There is a new player on the sea fishing scene and he is looking to revolutionise the sport with the development of his new line.

Chris Wainwright has not only developed a new fishing line for the sport but has opened a new fishing shop in Sandwich for all you need to succeed in the sport.

Speaking about why he wants to drag the sport into the 21^st century, Chris said: “I think that the UK carp boom has had an impact on sea fishing and Carp lakes and syndicates seem to be popping up everywhere.

“Carp fishing appears to gain more coverage in both the press and media than sea fishing, which is a shame. Also the general feeling amongst many regarding the decreasing fish stocks in the sea also has had a negative effect.

“Kent has a beautiful coastline, and yes there are some fantastic sea fishing marks all along the coast. Being in Sandwich I am lucky enough to have one of the hottest marks for Thornback Rays. The bay is very fisherman friendly and is a nice relaxing place to fish, always with that knowledge that it may throw up a huge Ray in the summer months and also a big bass. The coastline all the way from Thanet to Denge marsh has some great spots from both shore and boat.”

For anyone interested in taking up the sport Chris has plenty of advice on where to fish and how to go about it.

He added: “With regards to someone taking up the sport, there is no better feeling than actually catching fish, so a venue with plenty of species is a must. You will also find that most Sea fisherman are very keen to help out and offer advice to anyone who needs it.

“Probably the most important thing would be to fish from somewhere that is safe and user friendly, a venue such as deal pier would be the best place to start as you need to worry less about tide times.

“Sea fishing is so diverse and like most sports there is a budget for everybody. It is not quite as simple as buy rod, go fishing as maybe coarse fishing is. Anybody Starting or getting into sea fishing would benefit from talking to a well-stocked tackle shop, hopefully that would be me but if not there are some great tackle shop owners with huge knowledge that would be able to advise you on tackle and the best places to fish. Sea fishing forums and online magazines are also a great way of sourcing knowledge, however there is nothing like actually handling and seeing the goods.”

Yesterday saw the official opening of his new shop in Sandwich and it was an emotional day for Chris to see the shop open and ready for business.

He said: Mushiki officially opened yesterday. My ambition is driven by trying to offer something a little different to what is already available. If I can help people to get out there and fish and make that experience more pleasurable then that’s a buzz for me. The shop in Sandwich is a new career move for me, but one I am very passionate about and feel if you have something people want then they will find you, couple that with great customer service and competitive pricing, then people will always give you a chance.

Mushiki the name of the shop has special significance for Chris as it is a way of keeping his sister close as he went on to explain.

“Losing my sister to cancer in 2006 tore my world apart and she is and always will be an inspiration. Mushiki is the word for sister in Kinyrwanda, a Rwandan language. My sister studied mountain gorillas in the Rwanda, so hence the word. Having it above the door and seeing the name every day always makes me feel proud of her and it definitely pushes me on to set out to achieve what I aim to. I just wanted something different that stands out and for me this is perfect.

“I am busy and I mean really busy, I have been setting up the website for the online side of Mushiki while trying to decorate and create the shop premises plus working on my own products, so I really am flat out, but I love it and it drives me on.

“The website (www.mushikitackle.com) only went live last week and as yet I have not openly advertised the shop, the only reason is that as I am on my own I have had to make sure everything is in place before I officially open. I have some good ideas to make sure Mushiki gets out there.”

Chris has also developed his own fishing line called Fugu and it has been a long process but the line has been rest and ready to go as he explains.

He said: “Creating, sourcing and developing a new line has been great fun and hard work. It entailed a lot of very late nights, huge amounts of samples, emails, and telephone calls to all parts of the world until I found exactly what I was looking for.

“This is something I have been working on for over a year, so finding the correct line was important to me. The company I have been working with are based in Europe, I spent a few days with them at their factory discussing various things, checking the line making process, and quality control. They also use there national university for quality control, development and research which is a massive bonus. Creating a line is not as simple as it seems, as different lines require different specifications, but we believe we have found this.

“The testing process has been carried out over the winter by some very good fisherman, and the reports have been very encouraging on the line that we are about to release. Testing is always on-going, and if we feel we can improve the line then we will.

“I think trying to be unique in a market that is already well established is always going to be hard but not impossible. Firstly the colour of our line is unlike any other on the market, it is very bright indeed.

The logo and branding is also very distinctive and unique. Ultimately it will be the quality of the line that helps it to compete and stand out in the market. The line market is crying out for new additions and I think that we can do this and offer a top quality line at a very good price.

Finally, we asked Chris is there any other types of fishing that he would like to expand into and naturally there was one.

He added: “Another I would like to get more heavily involved in is Lure fishing. This is a multi-million pound industry in countries such as Japan and America, and the trend is slowly catching on here in the UK. Product development within lure fishing is also another area I am keen to explore and already I am working on things that could come to fruition in the future. Who knows time will tell.”