10 Items of Equipment I’d Recommend 2024

10 Items of Equipment I’d Recommend 2024

Welcome to the ’10 Items of Equipment I Recommend for 2024′.

As always, these paragraphs form an honest assessment of the gear that I have used, abused, enjoyed using, and of course caught numerous bass on after discovering them through friends, clients, circumstances, and sheer luck! If you do happen to follow my endeavours, then some of what is encompassed within the narrative probably won’t come as too much of a surprise. But then a few might..

Stalwarts

Before I begin, I can confirm that many of the previous years’ items have continued to be worn, or remain steadfast in my lure box. The Guy Cotton Smock, and the Rab Microlite Alpine Jacket are still keeping keeping me warm and dry, and the same lures just keep on catching those lovely bass. Examples are the Patchinko 100 and 125 – that are are absolute ‘staples’ in my our armoury. Plus the Tackle House Feed Popper, IMA Chappys and Hounds. On the soft plastic front, the Savage Gear Gravity Sticks (Pulse and Paddle Tail), Sawamura One-Up Shads, and Pirate Lures Teaser have featured heavily in our catches in 2024.

Alongside the stalwarts above, I believe I have utilised a slightly broader variety of kit than in previous years, all of which I hope will be of benefit to you, the reader, when it comes to deciding what to purchase in readiness for 2025. As ever, I will try my utmost to explain ‘what’ they do for me, and ‘why’ I hold them in high regard. Grab a glass of wine…….

Fishus Unbuntu 70 8.5g (here)

I REALLY like surface poppers. They provide a wonderful option for reasons ranging from when the bass are reticent, the current is too strong to effectively work a regular sliding surface lure, or when you’re attempting to ‘pick out’ the bigger bass. Yes, you read that right. In my honest opinion, based on a lot of time on the water, a popper will hoodwink a larger than average-sized fish when worked correctly…

What makes the Fishus Ubuntu (yes, it’s an odd name but don’t let that put you off) standout are its casting capabilities for such a light little lure. Second, for its diminutive size, it is very easy to control. By this, I mean you can pop it gently to make it easily ‘spit’, or you can ‘thrash it’ a bit more, and it won’t ‘dive’ like many similar lures do in my experience.

Moreover, in the ‘Flashy Shad’ configuration that I like the most, the lure has a real ‘quality’ look and feel to it, from the highly transparent body, the hooks (including the ‘feather’ on the tail treble), and the internal flash plate. This lure has assisted me to land some serious bass in the 60cm/5lb range during 2024, and I highly recommend them to all of you bass lure fishing fanatics out there!

Westin C&R Foldable Landing Net (here)

When it comes to my guiding, I require a landing net that is large, light, telescopic, foldable, and has a rubber mesh – something that isn’t especially easy to find as it happens! What’s more, another extremely important attribute is that the net needs to be very robust in order to withstand being smashed against the rocks, dumped in the mud, chucked in the car, and as has happily been the case this season, having some very large and angry bass thrashing around inside it!

This net has not let me down despite the harsh, salty environment(s) in has had to endure while being on my person, and not once have I had to any issues with the folding mechanism which is often the ‘weak spot’ for this type of net. Overall, a quality piece of equipment, that is not cheap at around £70 granted. But in this case it is worth it.

Shimano Khariki 22lb 0.160mm Braid (here)

My thanks to my client and friend Ash here, as I would never have come across this superb braid if he hadn’t arrived for a 3 Day Package with it over the summer. Having been seriously let down by what I can only think was a ‘dodgy’ couple of batches of the Sufix 131 (that I have recommended previously here) and not entirely satisfied with the colour ‘washing out’ too quickly in the Westin W10 and Varivas Avani Sea Bass for my liking, a change over to a Smoke Grey mainline saw me purring over Ash’s Shimano Khariki adorning his Vanquish C3000 MHG (what a tackle tart!).

It isn’t anywhere near as soft and supple as the Varivas (at least to begin with) and is in fact fairly rigid in comparison to all of the silky braids out there. However, once the Shimano Kairiki is continuously becoming wet, it only takes an few hours of fishing for it to ‘soften’ and become not only a dream to cast with, but also to tie a leader knot with (something that I found a little tricky on the first session out with it I have to admit). But for the price, which is remarkably good value at £16.99 for a 150m spool, I have been very happy using it for all of my personal fishing adventures since the late-summer.

Orvis Pro LT Wading Boots (here)

With 140-150 days of guiding and a further 130+ days of personal fishing to endure, I require a pair of wading boots that are light-weight, comfortable and robust, whilst capable of having a sole that can hold the studs for a substantial period of time (10 months+). Maybe it’s my body beginning to tell me to slow down a touch (never!) but in more recent times I have suffered a little with sore Achilles tendons on occasion – particularly after an arduous walk.

Admittedly, this is just normal I guess. But to alleviate/mitigate these occurrences, I decided to purchase a pair of boots that didn’t have such a high ankle ‘support’ and I have to say that ‘touch wood’ I haven’t had any more issues whilst maintaining what I consider to still be more than adequate levels of overall ankle protection – by this I mean you’re less likely to break your ankle of you take the wrong step!

They are so light, that it feels like I haven’t removed my Crocs! And yet, once you’re out, clambering around on slippery rocks (and I really did test these out last weekend trust me!) with the Orvis Studs ‘glued and screwed’ in tight, aided by the Michelin rubber I really did feel confident that I wasn’t going to end up sore and embarrassed.

I’m not a fan of any of the Orvis ‘entry level’ gear (which is still bloody expensive), but their high-end waders and boots (remember the Orvis Pro Waders lasted me 11 months in the end which is remarkable given that I would normally go through probably 6 or 7 pairs of £150-£250 breathable stocking-foot waders in this time-frame) are fantastic, and do last.

The only negative is that they are very ‘stiff’ for want of a better word. And if you have wide feet you may find them uncomfortable or even struggle to get your ‘neoprened up’ foot into them without feeling like your wrecking them from the off. But much like the braid I wrote about above, after a couple of sessions, they do become a little more malleable, and the odd-looking tongue a little more ‘stretchy’. Very happy with these!

Power Cast ‘Quick Changing Mini Clips’ (here)

Like a lot of my clients and fellow anglers, I was getting fed up with ‘chucking’ half of the packet of the previously very good Breakaway Mini Links away because the ‘hook’ (the point on the clip where you slide a lure’s loop onto) simply wasn’t prominent enough. But because I like this style of lure clip I completed a Google search, took a punt, and have found these 25lb Test Power Cast Mini Clips to be a cheaper (when you buy 50 or a 100) and more reliable alternative to what I was using. Not exactly exciting, but here’s a definite nod towards these.

EVOBASS Sabre (here)

There are a lot of soft plastic paddle tail lures that catch bass (Megabass Spindleworms, Keitech Easy Shiners, SG Gravity Sticks), but there aren’t very many that last more than a couple of fish! Now, this isn’t necessarily a problem considering they are inexpensive when compared to the shiny hard lures, but alongside having a quality feel about them, this is definitely one of the major attributes to the EVOBASS. They don’t only look fantastic, but they are tough too!

I won’t lie though, up until this season the Sabre’s were something of a ‘bogey’ lure for me. And admittedly, because of this I tended to attach something that I had a little more confidence in, and would subsequently catch on. I really liked them – I just couldn’t catch on them which was quite frustrating.

This changed in late-March when, whilst re-demonstrating their use to my first clients of the year (who’d already both caught bass that day thankfully) the ‘crooked’ 4lb bass above nailed the Sabre and the hoodoo was finally lifted!

Since then, I have encouraged my clients to regularly whip them out of their boxes, more especially when a heavier belly-weighted weedless hook, or indeed a jig-head is require to combat a powerful current and/or when I want the lure close to the seabed – quite simply because the body material can cope with it.

Major Craft Seabass Custom 88ML 6-32g

‘Marc Cowling’ Edition (here)

Of course I’m going to recommend a bass lure fishing rod that I designed!

I love an ‘all-rounder’, and I am also a ‘one rod only’ angler, meaning that I’m not interested in having a set up to suit various situations and scenarios because there are rods out there will do everything you’ll ever need. Truly, this was my motivation for agreeing to devising a serious piece of equipment with Major Craft UK and Tacklewave Ltd.

Incorporating the DNA of what was already a ‘classic lure rod’ that I thoroughly enjoyed using, the only ever-so-slight criticism was that the ‘Original SBC’ and the Cork Edition required, in my opinion, a little more ‘feel and sensitivity’ in the tip section. Moreover, the blank needed to retain the ‘grunt’ through the butt and mid-section of the previous models which has been achieved with aplomb. To view the specific details of what makes this rod different from the originals, I wrote blog post upon the rod’s release that can be found here.

So whether it’s a weightless, or a lightly weighted soft plastic twitched in the gentle flow of a creek, through the size and weight spectrum to a meaty old jig head and 6″ paddle tail being bumped along the seabed as the water races out of an estuary mouth. A petite surface popper dancing along the weedy margins, or the 140 Patchinko utterly ‘launched’ from a craggy headland into a tidal race. Even a creature bait – feeling for that every rock and depression, a 30g+ metal blasted into a raging surf, plus the archetypal bass lure – the hard diving minnow ‘arrowed’ into a frothing gully. This rod will do the lot – comfortably.

Rapala Walk n’ Roll 10 (here)

Clearly, the Patchinko 100 and 125 receive A LOT of water time. But in reality, in my hands or that of my clients when I am guiding them, these two lures serve two separate purposes. For example, the 100 is generally ‘tip-toed’ through very calm, clear, shallow water – creek settings if you like. The 125 on the hand is, on the whole, utilised in deeper, more turbulent water (choppy) or when some additional distance is required to reach the feeding bass in a tide flow, or if the wind is in our face.

But what if you require additional distance, yet the water is clear, shallow and calm, and you’ve recognised that any bass in the vicinity are fixated on, or are potentially only concerned with hitting small items off the top? This is when a compact, 110mm surface lure, zigzagging and splashily disturbing the water at extreme distance can be lethal.

The 13g Rapala Walk n’ Roll 10 is a lot cheaper than the equivalent Patchinko at £13.99 (almost ten quid cheaper in fact!) and yet it behaves like a Patch 100 and casts as far as a 125. Oh, and they catch a lot of bass, including the first two of my 2024 guiding season back in March – a period in the year you wouldn’t ordinarily associate with surface lure catches! So they must work!

The Six-Turn Surgeon’s Knot

Not an item of equipment ‘per se’ (despite that fact you require some braid and fluorocarbon leader to tie it of course!) but I wanted to highlight this exceptionally strong knot as it has served me extremely well this year, to the extent that it has not failed me once.

To say it is ‘easy’ to tie is a subjective. But what I will say is that it is way, way easier to tie than the FG Knot, that I have only witnessed four clients be able to tie in the seven years I have been guiding. I recall one client who carried three reels in his ruck sack, not spools I hasten to add, in case his leader and braid parted! Check out the video above and give it a whirl!

Megabass Sleeper Craw (here)

I imagine there are a great many bass lure fisherman out there who have read about, and have then thought about (either positively or negatively) the Megabass Sleeper Craw. Indeed, I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to hyping these things up! But there is a ‘blimmin’ good reason for that: they catch bass when, quite simply, most others do not.

To elaborate, a great example is that they give you a greater chance of luring a bass that is laying dormant, and not necessarily feeding – like in the depths of winter for instance. “Creature Baits are the future” is what I told my friend Henry Gilbey when I was incorporating their proposed use when writing my third book (Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective Volume 2) and I 100% stand by that.

As I’ve written on many occasions, one of the ‘fundamentals’ to becoming a consistently successful bass lure enthusiast is understanding that, more often than not, you need to place something in front of them that is looking and acting as close as possible to what it is they are feeding on at the time – which in this case is a crustacean of some form.

Personally, I have found the Sleeper Craw to be more effective when I am fishing ‘blind’ so to speak – and not casting to bass that I can see right in front of me (I save the smaller, lighter creature baits for this scenario). Indeed, if the water is very shallow (less than 3ft) and very clear, I have struggled to catch on them. But add a ‘tinge’ of grey, brown, or green to the more brackish waters that I am drowning them in, in conjunction with a depth ranging from 3ft to 15ft, and it is a whole different ball game.

Although they aren’t exactly streamline, the 17g of weight they possess helps the angler to propel them a respectable and useful distance of up to twenty metres, which is an unequivocal advantage if you are wading whilst casting, retrieving, and then moving (searching out all of the likely positioning points) and where/when the Sleeper Craw is especially useful.

2025 and 2026 Availability

After a highly successful first season of ‘some weekends only’ guiding, my 2nd Guide Joe (who you can read about here) has recently released his 2025 Availability which you can find here. Note that these dates (especially his 3 Day Packages) are getting snapped up quickly.

Furthermore, I am soon to release my my Confirmed 2026 Availability – all of which will encompass my 3 Day Package Dates, Guiding Days and One-to-One programme. You can find the Prices and Information Page here.

So, if you would like to be kept informed of all of the above please do complete the Contact Form on my homepage here, or you can fill out the form below and I will respond as quickly as I possible can:

Thanks for reading. I welcome any feedback in regards to the recommendations above.

Marc Cowling

South Devon Bass Guide Ltd