China Fish 2018 marks 27 years as premier tackle trade platform

Now in its 27th year, China Fish has cemented its reputation as the world’s longest-running dedicated fishing tackle trade exhibition, attracting hundreds of Chinese manufacturers and thousands of international buyers to its annual showcase. The 2018 edition reinforced the show’s standing as an unmissable platform for companies seeking to launch new rods, reels, lures, lines, and accessories into the global market.

Founded in 1991 by Li Jiang, China Fish began at a time when Chinese manufacturers were just starting to produce fibreglass rods for the domestic market. The exhibition grew alongside the country’s tackle industry, particularly after 1996 when Western restrictions on carbon fibre technology were lifted, allowing Chinese factories to access the advanced materials that would define modern rod construction. That technological shift turned China into the world’s dominant rod-making hub and transformed China Fish from a domestic showcase into a truly international sourcing event.

Today, the show draws exhibitors from across China’s major manufacturing clusters — from Weihai and Shandong for rods, to Ningbo and the Yangtze River Delta for terminal tackle, lures, and accessories. International visitors from Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, and emerging African and South American markets make the trip to see new product launches and negotiate annual supply contracts. For many overseas buyers, China Fish functions as the single most important appointment on their trade calendar — the place where next season’s catalogue lines are confirmed.

The breadth of categories on display reflects the full vertical integration of China’s tackle supply chain. Visitors can source everything from raw carbon fibre blanks and reel components to finished spinning rods, baitcasting reels, hard and soft plastic lures, fly fishing flies, hooks, swivels, and seat accessories — often under one roof, often from manufacturers who handle OEM and private-label production for some of the biggest Western brand names.

Industry observers note that China Fish’s enduring appeal lies in the direct factory access it offers. Unlike consumer-facing angling expos, the exhibition is structured around B2B transactions, with manufacturers hosting dedicated booths to meet distributors, importers, and brand owners. That format has helped generations of Chinese factories build export networks and has given international buyers a reliable window into pricing trends, material innovations, and shifting production capacities.

As China’s tackle manufacturing sector continues to evolve — with growing emphasis on higher-end carbon rods, environmentally friendly materials, and branded rather than purely OEM output — China Fish remains the trade event where that transformation is most visible. The show’s longevity, organisers say, is a reflection of the industry’s own maturation: from a nascent domestic sector three decades ago to a global export powerhouse that now supplies the majority of the world’s fishing tackle.

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