The Big One - Farnborough

[Tinca Steve]

Guessing no one went today Peter. I think it was @Tinca Steve who said that they were going tomorrow so maybe we'll get a review after then. But looking at some of the Facebook comments they are saying very little for sea, predator & coarse/match anglers

I'm going for a new bivvy, well have a look then if the price is right

 

[Tinca Steve]

Got there and went in at 0905. Left at 1120.
Mostly carp bait by the ton, carp gear, full sized boats but there was a small pole alley, two float stalls where floats were 7 for £10 or 20 for £20. Several tackle shops doing lots of stuff at fair prices and it was these that had the bivvys . Found one bivvy that I liked but it wasn't as cheap as I had been told. Bivvy + groundsheet + skull cap+ mossi door would have set me back 1,050 smackerroonies I was hoping for the 900/ 950 mark. So using what I already have for another year.

 

[pies]

£1k for a tent king hell myst be some tent

 

[scuttster]

Got there and went in at 0905. Left at 1120.
Mostly carp bait by the ton, carp gear, full sized boats but there was a small pole alley, two float stalls where floats were 7 for £10 or 20 for £20. Several tackle shops doing lots of stuff at fair prices and it was these that had the bivvys . Found one bivvy that I liked but it wasn't as cheap as I had been told. Bivvy + groundsheet + skull cap+ mossi door would have set me back 1,050 smackerroonies I was hoping for the 900/ 950 mark. So using what I already have for another year.

That was a quick visit.

Float offer doesn't sound too bad. But if it's the only thing you buy it does work out to be expensive!

Did you visit the pole alley? From what I saw online other than Cadence the poles were part of one of the retailers stands. Were they happy with people just waggling or was it a hard sell. I know with previous years with the brand based pole alley they were happy to allow people to waggle so they could buy later if required (or head to a retailer at the show and buy).

Sounds like you left before facing the food prices!

I do wonder if the show deals we used to get a few years ago will ever return.

Think I chose wisely not going this year.

 

[Tinca Steve]

Sausage in a roll and a touch of onion and a coffee ,tenner. No I didn't buy !
As for pole alley it held 3 makes only and a chair was available, I looked and the 3 people noticed me but did not offer to speak so stuff em I thought.
I met the ten Chelsea Pensioners when they turned up about 10 ish they were looking for rods reels and end tackle as cheap as possible but very few had bought anything just before I left. They got 8 free tickets though. 2 had to pay.
Boilies, carp style groundbait and pellets in massive amounts, 25kg carp pellets £20 at the show.
You could walk along quite easily after the first 1/2 hour when people had spread out.
Did I enjoy it, I would have to say no. I suppose covid is partially to blame.
None of the big tackle names were there, and there was a lot of empty units and the ones nearest were told they could use the area for free. There was one seat box company octbox I believe that had about 60 / 70 ft of frontage most of it free. They were asked to spread themselves out.
Hope for next year I suppose.

 

[JR Hartley]

I’ve been there as well today and yes 85% was carp I arrived at 9 and left at 4 didn’t make my first purchase until 1:15 and that was those floats 20 for £20 by DT floats. Cadence we’re very helpful both on both the pole alley and on there rod stand. If you had a good look behind the tat there was some good bargains to be had. What does shock me is there is some absolute rubbish being sold, surely these people that are selling it know it’s completely rubbish & isn’t good for fish welfare. Bar Octbox and vale royal angling didn’t see any other boxes on show and VR only had two one matrix and one Garbolino. By all accounts the big boys are back next year. Did I enjoy the show ? Strangely I did but hopefully next year more Match & course would be good.

 

[mikeyF]

I went in at 9am on a VIP Match ticket, and left at 9:50am. Would have been far sooner had I not sat down and spent 10 mins drinking one of my free coffees in the VIP area.

Yes there were two float stalls NGT and DT floats - both had offers but I wasn't in the market for any, and I'm happy with the patterns I already use (Malman and Preston). Had a waggle of the Superium X70 pole in the alley, and a look in the Vale (?) angling stall which has a very small amount of Preston and Guru end tackle and a few Preston rods on display. There was RiteTackle and their landing net weighing device (which I already own), and that one handed bait catapult which is one gimmick too far even for me. I did grab a free angling times and magazine.

On the way out I collected my (10L and not 18L) VIP Match bucket which was zip-locked closed. When I opened it up later today it only contained about 50% of the advertised items, importantly non of the Guru end tackle and had an extra 10L frenzee bait tub, some Fjuka bait and a tin of hemp none of which I consider a fair replacement.

Frankly for the match angler the whole thing was a waste of my time, I wouldn't have gone had I not invested in the VIP match bucket, and now I know the contents I would have binned it off and fished the whole day, saving on diesel. As it is I'm going to try to get some or all of my money back. I understand the lack of exhibitors this year and can excuse that - but not providing advertised goods, and some of the late announcements about missing exhibitors, and mis-leading statements means that I'm unlikely to book at all in advance again and will be reluctant to return.

If you plan to go to Stoneleigh, and are not a carp angler, I would have a serious think about it, and certainly if you were going for a VIP bucket get some guarantees about the contents.

 

[scuttster]

I’ve been there as well today and yes 85% was carp I arrived at 9 and left at 4 didn’t make my first purchase until 1:15 and that was those floats 20 for £20 by DT floats. Cadence we’re very helpful both on both the pole alley and on there rod stand. If you had a good look behind the tat there was some good bargains to be had. What does shock me is there is some absolute rubbish being sold, surely these people that are selling it know it’s completely rubbish & isn’t good for fish welfare. Bar Octbox and vale royal angling didn’t see any other boxes on show and VR only had two one matrix and one Garbolino. By all accounts the big boys are back next year. Did I enjoy the show ? Strangely I did but hopefully next year more Match & course would be good.

Unfortunately like most years it sounds likes some of the retailers were trying and sell their cheap tat in the guise of a bargain and will often mean the real bargains are missed.

Have to say if I had gone and been in the market for a Seatbox I would have been very disappointed with the selection you mentioned especially as The Big One was saying they had been working with the big firms who weren't there having their products displayed via retailers. I would have been wanting to see the Guru box at Vale and the Daiwa ones at TFT.

But hopefully like everyone is saying next year should be better but I'll wait before getting tickets!

I went in at 9am on a VIP Match ticket, and left at 9:50am. Would have been far sooner had I not sat down and spent 10 mins drinking one of my free coffees in the VIP area.

Yes there were two float stalls NGT and DT floats - both had offers but I wasn't in the market for any, and I'm happy with the patterns I already use (Malman and Preston). Had a waggle of the Superium X70 pole in the alley, and a look in the Vale (?) angling stall which has a very small amount of Preston and Guru end tackle and a few Preston rods on display. There was RiteTackle and their landing net weighing device (which I already own), and that one handed bait catapult which is one gimmick too far even for me. I did grab a free angling times and magazine.

On the way out I collected my (10L and not 18L) VIP Match bucket which was zip-locked closed. When I opened it up later today it only contained about 50% of the advertised items, importantly non of the Guru end tackle and had an extra 10L frenzee bait tub, some Fjuka bait and a tin of hemp none of which I consider a fair replacement.

Frankly for the match angler the whole thing was a waste of my time, I wouldn't have gone had I not invested in the VIP match bucket, and now I know the contents I would have binned it off and fished the whole day, saving on diesel. As it is I'm going to try to get some or all of my money back. I understand the lack of exhibitors this year and can excuse that - but not providing advertised goods, and some of the late announcements about missing exhibitors, and mis-leading statements means that I'm unlikely to book at all in advance again and will be reluctant to return.

If you plan to go to Stoneleigh, and are not a carp angler, I would have a serious think about it, and certainly if you were going for a VIP bucket get some guarantees about the contents.

That was a very rapid visit.

It does sound disappointing the way they hyped up the big names being displayed at retailers. The idea of the manufacturer having their own stand is the right one where they have the item on display but can't buy it from them. It means the personal arriving at it 9:00am on Saturday gets to see it as does the person at 3:00pm on Sunday. A retailer is there to sell and if they have taken 3 of each rod/pole with them and the first 3 people try them and want to buy them then that's what they will do.

I would have thought advertised content in the buckets should have remained the same as advertised or at least the equivalent from a similar brand not cheaper or completely different. I did see complaints and some images on FB about the buckets and some of the content having BBE dates of 2020! (They left an email address of sam.curtis@bauermedia.co.uk for that person to contact to resolve the out of date item so that may be useful or at least a point of contact).

 

[mikeyF]

I would have thought advertised content in the buckets should have remained the same as advertised or at least the equivalent from a similar brand not cheaper or completely different. I did see complaints and some images on FB about the buckets and some of the content having BBE dates of 2020! (They left an email address of sam.curtis@bauermedia.co.uk for that person to contact to resolve the out of date item so that may be useful or at least a point of contact).

Thanks for this. I have asked for a name/address on their contact form but Sam certainly sounds like a good starting point.

 

[Nunachuk]

That was a quick visit.

Float offer doesn't sound too bad. But if it's the only thing you buy it does work out to be expensive!

Did you visit the pole alley? From what I saw online other than Cadence the poles were part of one of the retailers stands. Were they happy with people just waggling or was it a hard sell. I know with previous years with the brand based pole alley they were happy to allow people to waggle so they could buy later if required (or head to a retailer at the show and buy).

Sounds like you left before facing the food prices!

I do wonder if the show deals we used to get a few years ago will ever return.

Think I chose wisely not going this year.

That makes two of us, especially the travelling/acommodation costs that I would have faced! :-(

 

[Jimpanzee]

For the tenner I paid for a ticket to Stoneleigh, I’m half tempted to give it a miss. It will cost me more in fuel.

 

[warrington63]

For the tenner I paid for a ticket to Stoneleigh, I’m half tempted to give it a miss. It will cost me more in fuel.

I am waiting to see list of exhibitors .
I can go in Vale Royal Angling any time I am back up in Warrington .
So there has to be more coarse angling displays than them

 

[Arry]

Fed up with these shows to be honest... I used to go to the Carp Show in Brentwood... but it was all old stock... barely anything new and no real bargains from the big names... the best deals were bankwear and lugguge from NGT... the rest of the stuff was old stock punted out at normal prices under a "SALE" ticket

 

[chris1967]

my lad wanted to go to stoneleigh to look at some poles ,luckily i've talked him into having a visit to bobco this saturday instead .At least while i'm there i can stock up on line and hooks at the same time

 

[Peter]

@Dave and I normally go to Stoneleigh and in normal times with the major brands in attendance it's a decent day out with plenty of opportunities to have a look at the latest tackle and catch up with people.
Food wise, stop off at the farm shop in the Stoneleigh grounds as that's where you can get a very decent Full English breakfast for a sensible price before you go into the show.

Given the absence of the major brands this year though we'll be giving it a miss.

 

[NoCarpPlease]

@Dave and I normally go to Stoneleigh and in normal times with the major brands in attendance it's a decent day out with plenty of opportunities to have a look at the latest tackle and catch up with people.
Food wise, stop off at the farm shop in the Stoneleigh grounds as that's where you can get a very decent Full English breakfast for a sensible price before you go into the show.

Given the absence of the major brands this year though we'll be giving it a miss.

I can thoroughly endorse that recommendation - Farmer's Fayre on the showground is a local "destination" - not just a venue for people who work on site or are visiting.

 

[pies]

How have most of the carp companies got there but virtually zero match / course

 

[Jimpanzee]

How have most of the carp companies got there but virtually zero match / course

Some of the big companies are blaming covid and the prices of insurance as a result. Seems odd when lots of smaller companies attended.

 

[scuttster]

Hmmmmmm.......

Shimano confirm Stoneleigh attendance — The Big One Show

Shimano has confirmed that they will be attending The Big One Show - Stoneleigh. This will be their only UK angling event and we’re so excited to have them on board for this year! Speaking with the team at Shimano it seems like they’ve got lots planned for the weekend of the 2nd - 3rd of April.

www.thebigoneshow.co.uk

 

[Fav]

I left after an hour. Was in two minds whether to bother or not. Wish I hadn’t.

I sincerely doubt that the major match angling brands will be back despite the organisers blaming covid this year. Let’s face it chaps, it wasn’t a great show for match anglers in 2019 pre covid.

The exhibitor list had a couple or 3 big brands still on it at the end of the week (eg Map). I wish I’d rechecked it the night before when they’d disappeared (I’m sure a big brand like Map don’t decide to pull out of a show like this at the last minute!)

To say that brands like Daiwa or Guru would be exhibiting via retailers is stretching the truth. If by having a few rods and reels or some end tackle equates to “exhibiting” then I could’ve gone to my local “exhibitor” (aka tackle shop) up the road.

A waste of time and diesel. It’s all downhill from here for this show as far as match angling goes. Word of mouth will kill it. The organisers already cashed in their chips with Bauer media back in 2018 so that was always on the cards.

I bought a nice pair of fortis Polaroids from the fortis stand. They were £5 cheaper in my local tackle shop. Icing on the cake.

Never again.