The River Bend is a free site. Writing it properly takes time, and the plan is for affiliate commission to cover that cost so the content can stay free and stay honest.
This page explains exactly how that works, what it means for you, and what it does not change.
What an affiliate link is
An affiliate link is a normal link to a retailer that also tells the retailer we sent you. If you buy something after clicking one, the retailer pays us a small commission out of their own margin.
It never costs you anything. You pay exactly the same price you would have paid going direct. There is no markup, no surcharge, and no difference in the service you get from the retailer.
Where they appear
Affiliate links now appear across most of the site: the gear and bait guides, the technique articles, the species and location guides, the knot guides, the rules section and the blog. They take two forms, a product box in the body of an article and a short list in the right-hand sidebar. There are never more than two product boxes in the body of any one article, and never more than one on a section landing page. Two pages carry no links at all, because the retailers we work with stock neither PowerBait nor live bait, and we would rather leave a gap than send you somewhere useless.
The River Bend joined the Total Fishing Tackle affiliate programme through the Awin network in August 2026. Affiliate links to Total Fishing Tackle are now live on the gear and bait guides. Applications to other retailers are in progress, and this page is updated each time one is approved.
How recommendations are decided
Nothing on this site is recommended because it pays more. Commission rates are broadly similar across UK tackle retailers anyway, so there is very little to be gained by steering you toward one product over another, and a good deal to lose.
Where a cheaper item does the job, we say so. Where the expensive option is not worth it, we say that too. Several guides on this site actively tell you not to spend money, which would be a strange thing to write if the goal were maximising commission.
We do not accept payment for reviews, we do not publish sponsored posts dressed up as editorial, and no retailer or brand gets to see or approve an article before it goes live.
Retailers we work with
We currently have three commercial relationships:
- Total Fishing Tackle, through the Awin affiliate network. A UK independent tackle retailer, and the main source for carp, coarse and predator gear across the site.
- Fishing Tackle & Bait, also through Awin. Added in August 2026. They carry the fly and game range, and a wider lure selection, so most of the trout and salmon recommendations point to them.
- Reebic, also through Awin. Added in August 2026. Reebic is not a retailer but a bait manufacturer selling direct, with a small range of groundbaits, boilies, pop-ups and pellets. Their products appear on the carp and coarse bait pages only, one per page, alongside the retailer options rather than in place of them.
That is the complete list. If a link on this site does not go to one of those three, it is not an affiliate link. We will add to this list as other retailers approve us, and we will not add a retailer here before the relationship actually exists.
What this does not change
Your statutory rights are with the retailer you buy from, not with us. Prices, stock, delivery, returns and warranty are all handled entirely by the retailer, and their terms apply.
We are not paid to hold an opinion. If a product is poor, we will say so, whether or not there is a link attached to it.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you think a recommendation on the site looks commercially motivated rather than genuine, please get in touch. That is exactly the kind of message worth sending.