To say I’m excited would be a real understatement. In just 10 days time Dan and I will be commencing our third intercontinental soiree to France to attend a very special fishing show in Nantes – the 2013 Salon Europeen des Peches en Mer.
Since our first attendance; inflation, the Euro, fuel prices and ever increasing work commitments have all plotted against us meaning it no longer ‘makes sense’ for us to visit. Add to that the fact that this years event falls on valentines day (I’d gladly skip it but someone else has other ideas!) and that the supply of great, modern lure fishing tackle has improved massively through our own shops in the UK. Oh, and neither of us can really speak French! You have to question why we’re going. Well, simply because it’s A..W..E..S..O..M..E
In all seriousness, there’s always a huge amount going on at this event and we never manage to take it all in, even after 3 days solid. In the absence of a similar UK event it is also very timely. It’s about this time of year that I start to wish away the remaining winter by planning and preparing my fishing objectives for the next season. And such is the breadth of this lure fishing game, every year I seem to be planning a new diversification and wanting to add a new string to my metaphorical lure-fishing bow. So this year I can justify the outlay so that I can learn more about fishing big shads from the boat – something the French do very well. And of course, if that lets me flex every LRF rod in the known universe, side by side, under one roof, then hey – I’m in!
Lots of great new stuff coming out for 2013 – especially from the French manufacturers like Sakura, Illex & Hearty Rise. In between learning and stuff, I’ll do my best to take lots of pictures and blog about any interesting LRF tackle and developments we discover – so watch this space. In the meantime, I’ve started adding the latest 2013 digital lure fishing catalogues to the site. Pretty hot. Take a look!