Lure Fishing Tackle – What’s New for 2017?

Farlows is embracing all the new developments in lure fishing takle with new ranges of kit in-store and online. Farlows Marketing Manager, Ian Welch, himself none too shabby with a lure rod in hand, talked to store lure fishing expert Ben Tregoning about what’s new.

IW Ben, I know lure fishing has been your passion from a very early age, both for bass and freshwater predators, but why has Farlows started to embrace the lure fishing scene with such gusto this year?

BT Quite simply because it has been the biggest growth area in fishing over the past five years or so – and that is in both sea and freshwater – here at Farlows we embrace all new developments and we have tremendous lure fishing expertise within the team too. We have been taking delivery of whole new ranges of kit for weeks now, it’s exciting!

IW What has driven this amazing growth?

BT Many factors really. Lure fishing has been big across the continent, indeed the rest of the world, for a long time and that influence has slowly spread over here. Fisherman are also becoming less inclined to carry large amounts of kit, for lure fishing all you need is a rod with a reel, a bag with a box of lures and a net - and you are good to go. You can fish light, be mobile and fish short sessions with every chance of connecting with a fish or two. It has been a revelation to coarse anglers who have been used to carrying bags, boxes, holdalls, umbrellas and the kitchen sink…

IW Is it just coarse anglers who are embracing the lure fishing boom? What about the fly guys?

BT Oh yes, we are seeing a lot more fly anglers pick up a lure rod too, it’s something different and allows for diversification across their fishing year.

IW Has any species fired the imagination of the new breed of lure angler over and above any other?

BT Pike and perch really, I love my bass fishing as you know Ian, but bass have held steady in their popularity – it’s the freshwater species driving the trend.



IW A lot of the brands coming into the store are new to me Ben, can you tell me a little about some of them?

BT I’m a big fan of the French Sakura brand, they have a total passion for lure fishing and make the most awesome travel rods. Whether you are looking for a light dropshot rod for perch, a spinning rod for pike or whether you are heading to the salt for a workout with a serious GT they have it covered.

IW Travel rods really have come on in leaps and bounds, haven’t they?

BT They certainly have. They have perfect actions without a hint of a flat spot, they are sweet to cast with and play fish on and, of course, they are ideal to pop in a suitcase or leave tucked in the car to use at short notice.

IW Are there any Sakura lures you would recommend Ben? Or is it all about the hardware?

BT They have a superb range. The Koneel Eels are brilliant bass lures; the Mr. Joe, Surface Skipper and Pulsion are great for the big saltwater species, such as GTs and there are plenty of options for pike and perch anglers too with lures such as the Slit Shads and spinnerbaits such as the Monarch and Monarch Minor. It’s a comprehensive selection that covers most of the predatory species you will encounter and there are some great kits too, these cover different branches of lure fishing - including dropshotting, perch and light rock fishing (LRF) - these are perfect for newcomers to lure fishing.

IW I’ve heard there is another terrific French brand new in-store too?

BT Yes, that’s Fiiish. There are two real stand out lures in their collection, the Black Minnow and the Crazy Sand Eel. They have great swimming actions, there are many ways to fish them and absolutely everything will eat them!

I love the Fiiish colour coded Perfect Link system too. It ensures you are correctly rigged with the ideal combination of braid, fluorocarbon and lure clip whatever you are fishing for. You just select the three products in the same colour to create a consistency of size and diameter, whether that is light, medium, strong or X-strong.

IW Is there anything else new in-store that lure anglers need to know about Ben?

BT Lots! The new Eco Gear products are certainly well worth a look with the Aji an ace perch softbait and the Isome still the ‘go to’ option for LRF. Their Pocket In sets are worth having in your bag too.

I suppose the only other products I would suggest any lure anglers look at are the new Shimano reels we have in. The Exsence Ci4+ is a brilliant lightweight model that’s ideal for fresh or saltwater use, the are some lovely little low profile baitcasters and if you are into heavier applications the TLD multipliers are perfect – particularly when coupled with one of the new Shimano Ocea rods.

There is new gear coming in all the time too, so make sure you keep an eye on the website, or call into Pall Mall and have a word with me if you have any queries.

IW It sounds like it’s an exciting time for lure fishing Ben, I'm certainly going to get out and do more this year, thank you for your time.