to tap it out once you’ve shipped your pole out over where you’re fishing. What adds to using these pots is that they are fantastic for all types of pole fishing. I often use them when cupping small nuggets of groundbait in for roach and skimmer fishing, when drip feeding maggots for tench, and of course when feeding small amounts for finicky carp. I personally stick to smaller pots whenever possible because I think it limits the chances of spooking feeding fish when holding the pole over them, but the big size also does a fantastic job of feeding large amounts if you don’t have a cupping kit. Coming onto the market at £4.99, these are a brilliant price and a must-have for your pole fishing not just this summer but through all seasons. I just wanted to say a thank you to all readers of this blog, I’m loving writing these reviews and I hope they are helpful to you, we’d love to hear your feedback in the shop if you've been reading weekly. I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks, until that time take care and tight lines....
Tackle Trader | 28th March 2025 | Blogging
Hello all and welcome back, we hope you're having a fantastic week. We’re here with a short update, and are discussing the results from the NAFA winter league matches, with the Junior league concluding last weekend. And a huge congratulations goes to Noah who won both the match on Bradley with 8lb 10oz (peg 11), and the league overall, well done! The seniors also had an away day at Goodiford Mill for their penultimate winter league match on Sunday, with Jamie Pearce taking the win with an impressive 150lb 14oz on Peg 42. Gary Webber had 89lb 12oz from peg 11 for second, with Sam Powell bagging 67lb 2oz (peg 42) to take third. Next week we will be reviewing another must-have product for your Carp fishing this spring, so please be sure to pop back for that. Until then take care all, and tight lines. NAFA Junior League final results 1st, Noah with 7 points, dropped score 6 =1st, Liam with 7 points, dropped score 11 2nd Jamie with 8 points 3rd Saul with 11 points 4th Tom with 15 points 5th Elle with 18 points...
Tackle Trader | 21st March 2025 | Blogging
Good morning everyone, we’ve got another blog article for you this week, and what a fine week it has been! The sun is finally with us and yesterday was absolutely stunning, the warmest day of the year so far. While the weather isn’t exactly perfect for fishing, it does mean that the water temperatures will be warming and the fish will be starting to feed. And that means all the more reason for another product review on an item of tackle perfect for Tench, Bream and Carp, and this week I’ve gone for some of my favourite items in my kitbag, the Drennan match catapults. Coming in several different elastic ratings, my picks of the bunch are the Waggler range medium and Pole range medium. I find these ratings cover all the distances I need, and maintain grouping of my bait (no matter what the bait is) when firing it out, whereas the lighter versions sometimes spread it as I feel I’m having to over-stretch the elastic to hit the range. A fair few match anglers that I’ve fished with use the Waggler ranges even when fishing the pole as they say their bait groups better, but I personally find I lose some control of the range when using an over-heavy elastic. Additionally, I find that the elastics on these pults are about as durable as any on the market, which is vital when you're fishing a match and don’t have time to stop and repair a broken elastic, and also don’t want to be spending money to replace them week after week. Their strong frame designs also very rarely bend or break, meaning that they last for years. The pouches may be the only questionable part of these cattys, and I was sceptical when they were first updated as I was always a fan of the old soft mesh style (especially when feeding maggots), but I have to say I’ve had a lot less issues than I feared. The bait still fires in a great line, it stays in the pouch fine when you're firing, and these pouches are much more durable than their predecessors. As a result, these cattys are almost faultless, I believe that they are a vital part of any tackle bag, and while their job is seemingly very simple, they do it very well. I hope you have found this review helpful; I’ll be back with another in a couple of weeks’ time. As ever before you go this week, we will leave you with a reminder of the upcoming local match dates so that you can book in or avoid them if you're out for a pleasure session. The next NAFA senior match will be round 5 of the Tackle Trader Winter League on Goodiford Mill this Sunday (23rd), while the next junior match will be on Bradley tomorrow (22nd, the final match of the Winter League). Tight lines all and until next time, take care....