Norman Berry, editor of Sea Angling News, recently visited the Shakespeare & Penn Trade show. Below are his thoughts on some of the fishing tackle about to hit the UK market – Ed
I was invited to the first combined Shakespeare/Penn trade show at the Hampshire Rose Bowl and it was impressive to say the least. Loads of new gear on display, in all disciplines, but obviously the sea gear was my first priority, although the coarse stuff did get a severe looking at, too.(Future puddle dipper?)
Shakespeare
I was particularly attracted to the new MTI range of rods and accessories as a lot of thought had obviously gone into it. Designed by Shakespeare’s Sea Angling Consultant, Mike Thrussell, these were my type of rods. Two beach rods, a bass rod and two boat rods. The rods are exceptionally well built on the finest blanks with genuine Fuji fittings and a quality finish. They’re not chea,p but neither are they expensive for what you get. Let’s say that if you compare what you get for your money with other brands, they’re more than competitive. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say, so I‘ll wait until I’ve tried them before I make a final judgement.
There is a new adjustable rod rest designed for the longer continental rods which should become popular with the owners of the longer K2 rods.
The “Salt†range has been expanded to include such joys as 9ft tope and cod rods. They looked and felt impressive and are slightly longer than normal boat rods. There is also a new brother to my favourite 8ft Sporting Braid 20/30, it’s a super 8ft 12/20. It should cover most fish from bream to smoothhounds. X5, this is a multi-purpose, 8 section, combo set to cover all fishing from boat(2), uptide, pier and beach/bass. Have a look if you don’t want to buy lots of different rods. This range has been a breath of fresh air to the Shakespeare ranges as they include a sensibly priced range of quality tackle. It’s well worth a look when next in your local tackle shop.
My favourite is the Tidewater “economy rangeâ€, it’s a fantastic range of gear at almost rock bottom prices. It may be cheap in price but the quality is unbelievable. When I was sent some of the rods and reels to review last year I didn’t have the prices, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I checked it out in the catalogue. I would have guessed the prices to be about double to what they actually were. The two uptide rods were exceptional value and quality for the money.
The real cheapies are the IN2 range. This is rock bottom, entry level tackle designed for anglers just taking up the sport who may wish to upgrade at a later date. Although cheap, they are not nasty. They are well made, but obviously not top of the range and you can kit out yourself or the rug rats for not a lot of money. The range includes just about everything you need to fish from boat, pier or shore.
There were loads of new fixed spool reels, too many to mention, but there were a couple of crackers that were ideal for mullet or spinning for bass. I noticed a few lines were being discontinued, which I expected, but they will be replaced with new products so there won’t be a gap.
As well as the new rods and reels a lot of the favourites like the Ugly Sticks and K2’s remain, so there’s still something for everyone. I’ve got loads of Shakespeare rods and I’ve been more than happy with them, so I’m sure you will be too.
To see all the Shakespeare rods and reels get a catalogue or DVD from your local tackle shop.
Sea angling consultant Mike Thrussell and Sales Manager David Duffes discuss the latest rods
Penn
All the glittering gold reels were on display. I fell in love with the International Torq range. There are only three in the range, but they are superbly designed and made. They are star drag reels designed for braid or mono. Small, strong and smooth but capable of holding enough braid to land any fish in the line class. There is one for casting with a slider brake, great for heavy ground fishing or uptiding, and two for boat fishing. Not cheap, but you do tend to get what you pay for with this type of reel. I look forward to testing one, or two. I usually prefer lever drags, but these reels just scream, “Take me, try me, I’m great, you’ll like me!†It was love at first sight.
The original single speed International has survived all the changes and updating, although the range has been decreased and the numbers have changed. My old 50W is now the 50 TW. This is proof of its popularity and dependability. Mine is over 20 years old and still going strong with a minimum of maintenance.
Top of the range is the International VSX series. This is probably more at home in warmer waters, where the fish run hard and fast, but the smaller 16 and 30VSX models would be suitable for big tope and sharks on light line.
The International V series is probably the successor to the International 2 speed series and, again, not a lot of call here for the larger models, but the smaller 16 and 30 models would be eminently suitable for big tope, sharks, conger and common skate.
Now we come to the less expensive models, not in gold though but still strong and smooth. There’s the Graph-Lite in 20, 30 and 50, which should cope with any fish that swims in UK waters. As the name implies, it’s made of graphite to make it lighter, but it’s still strong enough to cope with conger, sharks and common skate.
GT Lever Drag – this comes with a level wind but I won’t hold that against it because some anglers need a level wind to lay the line on the spool. This is the “cheapie†of the lever drags, but it has a pretty impressive specification for a “budget†reel. It’s well worth a look at.
Senator & Special Senator – these are the workhorses of the charter fleet and the majority of anglers. Until recently I’d had a 4/0 for 30 years and hardly spent a penny on it, but it never let me down, even abroad where it performed miracles for a star drag reel. Conger, shark, big rays, it tamed them all. In 30 years all I replaced was two cracked chrome bands and the drag washers with the HT100 system when it came out. That’s reliability for you.
Mags & Super Mags – these are the casting reels for uptiding and beach casting. Graphite construction and loads of bearings, smooth drags, these are just the job for the serious uptide boat angler and shore match and specimen angler.
There are so many reels in the Penn catalogue that you’ll have to look at the catalogue yourselves for the other multipliers and the fixed spool reels.
Rods – there are loads of rods in the Penn range, boat, beach, spinning, I’ve never owned a Penn rod so I can’t give an opinion on them, but they get a good review from most anglers. They are all worth a look so visit your local Penn dealer and grab a catalogue.
Norman Berry
Read more sea angling news and reviews at www.seaanglingnews.co.uk
