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YOU’VE probably seen the brightly coloured adverts – but have you been along to a Tacklemania Tour event? If are looking for a ‘selling’ tackle show near you, Tacklemania visits venues from Tyne and Wear down to Southampton in the south. Organiser Greg Wimbourne initially started with 16 shows in 11 venues and is planning to expand into different areas over the next five years. ‘Everyone’s a winner’ is his recipe for success.

On Tour!

That means providing visitors with value-for-money discounts on a huge variety of tackle, plus offering exhibitors a marketplace. Bringing the two together also gives him a living.

Our Where to Fish duo Bill and Virginia Rushmer already pop along to the southern events to offer advice.

For this special feature they took their cameras and notebooks along as Tacklemania hit Stevenage then Southampton. Come join the tour!

1. Measuring up the pitches

2. Loads and loads... to unload!

WE went along the day before the Tacklemania doors opened to the public to see exactly what goes on. Bedford-based Greg Wimbourne, 48, is the first to arrive in his distinctive Tacklemania van. It’s loaded with all the necessary tables and display boards to be joined by the other half of the team, the lovely Hayley. The first job in this dimly lit sports hall is to mark out exactly where every stand is to be situated using the floorplan agreed with each exhibitor. Exhibition manager Hayley runs the office and has already sorted out overnight accommodation for those exhibitors travelling from all over the country. The sellers come from far and wide to offer great deals on a huge array of tackle - if you want it, chances are they’ve got it.

AS SOON as Greg and Hayley have finished, it’s the turn of the exhibitors to start unloading their giant transporters and set up. This can take the best part of a day as most exhibitors offer an immense range of tackle that needs to be well displayed so that anglers can see what they are buying.. Most stallholders are bulk buying and able to offer goods at special show prices generally much lower than in the shop. They offer terrific savings of between 20 and 60 per cent, on average 40 per cent, and are hoping for volume sales. However, all the exhibitors we saw offer a full money back or replacement guarantee on tackle items sold.