Imported telescopic kit from Pyramid Products, retailing circa £14.99

Not all of the tackle that we are going to review in Tackle Zone is going to be expensive, some of it will be pretty cheap and cheerful, especially if it just happened to catch our eye, like this holiday kit from Pyramid Products, on sale in many camping stores.

At Baywater we enjoy light tackle angling but we also enjoy camping with a camping holiday often turning up in our summer schedule. Now bearing that in mind we usually combine our two interests by camping on a park which has fishing available, sometimes coarse, sometimes sea, but nearly always able to be fished with light tackle. And, as you campers out there will know, packing for such a trip is a nightmare so we were delighted when we came across this sturdy little kit. The case is slim, lightweight and reasonably tough with compartments especially for the rod and the reel. It contains a tackle box for bits and pieces, a rod, reel, split shot, swivels and some lures to get you started. Frankly, for the price of the outfit and for the well designed way in which it all puts together, I thought it was seriously cool.

Now considering the price, you could not expect the rod and reel to be anything other than basic and it is not. The rod, however, is surprisingly sturdy and yet delightful to use. We have used it for mackerel, scad and garfish in the sea and for carp in camping site lakes, catching them to seven and a half pounds in weight. In every case the rod handled the fish with no problems whatsoever. It may be a budget item but, for all that, it is well worth the money. The reel is just as basic - a front drag, fixed spool reel with a screw on, screw off handle - but it does its job and matches the rod very reasonably. It may not be everybody's cup of tea but I liked the whole outfit. I thought it was ideal for camping or for just keeping in the back of the car just in case you get an odd moment or two to go fishing. I have now used it on many occasions and it has never let me down, providing some very good sport. If you fancy getting hold of one of these kits then shop around in the camping stores. Pyramid Products advise us that the price should be around £14.99 but, as with many imported products, some shops charge more than others. I have seen them, for example, for £16.50 but you should be able to get hold of them cheaper than this.

...and the Torbay mackerel, many of them a lot bigger than this one, lost!

When we went on one camp site - St Tinney's in Cornwall - we found a nice little pool where the carp seemed to have a taste for spam, like this 5 pounds 6 ounce fish that my wife, Julie, caught on one of these kits. It put up an interesting fight but the rod had no difficulties in subduing it. Since then we have used it on several more ponds without any problems appearing. It has proved to be a very good, very reliable piece of gear, perfect for holidays and camping.