The Big One 2011

Report by
Ray Best

Last weekend saw huge crowds flock to the Farnborough Airfield in Hampshire to attend the Big One 2011. Colin and Vince at Fishface Promotions have worked tirelessly to make this event the Mecca for anglers looking to stock up on tackle items and in search of a real bargain. The added bonus this year for the visiting angler was the huge number of big name manufacturers who now realise that the Big One is the place to show off your wares for the coming year.

On the general coarse and match front, first time exhibitors Garbolino headed by Darren Cox put in a fine display of top quality rods, luggage, nets and accessories to catch the eye, with the star product being a new 4.5m margin pole that will sell like mad costing the angler a mere £30.00, with spare top kits selling for only £9.00. I had a go at trying to break one but I couldn’t. On first impressions it came across as being bomb proof and superb value for money.

Also attending for the first time were now southern based Yorkshire Baits UK with front man and MD Perry Stone on hand to assist with the crowds of anglers who were now steadily filling this huge arena. The New Triple Pots from YBUK have already taken the there place on numerous shop shelves over the past few weeks and these superb value for money hook baits will definitely find favour with the thousands of coarse and club anglers up and down the country.

Japanese bait giants Marukyu have started to really get a hold of the UK market place and front man Roy Marlow and UK MD John Loftus were both on hand along with the UK team of established angler to demonstrate and explain the fine art of the many technological and scientific advantages of using these unique bait systems. One of the team introduced me to an original twist to keeping your rig pinned to the deck when specialist angling, but we will be reviewing that in the coming weeks.

Other Top brands in attendance included MAVER UK with carp legend and head consultant Del Ritchie, as ever, entertaining the crowds with his original banter and years of angling knowledge. Fox International was also on the floor with their huge team of consultants working the crowd including the Fox Match consultant Mark Pollard who, as per usual, was being his informative self, advising and demonstrating the finer arts of the match range.

As per usual the Guru had the crowd flocking to get hints and tips from match fishing legends Steve Ringer and Alex Bones who were on hand all day to offer advice. The Guru team were also assisted by Sky TV’s Wendy Lythgoe-Clarke who added a bit of glamour to a very professional team of angling consultants. Directly opposite you had the Korda stand which had an army of angling celebs on hand to assist in the visiting hordes with all aspects of carp fishing

Nash has rightfully over the past 6 years earned a reputation for quality gear and this was obvious for all to see by the sheer number of anglers swarming the huge stand. On hand you had Jerry Hammond, Gary Bayes and the huge army of Nash consultants dealing with the endless number of angling and product questions. On the Nash Bait stand, Leigh Hemsley had big crowds captivated with is easy to follow instructions and demonstrations into the finer art of bait rolling. 

The stand that really stole the show had to be the very impressive Shimano stand that really looked the business. On the stand they had Jan Porter, Ian Macmillan (all round entertainer and the Shimano Team Tribal court jester) and Alan Scotthorne, all on hand to explain the finer points of the highly respected brand new and advanced ranges of rods, reels and accessories. UKMA will be featuring some of these quality items over the next few months, so watch this space.

Right next door you had the GREYS & CHUB stand that was also taking advantage of the now huge crowds and I have to admit that carp consultant Lee Colling is a vast book of knowledge and if you ever get a chance, have a chat with him, trust me you’ll learn something. The Coarse side of things saw Lee Taylor from the Academy running around all day which I have to admit was a very rare experience and one I wish I had got on video (only kidding Lee)

Another company that is fighting well above its weight at this years show is Essex based Advanced Technology Tackle (ATT). This fast growing company have made a big impact in the industry over the past 6 months with new Marketing manager Rob Fielding building a huge following for the brand. This innovative company have loads of very practical products already available to the session angler and more in the pipe line, definitely one to keep an eye on in the future.

The Show also coincided with the launch of the new Angling magazine called Fish ‘n’ Tips. This new monthly magazine has already got a lot of tongues wagging with its some say controversial use of sex to sell a fishing mag. Editor Mark Barrett is far from being a man to sit on the fence so it comes as no surprise to turn up to the stand to find two stunning glamour models handing out free copies, which the majority of visitors were very impressed with.

By 11.30 the venue was well and truly packed with all exhibitors trying to cope with the sheer volume of anglers who were finding in some areas that just moving around was a major achievement. Everywhere you looked there were anglers carrying boxes and bags of all sizes, everything from bechairs to bivvies were up for grabs and the crowds were taking full advantage, which obviously meant that the retailers in attendance were going to be going home very happy.

Final Thoughts

UKMA have to take our hat of to Colin and Vince at Fishface Promotions and all the exhibitors for making this one of, if not the best angling show I have personally ever attended (even better than Sandown 2010 which I thoroughly enjoyed). The way the event was laid out allowed plenty of room for all to see what they wanted too without being knocked of your feet or pushed along in the crowds like at previous events I had visited earlier this year. 

All there is left to say is the UKMA team along with the 13,500 plus other members of the angling world who made the pilgrimage to the Big One had a great day out. The event organisers have got the formula spot on making the event simply run like clock work and enjoyable for all. The UKMA team will definitely be attending the Big One next year and hopefully it will be bigger and better than this years if that is possible.