The life of the man behind Gardner Tackle

1 I know the surname

We thought you would, but come on, who hasn’t heard of Gardner Tackle? It’s a huge, worldwide brand which manufactures everything from PVA and bite indicators to luggage and baiting needles and Rick, hence the company name, was the guy who started it and is the man responsible for many of the products you use today – regardless of who’s company logo is on the packaging.

2 So tell me about Rick

Born in Brighton in 1947 but raised in India along with his younger brother where he stayed until his early teens before returning to study at Shoreham Grammar. It was clear Rick was always destined to be an angler, as at the age of just three he caught his first fish on a hand-line from a pier in Bombay.

3 When did the carp bug bite then?

In 1960 – that’s when he caught his first wildie carp on a piece of free-lined bread flake. It was also around this time when it became clear Rick had a natural gift for “making things”, such as the homemade buzzer he constructed from one of his Dad’s wooden cigar boxes, a brass contact and a bulb that would lit up when something pulled on the end of the line!

4 And that's when Gardner was born I take it?

Not quite. Although he officially registered the company in 1980, Rick started off selling from his house via an advert he ran in the Angling Times around 1978. That advertisement was for buzzer bars and solid pointed banksticks – two very unique products at that time.

5 Was Gardner Rick's first company?

“Yes, it was my first solo enterprise,” he recalls. And, unlike most companies, Gardner started making a profit from day one and has continued to do so.

6 Isn't he credited for a number of

That’s one way of putting it – although “tons” is probably more apt than “a number”. Gardner Tackle were the first to commercially introduce: buzzer bars, solid pointed banksticks, monkey climbers, rod pods, backleads, spods, screw-in brolly poles, rig bins, Hair stops, boilie needles, PVA string, stringer needles, nut and boilie drills, Rolaballs (boilie tables), suspenders, Spin Doctors, camera adaptors, flying backleads, captive backleads, Hammer Heads, Hair loop tiers, adjustable line clip, Skyliner rod rest and tube threaders… See what we mean?!

7 Obviously Gardner's big in the UK, but what about the rest of the world?

Their first export to Europe was in the early 80’s, shortly after the company was started, and they now sell to 34 countries, including Japan, which is the biggest surprise country for Rick.

8 What's his take on the tackle industry today?

“The industry has obviously changed enormously; it’s now very professional,” he says. “When we started off there was no such thing as a job in carp fishing! The focus is very different now; I used to love making and selling stuff – but it’s all so different now.”

9 Does he get much time to fish these days?

Yes. And he’s pretty damn successful too, although carp fishing is very limited and most of Rick’s fishing is done in Mexico where he runs a small boat with his mate Tim. In terms of memorable catches and species, he’s caught huge mahseer, Nile perch, tiger fish and sturgeon, along with saltwater species like tarpon, marlin (blues/blacks and stripies), wahoo, sailfish, dorado, tuna, and a whole lot more.

10 What about outside of fishing? How does he wind down?

Rick’s an out-and-out petrol head – “and I’m proud of it!” He follows F1 and MotoGP and he used to race scramblers when he was young and reckless – “now I’m just reckless!” he concludes.

Gardner Fact 1 Any idea what has been Rick Gardner’s most successful product of all time? Although you might have thought it was the Pocket Rocket or PVA string, it is actually the rod pod – a product they supplied 90% of the market with at one time.

Gardner Fact 2 In total, Gardner Tackle currently produces over 1,500 individual products.