Last cast of 2018

Last cast of 2018

Paul Arden | Monday, 31 December 2018

Ashly and I have just spent a nice weekend at the UKCS record breakers competition held at the same venue of last summer’s world championships. It’s a regular competition to world rules held every three weeks. We do similar in Malaysia (but only with the single handed events) every month and it’s interesting to compare distances!!

One of our reasons for going was to catch up with Lee and Angie, James and Tracy and Daniel and Gemma. It was great to meet Keiichiro again who I met at the last BFCC meet in Brentwood.

You can see the official results here and here
And for Bart who is competing in Holland these were the result boards

 

It’s been an excellent year all round. I got married at the start of the year. We fished Tasmania and Malaysia properly (as well as a few other places). It’s been our best year for rod sales - over 100 more HTs our there.The target is for 200 in 2019. (And then world domination!). 

 

Incidentally we are going to have to do what car manufacturers do and have different names for the same vehicle depending on where you are in the world - because in the US “Hot Torpedo” doesn’t work for a lot of people :D :D :D (which is interesting because it originally came from the Spinal Tap movie!). So for them we will have SEXYLOOPS 904 - or something along those lines (Viking Lars came up with that!). 

 

Next year we shall have some new models out as well. We are very close on two 7’6 models and a 9’ 12WT. Also we shall be running a new HTOC competition (last years shirts are in production and I’ll personally post them when I’m back in Malaysia!). Next year I plan something a little different and will post the competition this week - your chance to win another HT (or “SEXYLOOPS” :D) fly rod. 

 

I’m very much looking forward to the end of the Wet Season in Malaysia (very shortly!) and for the next seven months of exciting fishing. We are starting a small fly guiding/hosting operation here, in the jungle, and this is one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve ever had!! It’s most certainly the toughest and most rewarding fly fishing on the planet. 

 

Shortly Ashly and I will be travelling to Sardinia to pick up a car that we have to drive to the UK (it’s a long story)! We might be able to drop by for a casting session in Italy or Switzerland on the 9th Jan. If you fancy a cast and it’s not too far off-piste then drop me a line and we will see what we can do. 

 

So here is wishing you a fantastic year ahead for 2019!!!

 

Oh almost forgot - erm Resolutions. Hmmm. OK well...

1. I’m doing another 1/2 Ironman with my sister next summer so getting fit for this one is a good idea. 
2. Bernd fished about 50 more days then me in 2018. So next year I’ll fish 50 more than him even if that means fishing 400 days. 
3. I’m going to up my Snakehead and Gourami game. I should have had fish on my birthday even though there was only 3 shots. 
4. There is no 4. 
5. Take up a musical instrument or save a pony or child from drowning. 

What resolutions do you have?

 

Cheers, Paul