Van Den Eynde Fishing Baits

Marcel van den Eynde, founder of Van Den Eynde groundbaits, is a World Champion Belgian International. He founded Van Den Eynde off the back of his World Championship victory in 1970, and the business has continued to grow from then on. It is now considered to be one of the biggest groundbait manufacturers in Europe.

Many who saw Marcel in the early days commented that he must have been born with fishing in his blood, and he was often seen down along the water – even when he should have been in school! He was soon picked up by the local fishing clubs and it was with them that he got his taste for competition. He was taken under the wing of a local regional angler, and began to tour the regional circuit as well as the local one. As a young angler, he was often asked by older anglers to organise baits for them to use in competitions. This was Marcel’s first foray into the bait industry.

He was soon in so much demand that the quit his postal job and opened up his first tackle shop. However, thanks to his continued success on the match fishing circuit, he was soon forced to close down the shop and instead directed his efforts back into the baiting world. Whilst still competing on the international circuit, Marcel was able to gain international contacts to further grow his bait making business, including Gabriele Tubertini – with whom the company still has a close working relationship and the companies take responsibility for the distribution of the others products in their respective home countries (the company distributes Tubertini in Belguim, Tubertini distributes Van Den Eynde to the Italian market).

The Van Den Eynde of today is incomparable from the company that began over 40 years ago. The company now produces in excess of 100 own brand groundbait mixes, as well as producing mixes for other companies. Its products are now on sale in every single European territory, and the company distributes to South Africa and America – giving Van Den Eynde a truly global reach. Like all fishing companies, it is built on evolution, and has diversified its product list to incorporate other areas of fishing tackle.

Almost every angler in Europe will have fished with a Van Den Eynde groundbait at some point in their lives and the Van Den Eynde name carries with it a great heritage. Not content to rest on its laurels, the company has vowed to never stand still, and with a team who are all closely connected with the angling world, Van Den Eynde is a company with its finger on the pulse of angling.

However, despite all this progression, the company also wants to remain true to its roots. It still operates from its Belgian base, and is still very much inspired by its founder. Although Marcel passed away some years ago, the company is still run by the family, and daughter Michele is the current Managing Director.