An interesting way to carry your lures, going to give this RBB Supporter II thing a bit of a go (initial impressions)

Take ten shore based bass anglers and I bet you they all carry and access their various lures in slightly different ways when they go fishing. Because of always carrying a waterproof rucksack with camera gear inside it, I myself am essentially bound to something which holds a lure box or two at my side if I don’t want to be going back to my rucksack all the time, or storing a mess of lures in the top pocket on my waders. I can’t use a sling-style bag and to be honest I don’t like them much anyway, so for years it was the HPA Chest Pack (which isn’t anywhere near my chest) sitting on a slightly stretchy Simms neoprene belt and a shoulder strap. In a perfect world the actual HPA bag would ideally be say 10% bigger to allow for slightly easier in and out with the washable lure boxes I use, but as a system I can’t fault it as a way to carry and access my lures.

But for a while now I have been using various sample bags and systems we have been working on. Pure Fishing fairly recently took over Savage Gear which I think is really good for various reasons, but what it has done is delay a few projects we were working on. My sample items are still working perfectly, if you can track the HPA Chest Pack down it’s a brilliant option, but because I am me, I am always keeping my eyes and ears open to different ways of doing things………………..

The other day I saw a Facebook post from the nice people at Tacklewave Ltd. to say that they were starting to import some of the Rivalley (Japan) products into the UK, and within that post were some photos of what is called the RBB Supporter II (they have kindly given me access to one to test out and see how I get on with it). This RBB Supporter II is based around what looks like a very good quality, wide kind of padded support belt which I believe will offer some back support if you need it, then on each side of this wide belt is a sort of bag/pouch with an easy-opening saltwater proof zipper. In each of the two bags I can fit one of my Savage Gear washable lure boxes (but I guess you could fit a couple of smaller and thinner lure boxes in each bag), and then there are also various extra pockets and so on which are part of those bags, plus a plier sheath and various D-ring clips for attaching fish-grips and nets and so on to. The wide belt secures around your waist with what seems to be a strong clip, and if you take me as a not exactly very thin person, I can comfortably fit the belt around my waist when I am wearing BCWs and a waterproof jacket. I have got the blue one here but there is also a black and a grey option.

I am so completely used to accessing my two washable lure boxes at my side that it’s going to take me a while to get used to how this RBB Supporter II system works, but I have fished with it once (another March blank!) and it’s no big deal. I need a lot more time with this way of carrying and accessing my lures, but the overall setup feels really comfortable if you do the belt up nice and tight so it can’t slip down. With two full lure boxes and a pair of pliers in the sheath it doesn’t feel remotely heavy and it doesn’t get in the way when I am casting and retrieving. I thought this could be the case but I needn’t have worried. The two lure box pockets on the side of the wide belt both have drainage holes at the bottom which is really important for me when I am deep wading especially. I completely understand and require a waterproof rucksack for my fishing, but I don’t personally understand the need for a waterproof hip bag which I think can knock you off balance in the surf or when you are deep wading. I’d far rather have the lure boxes fill up with water if need be, and then drain out when you exit the water (I wash my lures when I get home). Each to their own of course.

I have only gone out fishing with this setup the one time - March blank as I said! - but when I have given it a lot more time I will report back and tell you what I think. I reckon you could modify various things about this RBB Supporter II, indeed I wonder if you could fit the HPA Chest Pack onto the webbing strap for example, then move the second bag/pouch around. I also wonder if you could add a shoulder strap to the setup as well if you wanted to wear the belt a bit looser and stop it slipping down when you are fishing. I don’t think you would need a shoulder strap by the way, but you get my drift I am sure. At around £95 for this RBB Supporter II I actually think it could be pretty good value for money if it lasts a good amount of time and the zips don’t break or something like that. I will report back at some point, and the less that is said about England rugby at the weekend the better. I got back from my youngest girl's running event at Loughborough at 8.30pm on Saturday night (530 mile round trip), managed to avoid finding out the England v France score, settled down to watch a recording of the match, and within a few minutes I was basically in shock. France and Ireland are playing rugby at a completely different level to where we are right now, and yes, Saturday’s game in Dublin is filling me with dread!

Disclosure - If you buy anything using links found around my website, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you anymore to buy via these affiliate links - and please feel entirely free not to do so of course - but it will help me to continue producing content. Thank you.