Show Us Yours – Gareth Goldson Reveals His Top Tackle Items for Big Fish Angling

Big fish all-rounder Gareth Goldson shows off his top pieces of kit

Mark Barrett meets up with a top specialist angler who has been catching some seriously big fish ‘under the radar’ for some time – and gets him to open up!

Gareth Goldson is an all-round specimen angler who has quietly making quite a name for himself over the past few years thanks to a string of excellent catches of specimen fish of a variety of species.

I first got to know Gareth from fishing the Bawburgh complex in Norfolk, Gareth’s home county. In his first season there Gareth went on to break the complex tench record, and possibly the county one too, with a 12lb 5oz fish from Colney Lake. Since then he has become a member of the prestigious Hardy/Greys Academy and is passing on his knowledge to other up and coming anglers.

  
It is not just tench that Gareth excels with though; he has also caught pike to over 30lb, bream to over 15lb and carp to high thirties and I’m delighted that I have also been out “In Session” with Gareth for a new FishingMagic feature and we will be taking a look at some of his other catches in due course – don’t miss it – it’s a real stunner!

But until then I’ve persuaded Gareth to let us have a rummage through his tackle box and to talk about his favourite items. 

Fox Series 2 Carp Match hooks
I like these because they are strong in the smaller sizes yet still quite fine in the wire. I also like the fact that they are straight eyed and with a wide gape and these attributes combined make them the best all-round hooks out there in my opinion.

Rubber float stops
A float stop is a very simple piece of equipment but one which has a myriad of uses in my fishing. They allow me to change depth quickly when float fishing without having to pinch on and prise off shot which potentially risking damaging the line. They are also very handy for other applications such as a stop for link legers when chub fishing.

Sharp scissors
The amount of times that I used to carry a manky old pair of scissors around with me was ridiculous. Quality scissors which will cut cleanly and slice through braid etc make life a whole lot easier and are an absolute must-have in my opinion.

Drennan Crystal floats
Basically I use these floats for all of my float fishing from waggler fishing for rudd as I’m doing in my ‘In Session’ feature with Mark today through to trotting bread for chub. I particularly like the wagglers though and I prefer the loaded versions as you can change the size and the colour of the tip of the float in just a few seconds as they just plug into each other and this is invaluable to me especially when fishing on into dusk or dark.  

Mini method feeders
I use these for all different types of fish from roach to carp, rudd to crucians and I also use them in a variety of different rigs. I particularly like the ‘bungee’ versions as these allow me to fish very fine for species such as roach whilst lessening the chances of snapping off. They also allow me to use short hooklengths for bigger fish without running the risk of the hook bouncing out.

 Chemical lights
The last hour of light and the first few hours of darkness are often the best time to trick the biggest specimens and so having the ability to fish on efficiently at this time is really important to me. I tend to use the Drennan versions as these plug directly into the crystal wagglers and help me to see those bites after dark. I also use them for quivertipping for chub in the hours of darkness and I can honestly say there are few items that have earned me as many extra fish as these have.

 Plummet
I just love the sight of a float disappearing so knowing that I am fishing exactly at the depth that I want is really vital - especially when you are talking about shy biting species such as crucian carp. No float fisherman should leave home without one of these in their box.

Swan shot
My favourite fish are chub and I spend a lot of time in the winter fishing for them and that usually means that I am link legering cheese paste. I always carry a number of packets of these about - including the 3x versions which are three times heavier than a normal swan shot. These are very handy as they make a much smaller area to get tangled or snagged, important with dirty fighters like chub.

Spare rod rest heads
With fishing in a very mobile manner I am forever losing, breaking or forgetting my rod rests so I always carry spares around with me in my box. I find it incredibly annoying to have to prop the rod up and like them on a proper rest so I can see the tiniest of bites from the more tentative species.

Maggot feeders
My favourite type of maggot feeders are the Kamasan Black Caps as they come in a wide variety of sizes and they are nice and easy to fill quickly with one hand for speed. I particularly like using them in the winter time for perch and roach as the small ones are compact and give a good bolt effect but they are still small enough to not put a large amount of bait into the water, thereby spoiling your chances.

Our thanks go to Gareth for letting us have a rummage through his tackle box. Personally I always find it very interesting to see the items of gear that other anglers wouldn’t be without and it will be interesting to see over the coming months how many anglers agree on items, not many would be my guess!