I have loved fishing from a very young age, starting with course fishing with my old man, to SW bait fishing with friends in my mid-teens. Then my love of lure fishing took over in my mid-20s and still has a hold on me until this day. I guess it’s buzz we get as anglers, you know, not knowing what is going to happen with that very next cast, rod in hand and feeling every bump and bite on the retrieve.
Lure fishing started this crazy cyclone of thoughts and really brought me closer to the way I fish now. Always thinking about new places to try and winkle out a fish, going back repeatedly, this time with a different lure, the next at a different time of the tide. Not catching on this tide, catching on the next and this is where my lure fishing journey really started.
Next minute, in 2007, a new fishing shop opens, and my brain is sent into overdrive, a selection of lures I had never seen before, shining new reels and a copious number of rods. I was in heaven, my wallet wasn’t, but at that time of my life, I didn’t really care how much I spent. I just wanted to catch fish. But for me, it wasn’t about all the gear, it was the knowledge I was picking up from other anglers I had never met before, this new community I could touch base with and share stories and then there was Mick, the magic man or aka” Mr Fish” stood behind the counter, who to this day has helped me whenever I’ve needed it, be it fishing related or life .
This brings me on to some of the products I have bought over the years from him. I believe as an angler, you pay the price for quality, design and time put into the rod when creating it. And I know some people will always say, those rods are too expensive, you could catch a fish on a rod for half the price, but for me, the Tenyru Range fits the style of fishing I do. I firstly bought an Ultimate Fishing Engineering Super Nova 710 MH – And this rod still lasts to this day. A high-quality rod which has landed me many fish over time.
I then moved to a Tenryu Super Mix 240, slightly stiffer in its action, but soft in the tip which made it exceptional for working larger soft plastics through the fizz where I was fishing most of the time. This rod lasted me a couple of seasons before I reluctantly snapped it, whilst fishing big seas and swell in winter, being taken from a rock and losing the top section. This was a blessing in disguise though, on the horizon was a new set of Rods Mick had told me about and again his expertise and fishing connections led me straight to the ‘Injection’
My love affair with these rods, started with the injection 73M, a shorter/slimmer, parabolic loading rod, but when twitching lures gently is feels fast, it really was a game changer in rod design. Rated with a 5- 28g casting range you could literally chuck anything with it. The Feel, outstanding, the fight of a fish, incredible, it just seems to keep the fish on once they are hooked. A true bass fishing rod fit for my style of fishing. But a few years using it I found I needed something else for different scenarios. Something a little heavier possibly, and a little longer, and that is when Mick, put me onto the injection 79MH!
A little longer and the casting weight a tad more, 8-35g to be precise. This rod was (and still is) a weapon. Over the couple of seasons that I have owned it; it has accounted for many large fish, including a bass of 12.4lb on a lure (pictured below). I use it for almost everything, the term ‘work horse’ is what I would use to explain how good the rod is. To this day I have this rod everywhere I go, it can do pretty much everything you need it to do, whether its top waters, soft plastics, sub surface lure and even bouncing metals. A real allrounder!
But none of this would have been possible without the knowledge, expertise and Customer care that is provided not only by Mick but all the guys that have come and gone at the shop throughout the years. Like I’ve said many times, I wouldn’t be where I am at now as a fisherman without these guys. A shop with an open arm policy, great anglers who love to share memories and adventures and of course do a fantastic coffee on a Saturday.
And if you are lucky, Mick may sing Dancing Queen to you!