Tackle shops

[argyll]

Budgie, my local shops were part of the Penge Angling group. They have now been thankfully bought by a more helpful bunch of people who appear to listen to their customers. A decent range of deadbaits are in the freezer and a whole rack of Fox lures has appeared. The lures aint much to write home about but its a start, so perhaps I might eventually have a decent shop within ten minutes.

[Dick Dastardly]

PENGE ANGLING? PENGE ANGLING DOH That name to me is like a Red rag to a Bull mate! :mad: :mad:

 

Remember back in the late 80's when the first ever product from Kryston came out.a 70lb multi strand hook length that you had to split down to the required size yourself? Well i called in to their Rayleigh (?) Essex branch thinking that such a cult shop may have some of this new wonder materiel in stock.When I asked the guy behind the counter just took the **** saying "Krypton? aint that wots Supermans afraid of?" Ha Ha Tee Hee I left feeling very embarrased.Well blow me but several years later ET gave me some of his latest sunk floats made from "Posifoam" instead of polystyrene to try.Liking them and not wanting to be a ponce by asking for some more I was looking around shops for them.Just happened to be passing the same shop for the first time since the last icident and not having learnt my lesson called in......."Posifoam? Posifoam? what th F---s that all about then" The memory of the Krypton incident came rushing back to me and a strange red mist decended over me..........I was let of with a caution!

 

When asking for a specific item you get two very distinct replies from GOOD shops and BAD shops-

 

GOOD- Sorry havnt got that have a cuppa whilst I see if I can get it for you.

 

BAD-No mate what you want is.... or What they are all using now is.....

[chesters1]

we got plenty of shops round here ,theres a famouse one thats stacked from floor to ceiling with everything you could ever want but too much to see ,you cant bend down without hitting stuff ,the staff talk to the regulars and ignore others and they charge the earth.another is carp orientated and unless you not sporting the latest fox ear muffs (or whatever) you looked on with suspicion ,another is a hobby shop where you go in turn around and thats it.

another is a small shop with very little stock of the big bits of kit (rods reels etc etc) have a huge stock of "bits" you can have a one off rod made ,he has loads of spares for old reels and has forgotten more than most have learnt ,takes no notice you only go in for a chat and leave without buying and takes time to talk .

i like the last

[John S]

Just found a good one near me (Hull) a couple of months ago called Angler's Corner. Went in there for the first time and found one of my pals working there part-time! Plenty of good gear to drool over and pretty reasonably priced with it. The people there also know their stuff, which is important in any tackle shop if they want to keep their customers. A-C also opens for a short while on Sundays, a big advantage if you decide to go fishing early on Monday morning.

 

Another good one is The Fishing Basket, but unfortunately that is on the other side of town. This one is stuffed full of rods/poles/everything else - so much so that you literelly cannot see the walls for tackle! Both sell maggots thankfully, unlike many shops in the Hull area

 

There have been shops I've visited that have not been so helpful, but they tended not to last for vrey long. We can be a stroppy lot in this part of Yorkshire

 

Tight lines

[argyll]

That sounds like Penge Angling.

[Zygotic]

theres another one in wolverhampton i use i think i know the one to refer to is its not far from where i live. the one i use is by northwood park road in bushbury

[BoldBear]

Our local tackleshop can't get all the top suppliers to stock them because the suppliers already stock other shops within a 10 mile radius, therefore If I wanted a decent rod I would need to travel miles away and even then you can't always guarantee that they have what you wanted in stock (unless you phone round different tackleshops and reserve it beforehand). and by the time you have paid the fuel costs and phone costs you have spent far more than you needed to.

 

I am willing to use my local tackleshop and pay a little more for bait, end tackle etc. because I need these items quickly but as far as rods and major items are concerned I find it far less trouble and less expensive to buy online.

 

When the wife wanted to christen a new Centrepin that I gave her for xmas we had to phone round to find the nearest shop that sold the line she wanted (Ultima Flo-Cast) and because she wanted it straight away and none of the tackleshops in our area had even heard of it we had to travel all the way up to Sandy in Beds (Walkers Pitch) to buy it (about 40 mins drive).

One of the best tackleshops in my area actually thought I was after a fly line when I said it was a hollow floating line made by Ultima which I wanted for use on a centrepin.

 

If the tackleshops stocked more up-to-date gear made by the better suppliers then I would use them far more but to be honest they never seem to have the tackle I want at the time and they never seem to keep up with new developments, which is why they are loosing out to the Web. Most of the better more up-to-date tackleshops sell online anyway.

Edited January 22, 2009 by BoldBear

[dutch1862]

I have to say that I feel very lucky with my local tackle shop. Actually it's not local any more, although only about 5 miles away. It's run by the same guy who ran it when I started fishing some 20 odd years ago. I was delighted to see he was still there when I went back in after a 10-12 year gap recently.

 

Not sure if we're supposed to be giving them any plugs or not, but its Matchman Supplies in West Bridgford, Nottingham run by Tim. He has always been very friendly and only too happy to offer advice and help. That is worth more to me than saving a few quid buying from a faceless internet company. The purchaes I made from Bennetts online recently are good, but everything else I need will come from Tim now. And I only bought online as I had a limited amount of birthday money to spend and a fair bit to try and get.

[ricksteruk]

Good advice Garry.Have sadly found more bad than good but must admit to being lucky with my "new" local shop - Ashford Tacklke,always good friendly service and I very rarely spend much there due to having tons of gear allready.Never to much trouble to order something a bit unusual for me.

 

 

Is that the one on like a industrial estate in a warehouse, if you go up stairs you have to clamber over everything and nothing has prices on up stairs?

[BoldBear]

I think that the modern tackle shop that a lot of anglers now buy their larger items of tackle from has changed and that unless the shops are are on the doorstep of a fishery or ready to embrace the web they may find that they are going to find it harder to tread water. Shops like Leslies of Luton, Bennetts of Sheffield plus the smaller shops which have their own web sites where anglers can buy on-line or browse through a list of their stock and then maybe visit their shops normally have a much larger variety of tackle in-stock and will most probably outlast most of the small corner shops with their limited stock and limited customer base. I think its a shame but I think thats the way it seems to be going. I personally miss how its always been in the past but I also think that they will need to adapt or flounder.

Most people have access to the web these days and even a plain list of the Tackle items that the shop has in stock plus a phone number which anglers can look at on the web is better than no presence at all.

Edited January 26, 2009 by BoldBear