A great deal of my fishing over the past year has
involved snatching a few hours here and there on
local lakes, priming swims, then walking round and
stalking the more active spots.
This has led to purchasing some specialist rods and
reels that are up to the job of delicately fishing
for good sized carp at close range.
As I'm sure you are aware, tackle is not cheap, and
therefore protecting these expensive rods and reels
meant there was a need for either a rod holdall (too
big for smaller rods and quite heavy, awkward and
cumbersome) or quiver system (not the greatest for
protection), I found the perfect compromise in the
Thinking Anglers Rod Case and Tip Top.
Thinking Anglers are a relatively new company
founded by Steve Fantauzzi and Ben Hamilton, two
well respected anglers, and their product range is
steadily growing a cult following from carp anglers
across the UK. With products like the Rod Case and
Tip Top it's easy to see why.
The Rod Case itself is built like a miniature rod
holdall with space for two made up rods (either
stalking sized, or indeed full 12' broken down rods)
on the inside and useful outer pockets and Velcro
straps to a hold landing net and pole (it says these
can also hold a small umbrella, but I would say you
would struggle to fit a fishing brolly to it). The
inside of the unit (accessed by a full length zip)
is superbly padded, offering great protection to the
the rods from just above the reel handle down to the
butt. The material is heavy duty, but without adding
significant weight, and the stitching, zips and
clips are of the highest quality.
Thinking Anglers Tip Tops have a variety of
different uses
There is a comfortable handle strap (that is two
handles joined by Velcro inside a cover) and an
excellent shoulder strap (that clips into position
in two places either side of the zip, top and
bottom).
The protection for the tips of the rods comes in the
form of the excellent Thinking Anglers Tip Top,
these toggle fastened padded covers have a multitude
of uses apart from protecting the rod tips. They can
be purchased separately and can hold buzz bars, bank
sticks, stove kit, water bottles and much more.
When loaded and placed on the shoulder, the Rod Case
balances well, although the one slight criticism I
would have is the pad on the strap is not very
large, and slips out of position on long walks.
However, this is a minor point, that I'm sure most
of you would never find to be a problem.
I liked the Thinking Anglers Rod Case and Tip Top so
much I actually brought a second one, it's the sort
of product that if ever they stopped making you
would kick yourself for not purchasing a spare!
