Thomas Turner
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A beautiful stained-glass window depicting Kingfishers, no house number, indicated “these are interesting people”. Graham and Christine have a unique, beautiful home. A walk through into the bar area brought me to a tackle collection. Graham inherited this from his father upon his untimely death on May 15th, 1990 whilst holidaying in Tenerife.
Ted Carter’s tackle shop in Preston was and is a true anglers Mecca with an interesting back story. Ted, a Royal Navy man saw active service on motor torpedo boats during WW2. Shot at twice, sank and surviving both events, upon cessation of hostilities he decided a change of career was called for.
He joined Hoover as a salesman. His lifelong fishing passion over spilled into his evenings and he started to build Spanish reed rods from his mother in law’s garage. So popular were they in the local match fishing scene he was convinced of a business idea. In 1961 he left Hoover to follow his dream. He opened his tackle shop on Church Street, Preston. Located just off the busy A6, trade increased annually as the anglers travelling north passed by the door. Its all about location, location, location.
Through hard work, networking the match scene and providing excellent service and free advice, Ted’s shop grew. He bought the three shops adjacent, expanding the floor space dramatically. He was a supremely talented game and match angler and according to Graham “he won every trophy in the Preston area, twice”
He became one of the most respected names in the tackle business.
Sponsorship for the elite local match teams meant Ted Carters shop received national press advertising by default.
The black and white images here remind us of the fashion of day. The picture to the right shows Mr Sowerbutts of Liverpool company, Richard Forshaw Ltd, presenting the match winners rod to Dave Roper, World Champion. He remains a family friend of the Carters to this day. Ted can be seen between the pair and when asked to return after work to have the picture taken said “what’s in it for me?”. I love northern folk!
Graham introduced me to Dave Roper later in the day. It transpired we knew of each other from years ago and shared many tackle contacts through our shops in Stoke and Preston. I had spoken to Ted on a few occasions about vintage tackle, advising values and rarity during the 80’s. I didn’t realise his passion and keen eye attracted so many reels, cased fish, rods and accessories.
It was a privilege to see Ted’s collection. Two of his reels immediately caught my attention. Graham holds a trout size Kitchen’s Patent and an Illingworth No1. It was never about the money, always about the history of the angling trade and the people who moved within.
Graham and Christine still fish today from the bottom of their garden. When the weed clears, the results can be great.
Christine is a match winning Champion too. Im sure there is NO rivalry between the pair as they fish together
Ted Carters shop was bought by Angling Direct (their 22nd branch) in 2018 and it thrives today. A.D have gone to great efforts to retain the shops original character. Graham still pops in for a nostalgic trip down memory lane and to meet old friends.
Many thanks to Christine and Graham. We had great afternoon, downed many brews and lots of tackle chat.
A deal was agreed on some modern tackle, the collection stays firmly where it is. Fish on guys!
The post Ted Carter of Preston appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
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Ted Carter’s tackle shop in Preston was and is a true anglers Mecca with an interesting back story. Ted, a Royal Navy man saw active service on motor torpedo boats during WW2. Shot at twice, sank and surviving both events, upon cessation of hostilities he decided a change of career was called for.
He joined Hoover as a salesman. His lifelong fishing passion over spilled into his evenings and he started to build Spanish reed rods from his mother in law’s garage. So popular were they in the local match fishing scene he was convinced of a business idea. In 1961 he left Hoover to follow his dream. He opened his tackle shop on Church Street, Preston. Located just off the busy A6, trade increased annually as the anglers travelling north passed by the door. Its all about location, location, location.
Through hard work, networking the match scene and providing excellent service and free advice, Ted’s shop grew. He bought the three shops adjacent, expanding the floor space dramatically. He was a supremely talented game and match angler and according to Graham “he won every trophy in the Preston area, twice”
He became one of the most respected names in the tackle business.
Sponsorship for the elite local match teams meant Ted Carters shop received national press advertising by default.
The black and white images here remind us of the fashion of day. The picture to the right shows Mr Sowerbutts of Liverpool company, Richard Forshaw Ltd, presenting the match winners rod to Dave Roper, World Champion. He remains a family friend of the Carters to this day. Ted can be seen between the pair and when asked to return after work to have the picture taken said “what’s in it for me?”. I love northern folk!
Graham introduced me to Dave Roper later in the day. It transpired we knew of each other from years ago and shared many tackle contacts through our shops in Stoke and Preston. I had spoken to Ted on a few occasions about vintage tackle, advising values and rarity during the 80’s. I didn’t realise his passion and keen eye attracted so many reels, cased fish, rods and accessories.
It was a privilege to see Ted’s collection. Two of his reels immediately caught my attention. Graham holds a trout size Kitchen’s Patent and an Illingworth No1. It was never about the money, always about the history of the angling trade and the people who moved within.
Graham and Christine still fish today from the bottom of their garden. When the weed clears, the results can be great.
Christine is a match winning Champion too. Im sure there is NO rivalry between the pair as they fish together
Ted Carters shop was bought by Angling Direct (their 22nd branch) in 2018 and it thrives today. A.D have gone to great efforts to retain the shops original character. Graham still pops in for a nostalgic trip down memory lane and to meet old friends.
Many thanks to Christine and Graham. We had great afternoon, downed many brews and lots of tackle chat.
A deal was agreed on some modern tackle, the collection stays firmly where it is. Fish on guys!
The post Ted Carter of Preston appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...