Best lure rod of the year regardless of price or UK availability 2019 - Shimano Exsence Genos S90MH/R 9' 8-48g (review here). This rod is a joke it’s so good and so versatile, and the more I fish with it, the more this rod opens up to me with how much it can do for me, and how well it does everything. I have fished with this ridiculously good Shimano Exsence Genos S90MH/R 9' 8-48g for long enough now to know that it’s THE most perfect lure rod I have ever fished with, and it still amazes me how it deals with 40g+ lures as easily and efficiently as it deals with 14g+ ones. If the idea of this rod floats your boat then contact me here or message me on Facebook and I can try to help with tracking it down.

Spinning reel of the year no.2 2019 - Shimano Stradic 2500HG-FL (review here). I have now fished with this awesome little spinning reel enough to know exactly how much I like it, and I have a suspicion that more fishing time with this Shimano Stradic 2500HG-FL could prove my inkling that we might be talking about a classic bit of kit here for the way so many of us go about our lure fishing. More than two years now with the brilliant Shimano Twin Power XD C3000HG means that I know this reel inside out, but if anything this newer Stradic 2500HG-FL feels a touch more stable and together again. Will I get two years fuss-free use out of the Stradic though? I will keep reporting back, but damn this is a nice reel to fish with. The Shimano Stradic C3000HG-FL or the Shimano Stradic C3000XG-FL are the same size reels if that helps, but with a slightly larger line capacity.

Spinning reel of the year no.3 2019 - Penn Slammer III 3500 (review here). Again, and has to be. Continues to perform flawlessly for my surf fishing especially when it doesn’t matter what you do if you get in amongst it all - your reel’s getting a proper saltwater hammering. For sure the Slammer’s a heavier reel than its equivalent Shimano, but would I ever put any Shimano or indeed Daiwa reel I have fished with through surf based lure fishing especially? Not a chance, and especially not with how many Slammers I could buy for one admittedly stunning, smoother and lighter Shimano Stella and so on. The Penn Slammer III 3500 is a machine and I continue to love it.

Leader material of the year 2019 - Varivas Fluorocarbon Shock Leader. Nothing has changed from last year in that the Varivas Hard Top Fluorocarbon is still some great value for money, quality fluoro leader, but I can’t get away from how good this more expensive but tough as hell and just feels completely right Varivas Fluorocarbon Shock Leader is. I have played with a few different fluorocarbons in 2019 and it’s frustrating that some of the excellent Yuki/Seaguar leaders don’t seem to be available yet here in the UK. The easy to get hold of Varivas leaders continue to be perfect in my book.

Surf lure rod of the year 2019 - HTO Nebula MH 2.7m/9’ 12-42g (review here). A new category which I guess shows how much of a thing lure fishing in the surf for bass is becoming for me. There an easy way to illustrate to you how much I like how this rod for my own surf fishing - I had a specialist Japanese surf lure rod for a while here at home, with a UK retail price of £350+, but I sent it back because I far preferred how this HTO Nebula MH 2.7m/9’ 12-42g works for me. Very light, easy to wind up with all manner of lures, the tip doesn’t flap around in the wind like a sail, it’s so much rod for the money. My mate’s 10’ Nebula snapped on him a while back for no apparent reason and it’s in the process of being replaced when more stock is in the UK, but mine continues to perform flawlessly.

Waders of the year 2019 - Vision Ikon breathable chest waders, same as last year (review here). I wanted it to be the Team Vass 700 chest waders which were proving invaluable for my surf based lure fishing (review here), but out of the blue one morning back in September I think it was, my Vass waders split in the crotch area for no reason and I had a very wet early morning fishing session. I am currently testing a different pair of Vass waders for my surf fishing which are not on the market yet, and so far they are doing really well. Yet again I am going with the Vision Ikon breathable chest waders here because they are outstanding. I am starting to test the new Ikon-priced, breathable Koski chest waders from Vision, and as good as they are so far I need a lot more time with them. I will report back in due course. I have also been using the rather good Savage Gear Denim stockingfoot waist waders, and whilst I need more time with them as well before I write a review, so far they have been very, very good. I do like breathable waist waders for as much of my fishing as I can get away with.

Regular hard lure of the year 2019 - Shimano Exsence Silent Assassin 129F. Holy cow I am liking too many of these Shimano Japan hard lures, and this very long-casting and extremely grippy Shimano Exsence Silent Assassin 129F keeps on catching bass in all kinds of conditions. Seriously well made lures, great colours, perfect for our fishing. I believe that Shimano Europe in their mighty and uninformed wisdom are starting to make this particular lure more readily available, so keep an eye on here and then here if you want to buy them in the UK, but when I am struggling to find Shimano Japan lures I go to this “shop” on Ebay - with this Shimano Exsence Silent Assassin 129F here. A special mention has to go to the smaller but equally good version of this particular lure, the Shimano Exsence Silent Assassin 99F - check here for occasional UK stock, or here on Ebay.

Accessory of the year no.2 2019 - HPA waterproof rucksack (review here). A brilliant bit of kit that is very comfortable to carry and I can’t live without a waterproof rucksack for my fishing and the camera gear I am always carrying. I did give the Vass waterproof rucksack a good go this year, and I like how it’s a wider design which makes it slightly easier to work out of, but damn it’s an uncomfortable rucksack to walk around with and I had to give up using it with the grief it gave one of my shoulders especially. I have known and trusted the HPA waterproof rucksack for a good while now, but over the last month or so I have been trying out the not very expensive Savage Gear Waterproof Rollup Rucksack 40L and I am really starting to like it. I know these waterproof rucksacks will all fail at some point around the bottom end of them with how I put them down on sharp rocks etc., but that seems to be part and parcel of using them as I do and the cost of replacement must come into it.

Waterproof jacket or smock of the year 2019 - Not quite sure. It was so nearly the Guy Cotten Efficient C130 Smock (review here), and I really like surf fishing in this thing especially, but the way the smock secures around my neck has grown to annoy me a bit too much. The Vision Kust is still the best wading jacket I have ever fished with but I believe it is now discontinued. I am starting to wear the Vision Pupa wading jacket which is essentially the next generation of the Kust, and as good and extremely comfortable to fish in as it has been so far, it’s a bit too soon for me to review it. I’ll leave this category open for 2019.

TV Series of the Year 2019 - The Haunting of Hill House, on Netflix, and if you watched it and didn’t jump out of your skin at THAT jump-scare then you might need a checkup. I can’t believe how well a longform TV series handled the horror genre like they did in The Haunting of Hill House, and if the weather’s crap over Xmas then I fully intend watching it all over again - in a darkened room of course. Has TV ever been better than it is right now?

Book of the Year 2019 - Redemption Road by John Hart, followed very closely by Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich. I never wanted both books to end with how they drew me in and kept me reading. If I didn’t have to work I could easily read for hours and hours each day around going fishing of course. I tend to read fiction but I really enjoyed the non-fiction book American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon by Steven Rinella. I love a good Jack Reacher but I thought the latest Blue Moon was a bit weak. Recursion by the mighty Blake Crouch seriously floated my boat, and the maestro Stephen King’s latest novel The Institute was pretty damn good. I am continuing to work my way through the excellent Cork O’Connor series by William Kent Krueger as well.

Gear that hasn’t worked so well for me 2019 - For the most part it’s been a pretty good year for me as regards gear failures. As I mentioned above, my Vass chest waders failing out of the blue one morning in the surf wasn’t exactly great but the replacement ones have been brilliant so far for my surf fishing. I so wanted to like the Vass waterproof rucksack but both me and then my mate who I passed it onto to see if he could get on with it agreed that it’s not up to much if you need to walk and scramble a long way.

I was absolutely gutted to hear that the English cricketing legend Bob Willis died of cancer on Wednesday. He was an outstanding fast bowler and was on my list of cricketing heroes as I started playing the game from the age of seven and bowling was my thing. I so loved watching him do his thing on Sky Sports as well. I had no idea he wasn’t well and English cricket is less for Bob Willis not being around anymore. Proper bowler, proper legend, and by all accounts I have been reading, a proper human being as well. So bloody sad. You all have a good weekend, rather hoping the weather isn’t really going to be quite as wild as they are forecasting for Sunday evening into Monday…………….

Gear of the Year 2019 - Part 2

© Henry Gilbey 2023