The Brentwood Carp Show
29/30 January 2011

Report by Ray Best for UKMA 2011

After the big disappointments of the cancellation of the 2010 Carp Show due to adverse weather conditions, the anticipation for the 2011 Brentwood Carp Show was bigger than ever. UKMA made plans to visit the show on the Sunday and with talk on Facebook and the forums of a road block show with huge crowds in attendance on the Saturday. Our anticipation was high as we left Cambridgeshire and headed south to the Brentwood Centre to see what the event organisers “Redwood Events” and the army of exhibitors had to offer the masses of carp anglers who had made the annual pilgrimage to support this, the first carp show of 2011.

We arrived at around 9.30 and the venue was buzzing with the two arenas already three quarters full and with huge cues at the main entrance. So after the reported huge crowds on the Saturday, yet another full house looked on the cards. We made our way from the main entrance, through the packed isles in the marquee arena, to the main hall. Upon entering the main hall an instant buzz hit you. Hundreds of anglers were swamping every corner, all looking for tackle information from the many companies exhibiting and bargains from the retailers in attendance, who between them offered the right price on virtually anything the carp angler desired.

On the tackle front many new and established brands proudly displayed their new wears to the crowds and one of the big eye catchers in the main arena had to be the absolutely enormous Nash Tackle stand. On display they had the new for Titan two man bivvy which is enormous, the very smart Titan brolly system which has already made its way on to the wants list of many anglers I’ve spoken to recently. The big buzz had to be the new Siren Alarms, with the Nash team demonstrating the alarms functions to huge numbers of anglers. For the future the new Nash rods and the Top Rod Chain Reaction feeding system are well worth looking out for.

The Greys and Chub stand was also very busy with Lee Collings, Gavin Burn and the Greys team showing off their very impressive range of rods, bivvies, bedchairs and accessories to a continuous flow of interested anglers, with the new for 2011 GREYS Klip-Lok Tackle Base storage system drawing huge attention. Right next door you had the Korda stand that was three deep for most of the day, with superb show pack of terminal tackle, Baiting equipment and PVA products available at great prices being hoovered up by the masses. In attendance for Korda was Tom Dove, Darrel Peck and numerous other members of the team offering professional advice and tips.

The Main hall also had Fox, Atomic Tackle, Maver,  Gardner Tackle and numerous others bait and tackle brands in attendance, all offering that little something different to the mix, keeping the huge crowds entertained. On the Media front the Carp TV stand was also a hub of activity as Joe Morgan charmed the public into subscribing to this very entertaining and original form of angling media entertainment. On the book front you had the M-Press stand with Nigel Sharp, Terry Hearn and Gaz Farnham in attendance to sign your purchase and for the obligatory photos. At the other end of the main hall you also had the Freebird Publishing Stand with Keith Jenkins in attendance for signed copy and a chat about all things carpy.

In the Marquee arena the atmosphere was just as busy with an endless flow of anglers now ramming the isles top bursting point. The Free Spirit stand created a huge road block with masses of anglers talking to Shaun Harrison, Rob Marsh and the numerous other members of this superb team of angler who were all on hand to offer tips and advice to anyone who approached (even me). Right next door you had Johnson Ross and Matrix, with Lewis, Anthony and the team on hand, who as usual had queues of anglers buying from this top quality retail outlet. With Kent Particles, Thinking Anglers, Angling Technics, ATT, Heathrow Baits, Carp-porter, Bait Zone, Viper and numerous other top brands also on display in this busy and at times packed out arena.

All in all the 2011 Brentwood Carp Show was a huge success that attracted thousands of visitors over the two days and apart from the slight over crowding in the Marquee arena at times, it was a very an enjoyable day out for those who attended. UKMA would like to congratulate Lee Apps and his team at Redwood Events for putting together a well organised and professionally managed event, here’s to the 2012 show.