So good to see The Big One Show back and in full flow!

I’VE just got back from The Big One Show at Farnborough. What a weekend it was! After two years without shows, it was great to finally be back and see so many anglers.

The shows always make for a great (although somewhat exhausting) weekend, but this year’s felt extra-special after such a long absence.

I spent most of the weekend around the Angling Times Main Stage, hosted by our weekly columnist and TV presenter Rob Hughes, and saw Ali Hamidi, Scott Lloyd, Nick Speed, Mark Holmes and Bev Clifford among others entertaining the crowds.

One talk that really stood out was by David Lyons. He detailed how his battles with addiction led to the creation of the Tackling Minds charity.

He’s such an inspirational character and the work that he’s been doing, along with his volunteers, deserves massive applause.

Visitors were also treated to exclusive footage from two new fishing TV shows due to hit our screens later this year – Angling Outlaws on BT Sports and Ali Hamidi’s The Grand Fishing Adventure on ITV.

I saw a few grumbles on social media about some of the big brands that weren’t there this year, but at the time when they were having to make decisions about attending there was still a fair amount of uncertainty over Covid. Factors such as staff safety had to be taken into consideration as well.

From walking round, though, there didn’t seem to be a shortage of tackle or deals to be had and hopefully, in 2023, all the usual brands will be in attendance once again.

If you were unable to make it to Farnborough, the next Big One Show is taking place in a few weeks’ time at Stoneleigh on the weekend of April 2-3. Hopefully, I’ll see a few of you there.