February Coarse Fisherman

[Bob Roberts]

Prior to the Angling Times launching it's winter leage back in the 1960's (I think), winter fishing in the UK, other than for pike was very much a minority pastime. Few anglers had adequate gear to keep warm and a flask doesn't go far in freezing weather. I'm sure Ron will tell us that the weather was colder back then, too!

The bleak winter was then followed by a near-total 3-month shut down during the closed season so tackle dealers back then effectively managed their businesses on a 6-month season yet very few dealers seemed to go out of business.

Winter comes every year and funnily enough it comes at the same time of year so why does it surprise so many tackle shops?

Do skiing shops shut down in summer?

Surely no-one opens a tackle shop expecting sales to be constant throughout the year?

 

[Graham Whatmore]

Bob, the difference for tackle shops now as opposed to 20 years plus ago is that they don't have the same level of sales for reasons that we all know. They used to have a heydey just before the close season finished but who buys rods and reels from tackle shops these days? Even those who don't have computers are bombarded with adverts for ever cheaper tackle in the fishing mags and I often wonder how any of them manage to survive these days.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)]

The difference Bob is that I am now 64 years of age, not 24.

 

[Bob Roberts]

But were the winters colder back then, Ron?

I seem to recall they were. Snow piled up on the sides of the road for weeks on end. Lakes frozen solid, etc.

Graham, if tackle shops don't sell rods these days then it should have the same impact on their turnover summer or winter.

If we follow through the line of thinking that the internet has revolutionised rod and reel sales, then poles, bivvies and bedchairs must fit the same profile (no pun intended).

Consequently tackle shops must exist to sell consumables, hooks, lines, leads, etc. because the supermarkets sell most of the baits, pellets and hemp withstanding and the pet shops have pinched a huge chunk of that.

I keep reading that the tackle trade is worth umpteen billions per annum when you include the ancilliary services. Perhaps the tackle retail trade needs to look to what services it provides and how. There seems to be room for diversification.

 

[BAZ (Angel of the North)]

It is strange that we have certain days of the week which are good for fishing, as Mark says he finds Thursdays to be a good day.

Working outside for most of my life, I find that Tuesdays are often the wetest days of the week, year in year out.

 

[fred hall]

The law which says fishing in winter is always best on Thursdays also decrees that fishing is always worst on Saturdays or Sundays. Like many anglers weekends are my most likely fishing times and going out in what you know are unfavourable conditions to catch b*gger all does tend to lessen the enthusiasm.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

The fishing business in winter has always been a tough nut. No matter what type of fishing either, for trout it's a close season anyway, for sea it's rough and cold, for coarse anglers they're just whimps. )

I knew days in the 60s when we said we'd go up to Coombes in Derbyshire for a bit of piking only to find that we got as far as Whaley Bridge then couldn't get up the hill, there so much snow.

As Bob says, we didn't have the clothing then. Usually ex-army, cotton filled, cotton covered and not waterproof. Now you have hollow-fill fibres in waterproof, breathable skins and fur lined booties and still the whimps don't want to go.

My dealer mate said, a few years ago now, there are anglers that come in on June 15th and buy a pint of maggots, packet of hooks, spool of line, 2 floats and a box of assorted shot and as soon as any one of them runs out, they pack in fishing until this time next year. True today as well.

 

[Graham Whatmore]

Bob. There isn't the same profit margins on general fishing items that there is on rods, reels, poles and the like and with high overheads (rent etc) its hardly surprising they are struggling is it?


In the days when the rivers in the Midland were full with matches on the weekends we used to go on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, the thought being that the fish would have a chance of getting over the weekend bombardment and disturbance. On the very few occasions that we went on a Monday the fishing was dire and again we put this down to weekend matches.

Even now the mate and I are reluctant to go on a Monday and usually we go on a Wednesday but the rivers obviously don't get the hammering that they used to so its more from habit than anything else.

 

[john ledger]

Does anyone spend less than a tenner at the tackle shop and why is fishing the most expensive sport or pastime. Could one of the reasons be the mark up on fishing tackle is too great,can anyone tell me why a pole can cost a few grand and dont tell me its the setting up and cost of the machinery to produce it because i worked as an engineer in the plastic industry

 

[GrahamM]

Prices of anything are all about what you can get for an item, not what it's worth. If buyers are willing to pay, sellers are willing to sell. Simple as that.

Look at all the items in the tackle shops that are in fancy packets. Even bl**dy lead weights are in plastic boxes that must cost almost as much as the items they hold. What's the point in presenting something so elaborately that you're going to cast out and drag over gravel?

YOU are paying for that box that you throw away the minute you get home and stuff the weights in your tackle box.

Make a stand about such things and buy only, for instance, the weights that are cheaper and sold loose.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

I'll go along with that last comment of Graham's on ALL products, especially groceries.

We put far too much packaging around goods now anyway and it all ends up in land fills. Next thing you complain because your land fill is full and you don't want another one near you. So someone proposes a rubish incinerater and no-one wants one of them.

So now where do you stick your little plastic box and the bag and the instruction sheet and the card that came with your lead?

I'll tell you where - up your ..... Arseley bombs don't need packaging.

 

[William Spencer]

groceries?
cannot remember the last time we had a grocer's in our town.when i was a nipper the market area was the busiest meeting place in the town,half a dozen grocers balling out prices,the butcher's shops opposite,the old bike shop.home brewer's shop.the baker's and my old favourite the sweet shop.
alas they only remain in good old fingered time.

curse you asda,morrisons,safeway,tesco.

 

[paul williams 2]

Last summer i popped into a tackle shop out in the sticks and asked if they had any leads.......they pulled out the old sectioned tray of loose leads in al sizes.....if my memory serves me right a 2oz arsley type was 40p.......thats how i want em!.......

Our village tackle shop of the 60,s was much removed from todays, you could buy electrical goods,paraffin, seeds, a kettle,an intrepid reel.....and 3d worth of maggots!.........the local lads would pool the pennies buy some maggots grab a jam butty (if they were lucky!)and go fishing all day.......there were no high rents and rates and they sold anything they could, THATS how the tackle dealers survived in those days!

 

[BLAM]

Perceived value drives prices and people being greedy and vain are prepared to pay multiples more than the manufacturing cost. Do you really need that Rolex watch, Shimano reel, BMW or Delkim bite alarm. Nope but it sure feels good to have them.

On another level totally the previous model whereby manufacturers sold to middle men or retailers because that was the most efficient distribution model has broken down to an extent. Why sell to a retailer for X when the public will pay X+++? Sell to the public for cheaper than they can buy it for from a retailer but more than the retailer will pay and everyone is happy....expect for the middle-man who does nothing more effectively than run a toll-booth anyway.

 

[john ledger]

I agree Blam and it was only about 5 years ago i bought a carryall from my mate who knew a woman who made them for one well known company. ?6 it cost and the same one was ?35 in the shop,if she was making a profit what was the tackle makers making.
There are far too many anglers who think if they own expensive tackle it makes them a better angler,makes them feel better yes a better angler no

 

[Bob Roberts]

Why should angling retail expect to remain static whilst the rest of the retail sector moves with the times?

Maybe I'm generalising here, but rose tinted spectacles give us an impression that tackle shops used to be warm, cosy and welcoming places.

Actually a great many of them had a clique of matchmen who hung around in them all day long, smoking, drinking tea and peering down their noses at noddies.

In pre-lottery days practically every miner, factory worker and manual labourer who went fishing had a dream, "One day, I'd love to own a tackle shop..."

And many did. They sunk their life savings and redundancy payments into businesses that they simply didn't understand. Some survived and some did incredibly well but like the candlestick maker, zeppelin builder, blacksmith, local greengrocer and butcher, many stood still while the world moved on around them. Our shopping habits changed, too.

And fishing changed. Remember all those cafes that did an anglers breakfast on Saturday's and Sundays? Remember sell-out river matches, eh? All gone.

Tackle shops used to compalin there was no profit in maggots and casters. Today it's pellets, hemp, pastes, boilies, corn, meat and anything else you care to think of. There's profit to be had in these new baits but it's all going the way of the cafe cum shop at the local commercial fishery. But it hardly took a genius to see that one coming.

And look at all these tackle show cum festival markets where anglers are charged ?6 to go shopping for bargains and guess what? The top stars line turn out to support what many see as the biggest threat of all to the local shops. Should we support these shows? I personally don't think so.

Don't think I'm being harshly critical of the small shop owners, I do have a great deal of sympathy for them, but it's the agressive marketeers who will survive the next decade. Small shops have little choice but to diversify and service seasonal trends if they are to avoid going under.

Boots doesn't sell a great deal of sun tan lotion in December but I guess they put the shelf space to better use. Tesco doesn't sell Christmas cards in June, either.

Read Roy Marlow's article in the latest Tackle and Guns about marketing and you will learn a lot. He's dead right when he says companies like Ikea know how to sell. Alas, a lot of tackle shop owners either don't know or they don't want to change.

And we'll miss our tackle shops just as much as the grocer and the local butcher yet we still go to Tesco and Sainsbury for our major outlay shopping.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)]

Bob,

The 62/63 winter was horrible. Virtually all waters including many rivers were frozen solid for months. From the end of November right though to 15th June, angling for coarse fish was at a standstill.

Peter Stone used to walk all the way from his house in Wolvercote to Oxford on top of the river!

Most winters in the 50s and 60s were much colder than today make no mistake.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Bob, 100% with you on that one!


Strictly speaking, there's never been a better time to go winter fishing due to the tremendous cloths and fillers used in clothing now. At one time you'd have to spend a small fortune on a duvet style jacket filled with feathers plucked from virgin eider ducks, but even these have been surpassed by newer hollow-fill fibres, much warmer, cheaper, and much lighter.

Plus - waterproofs are far better now. Gore-tex outers are waterproof, meaning they don't allow one drop of moisture to pass through (providing you look after them) and yet they are breathable so you don't get that clammy build-up of sweat inside, which can chill you just the same. But it still all costs.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

There was a time when you bought your angling bits and pieces from the local dealer, who probably had a pet store running alongside. That is more likely what kept him going. People always have to feed their pets, buy new collars, new bowls etc.

Then came the advent of the dedicated tackle shop, because people who opened them (as Bob says) didn't have a clue about how to run a business or - what type of business they would need to remain in profit all year round. Fishing is not and never was seasonal, it was very seasonal.

Sure it's nice to go into a shop and just find all tackle in there, lots to choose from, dream your dreams. But stock on the shelves is dead money to the owner. Many don't realise that if you're feeding the business with an overdraft, which many do, the banker still wants HIS interest on the money he has extended to you. These little elements are what newcomers to trade don't think of.

Yes, we have to move on. You can't just (as Paul says) open a drawer with all the leads in it. They have to be in bags hung on a pegboard or similar display so the public can compare and choose at their leisure, but don't let's lose all sense of values. There's no point in making something that should sell for 50p look like and be priced at ?1.50 and that's what's seemingly happening in some areas.

I'm all for the local shop, every town should have one. Without them where would we get our "3d worth of maggots!...."?



Come on Paul, I always buy half a dozen at least and at 10p a dozen that's not bad even now.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Bob,

I think that Roy Marlow was rather wide of the mark with his analogy of IKEA.

Yes, they do know how to sell, however, they also know how to Manufactuer as well - something that Tackle Shops cannot undertake.

Not to mention that Ingvar Kamprad is now the World's richest man (fortune of 4 times that of the Wallenberg 'empire') with 149 stores in something like 29 Countries and an annual turnover of about 6.2 billion. Rather difficult NOT to be able to sell with all of that behind you, oh, and in case IKEA get a little strapped for cash they can always turn to one of the 2 banks they own.
Somewhat different than my local tackle shop I'd venture to suggest?

About 6 years ago I had an accountant run all the figures for a well known tackle shop that I was considering purchasing.

To run the place at a reasonable profit margin I would have had to put something like ?300,000 worth of goods on the shelves and charge the match anglers for their tea and coffee ;-)

The angler's cafes and sell-out matches have not disappeared but have simply been replaced, as you say, by the commercial carp fisheries up and down the Country - so nothing is lost, meerly altered.

Personally, I think it would be a terrible shame to see the local tackle shop disappear from the angling scene, and for that reason alone we should support them.

(PS - The IKEA Phenomenon was the title of one of my papers ;-)