It all started at the crack of dawn with the guys being picked up at 5.30 am ready for the 2 and a half hour drive up to the show being held in Farnborough. Myself, Dean Curtis , Wayne Curtis and Brian Chandler had al decided to have a day out at the show and hopefully grab a few bargains while we were there. As you can imagine with a bunch of blokes sharing a car the banter all the way up was lively and fishing related with a few practical jokes thrown in for the fun of it. Dean had won a couple of tickets to the show on a Facebook competition so 2 of the members managed to get inside an hour earlier than the rest as we had to wait outside in the cold for the doors to open but believe me the wait was well worth it.
As you entered the exhibition hall you cold see immediately that there was 100's of different companies and stalls with all types of fishing products on display. There was a large seating area to the left of the main hall for people to grab a bite to eat or a cuppa and also a dedicated smokers area just out side to the right. The first thing you came across was the angling times giving away free magazines to each person that passed by and also the Improve you Coarse fishing magazine was also being given away free. The displays were large and impressive with every bit of fishing tackle you could imagine on display and of course a few new items that had been released by companies this year.
Each company had thier consultants and spokes persons on hand to answer questions and give demonstrations of the products they were selling including some very well known celebrities in the fishing world such as, Bob Nudd (MBE), Dean Macey, Danny Fairbrass, Terry Dempsey and Tom Pickers just to name a few. There were so many celebrities i just lost count. Each company was giving demonstrations on rig building and baiting application as well as advising people on tactics and tackle to use in their fishing. As well as showing off the products they were also available to purchase at some amazing prices and some companies even put together special packs that were only avaiable at the show and were amazing value for money.
The show was an amazing success and very well run by Fishface Promotions and if you didn't get a chance to go this year then i would recommend you go and pay them a visit next year as you won't be disappointed. Even our newest member to the Admin team and Carp consultant Dean Curtis managed to meet a few of his fishing idols and got some great photos taken with them.
