Supporting local tackle shop

[tigger]

I was just thinking of the time when angling shops were as common as general stores/ grocers which seemed to be on every other corner. They were reminisent of a proper hardware shop which stocked all manner of nick nacks. As you walked in the shops most of them had that smell of new stuff mixed with bait etc which to me was quite pleasant.
If my memory serves me right the peak of the tackle shops round my area was from the late 70's to the late 90's and then things seemed to go down hill.

 

[rich66]

My first job was in a shop that sold hardware, pet food and fishing tackle. I was mainly on the tackle counter. I remember the varied smells very well. All the different permits we had to fill in by hand. And an old till that would only take upto £19.99 and would shoot out the draw like Arkwright’s in open all hours. Most of my wages would go on fishing. Then that turned into beer and women.

 

[nottskev]

A shop with no products isn't much use, I agree. But one of my local independents has vast stocks from a wide variety of top brands of rods, reels, accessories and bits, and the options dwarf the miserable offer from the nearest AD. Just to take one small section: you can buy maggots and pinkies in any colour, squatts (by order), casters, fresh or treated to last a week, dendra's, redworms, lobworms, cooked hemp , tares and wheat, frozen predator baits from lampreys through all the usual fish baits, before you get to the indescribable range of groundbaits, pellets, boillies, and things for commercials that look like the kiddies sweet tray. The local AD offers boillies, pellets and red and white maggots.

Going local doesn't have to mean reduced choice.

 

[Mark Wintle]

Nearly three weeks ago I went into my local shop where I usually just buy maggots with the knowledge that a lockdown might be imminent, bought 1.5 pints of maggot (nearly all went to feed the robins and blackbirds in the garden) and £30 worth of hooks, olivettes and groundbait as a gesture of support. He doesn't do mail order and whether he'll survive I don't know. Since then I've bought two spools of Dave Harrell line mail order as in this uncertain world who knows what will be available.

Those doing online sales - not just fishing tackle - may get to a situation of being unable to get stock. I keep looking at camera gear - still resisting - and it's becoming apparent that some items aren't going to be imported again for a good while. Many manufacturers have shut down and many goods are still awaiting shipping, with the added complication of not shipping if there's likely to be a problem getting paid. I think a lot of goods may become scarce for a good while; an example is the car industry which has shut down.

 

[seth49]

Always use my nearest tackle shop, it’s a twenty minute drive but it’s the nearest now, Steve the owner is very helpful, and for a small shop he carries a good stock of tackle, and if he hasn’t got it, he will get it for you if he can, does a discount on more expensive items as well, his bait is very good too.

He has got the nickname of Arkwright, as if you go in for something you invariably come out with something else, he’s a decent chap hope he survives being closed for now.



That’s him on the right.

 

[mikench]

Most of my wages would go on fishing. Then that turned into beer and women.

And i bet you squandered the rest Rich.

 

[bullet]

Can't fault my local shop, really nice bunch and very helpful.
Excellent service if you have a problem with anything.

 

[rich66]

And i bet you squandered the rest Rich.

Certainly did !

 

[markcw]

I am looking forward to tackle shops opening again. Making pole rigs and have more floats than winders.

 

[mikench]

Always use my nearest tackle shop, it’s a twenty minute drive but it’s the nearest now, Steve the owner is very helpful, and for a small shop he carries a good stock of tackle, and if he hasn’t got it, he will get it for you if he can, does a discount on more expensive items as well, his bait is very good too.

He has got the nickname of Arkwright, as if you go in for something you invariably come out with something else, he’s a decent chap hope he survives being closed for now.

View attachment 8734

That’s him on the right.

Four candles!!!!

 

[nottskev]

I am looking forward to tackle shops opening again. Making pole rigs and have more floats than winders.

How do you do it, Mark? I love pole fishing but making rigs is a purgatory. I end up with plenty, but I couldn't do it now - I have to be lined up to go somewhere soon to face fiddling with all the tiny bits and pieces.

Thinking about it, I've been lucky to always have good tackle shops nearby. When I moved back to Chester in 1991, a chap in the next street had just taken redundancy and opened a small corner tackle shop. He was a bit light on knowledge of the tackle scene at first, and a few of us early regulars helped him set up a good, if necessarily smallish, selection of gear. It seems to have been easier back then for even a small dealer to get accounts from top brands like Daiwa, and I still use some of the rods I bought from the shop. I had a tackle shop run by a friend 3 minutes walk away for the next 10 years, and things like that influence my take on the likes of AD

 

[mikench]

This scenario could be replicated and on a cooperative basis Kev. The number and timbre of our members could make it work. Count me in.

 

[markcw]

These are canal rigs Kev, I have done some already, I am going through what floats I have and getting what I can done, then the trays will be stacked in a container. Considering the cost of Drennan and Preston Innovations ready made rigs, I can save a lot of money by doing my own.
I use a dosapiombio to shot them, I have a few floats in the same pattern and shot weight , so I do one with dosapiombio, then shot the others accordingly, may need to fine tune on the bank.

 

[nottskev]

This scenario could be replicated and on a cooperative basis Kev. The number and timbre of our members could make it work. Count me in.

You'd have been a welcome customer, Mike - no doubt about that