News

The tackle industry has been left stunned following the sudden passing of Marcel Ulje, owner of wholesale company Dutch Tackle Company, writes Rudy van Duijnhoven.

Marcel was a well-known figure at angling fairs and angling shop open days in the Netherlands, where he was always tirelessly promoting ‘his’ PB Products for carp fishing and Rozemeijer tackle for predator fishing, among others.

Marcel was born in Leiden in July 1970, so he was only 52-years-old. He had lived in Groesbeek with his wife and three children for a number of years.

He fished from his earliest childhood, according to the website of one of his wholesale brands: “I can say that I come from an angling family, both my grandfathers and even one grandmother were on the water with great regularity. Certainly the family on my father's side fished often.

“As a boy of six, I was first allowed to join my father, fishing on Sunday mornings with my grandfather and many uncles, in one of the many boats on Nieuwkoop. I was emphatically told to sit quietly in the boat, not to make too much noise and to be careful with the rod and other materials. I loved it, I was allowed to join the 'big' men in nature to hook everything that swam. The fishing virus had gotten hold of me.”

“I spent my entire youth fishing. Especially the smaller ditches in which tench, rudd and carp could be caught on sight were my favourite and I could not stay away from these.

“When I was able to turn my hobby into my job, I really got the predator fishing bug. The company I worked for was an Abu distributor and reel fishing in particular caught my imagination. A simple boat was bought and some ‘trolling’ was done with Rapala Super Shad Raps and purple Magnums. Soon jerkbait fishing also got hold of me. Lovely, active fishing... that is really my thing."

Since 1998, Marcel has been a sales representative at Ultimate Hengelsport, handling brands such as Nash, Korda, Solar, Cygnet Tackle, Gardner, Kryston, Cobra, PB Products, Abu and Rapala.

In early 2000, he joined the same company as a product manager. After Ultimate Hengelsport ceased its operations, Marcel set out on his own to develop and sell all kinds of products, always in close cooperation with an experienced team of anglers.