TACKLE SHOPS
As every angler knows there are tackle shops and Tackle Shops. I don’t know when the first tackle shop was opened but I saw a cartoon from the eighteen nineties, depicting a drunk telling a man at the bedroom window that he had got a bite. The sign hanging from the hop was a fish caught on a line. I am told by a knowledgeable historian that there has never been a specialist sea angler’ tackle shop although most of the seaside shops carry far more sea tackle than either coarse or game fishing. However,one thing is sure,that is that any long established tackle shop is either owned or staffed by dedicated anglers, the reason being that a chap who sells fishing gear has to know what he is about and capable of providing information as well as bits and pieces of bait and equipment. Fifty years ago there were no mail order tackle dealers to confuse the unwary novice. Today there are a number of experienced anglers selling by mail order from their shops. Most of these chaps do their best to explain what a particular rod or reel is designed to do and are usually willing to spend a few minutes on the telephone to help a customer arrive at the right decision. When I was seventy years old I was urged to buy the latest model, the Rocket, But five minutes with the dealer convinced me that I wouldn’t cast eighty yards with a reel that had slung a four ounce weight three hundred yards in the hands of an expert. That experience has been repeated several times I am sure but the other side of the coin is the case of the a young angler who ordered his kit by mail order and received what he had asked for, but asked for the wrong Tackle, ie; in the shape of a light bass rod and large and heavy Reel suitable for conger fishing. Had he gone into a tackle shop he would have been properly advised and equipped at a reasonable cost. Another advantage of dealing with a tackle dealer who actually spends his weekends with a rod and reel in is hands is that you can stroll into the shop and join in a session of angling gossip, most entertaining and partially true. At many shops you can also get a cup of coffee and there is one favourite haunt of mine even today, where the proprietor will slip out and buy a couple of lunches whilst I look after the shop. It may not be cordon bleu but it is honest fisherman's fare. Where else can you go to get a decent meal and an audience for tales of “the one that got away”? Arthur Ransome-a trout and salmon angler of note-waxed lyrical about the delights of Shopping at a properly run tackle dealer’s shop. I only wish I had the same felicity with words Make the most of your local dealer.s establishment, It may not be there for too long if the anti-angling mob have their way, as seems very likely under this government.
HAPPY SHOPPING

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