Bargain Basement Tackle

Must haves...

I'm a big fan of the The Range. They carry a load of stock from the Swedish tackle firm Fladen, some of which is the most unutterable ordure, the majority of which is useful, very little of which is top flight, but, you can always find some useful bits and bobs if you can manage to stop laughing at some of the hilarious rubbish on offer
for a moment and concentrate on weeding out the good stuff.

The hooks to nylon are a case in point. At 99p for ten I have been buying up all the roach sizes and I don't think I've had a hook hold fail since I've used them, and in roach fishing that's important, however, if you hook a fish such as a five pound chub on your breadflake then you have to tread very carefully indeed or the hook just begins to open up, they are a bit too soft. They also have to be checked for sharpness out of the packet, and they rust quickly - I never use the same hook twice as a consequence. Swivels and snap links are dirt cheap, as are pike floats, they do a nifty rod rest or two, lots of very cheap lures for snaggy waters where you won't risk a Rapala, and a curiously attractive camo carp rod...

I don't understand what a 'barbed freshwater box' is, but I bet it's a sod to unhitch when caught up in your tights...



But Fladen can't be blamed for the above picture, no, that comes courtesy of the Boyz Toys 'Gone Fishing' range of dismal toss. I usually pass right by the shelf with this stuff on it, little of it could be called fishing tackle in the sense that you could feasibly tackle any kind of fish with it, but for some reason a pack of 'Fishing Glow Sticks' caught my eye, no less than six of the little blighters on sale for just 99p. They looked suspect, it has to be said; orange rather than the expected green, and packed dubiously, but I bought a pack to try and broke one out at home, snapped it, and lo..! It glowed!

You can't go wrong really can you? Next time we visit Sainsbury's, I'm nipping next door to get my self a good year or two's supply, I'll leave some on the shelf for you though, I promise.