Founded in 1987 by Martin Locke, Solar Tackle is one of the oldest and most authentic British carp fishing brands. Martin was working as a metallurgical engineer in the early 1980s, where he was producing stainless steel utensils for his own fishing. Soon, he receives requests from his fishing friends, which he could no longer honor during his only lunch hours. On the verge of being fired, due to the excessive manufacturing of fishing accessories during working hours, Solar Tackle was born. Starting in his mother's garage in Kent, the plan was to execute all orders by Sunday so that he could spend a few days at the start of the week by the water, before getting back to work. "From small acorns grow giant oaks" as Martin puts it, and the same has been true for Solar Tackle. Over its more than 30 years of history, Solar has been responsible for the design and production of many cult products and market leaders. The Solar Globetrotter, Sod and Worldwide rod pods, its renowned buzz bars and spikes, the original Monkey Climbers, and the Bow Loc landing net up to the current P1 stainless, Titanium and Advanced Rig Gear ranges. Not stopping at stainless items, Martin also took Solar into carp bait design in the 1980s. Fishing some of England's famed waters, including Savay Lake and Redmire, Martin and some of the country's top carp fishermen began to develop Solar boilies. The Savay Seed Mix has been such a success that it still forms the basis of the baits today. Ingredient sourcing and bait development quickly became an integral part of Solar Tackle, which led to the design of Solar's most renowned bait: the Club Mix, which helped Martin land a world record mirror carp of 92 lb in January 2010, as well as countless other records. Solar's story continues and, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary in 2017, Solar Tackle once again entered a new sector with a range of top-end bedchairs, chairs, luggage, and bivvies under the Solar SP banner. "At Solar, we are line fishermen who design and make gear for our own fishing," explains Martin. "This is no secret, it has been Solar's strength from the start and remains so to this day. We are passionate about what we do, and we believe that our passion is reflected in the products we offer to our customers."
