Forums bad for tackle shops

[coasty]

Over the last few years these forums have grown up and the threads on them increasingly include those from new anglers desperate for advise on how to do the most basic of things, Now in my day if you couldnt get somene to show you the ropes you went to the local tackle shop and chances are he sold you stuff on the back of advice. Now I see threads on here for the most basic of advice even where can I buy a filleting knife.

As I see it tackle shops are dying yet us older guys know that there are few greater pleasures than going into a decent tackle shop chatting and yarning so please how about when the new anglers come on here asking for advice how about saying go to your local tackle shop because if we dont use them we will lose them and when the day comes that the only place you can buy a new rod is from some guy on the web the world will be a sadder place.

Sorry rant over

[BRUCE1]

thats fine until you live in an area almost defunct of tackle shops ,bradford is a poor area for this as no doubt countless other places, even worse if your in the highlands or similiar where as the tackle shop is a long way off getting to it for stuff could be a once a month thing for some ,we all had to learn somewhere, i was lucky and learnt a lot of what i know by purely fishing rivers etc since i was four,with a good tutor my father god rest his soul ,some people dont have that luxury of parents being into angling so they have to gleen there information from somewhere and luckily or not for them we are there knowledge ,and they are the future of angling so dont turn your back on them give them encouragement ,i for one like to put something back into the sport even if its only showing one youngster how to tie a knot properly ,lets support them that dont know and encourage them into angling ,without the future/present learning from us angling will die out !!!!!


STICK WITH THEM !!!!

[tony.slade]

Hi All

I think this one is somewhat of a "catch 22" situation. I know what you mean when i was carp fishing i used to love looking around the shop, loads of toys for sale. Now that i have seen the light going into the shop for the kind of fly tying and fishing gear i require is non existant apart from the Orvis shop which is heaven but my local shop is pants I guess you could argue the toss and say the reason its **** is because we buy and talk on here so we are doing them out of a sale, most of the time though they never have the materials i need.

[Adz]

Only those which don't participate - those who offer their advice and wares on these and other fora are still in existence.

We live in an ever changing World... like it, or lump it, we adapt or we go under. The James Hargreavesesque "Internet-sales-Jenny" of a decade ago (yes it really has been that long now!) has become a fully fledged "Internet-revolution".

The World was a sadder place the day Thos. Turners in Reading was bought out and shut down by Sportfish and that's a now a decade or so ago. Is it the internet fora or the 'multinational tackle dealer' that runs them that's to blame?

In reality, it's neither. Turners went because the owner got a business offer and accepted it and those tackle shops which haven't diversified into online and mail order sales will either be labours of love, or will seriously struggle to make ends meet before long, or I'm very much mistaken.

It's been called 'progress' for centuries... frequently people don't like it, but that never seems to make any difference

Cheers,

[DITCHDANGLER]

It was the same for every high street in the country, along came the Asda's Tesco's etc etc and the populace followed them to their out of town superstores, now the towns are full of next to nothing unless you are a fan of Charity shops.

Good tackle shops will survive others like everything else will go in time! its as the man said 'progress'

A question to ask ourselves and answer honestly?? how many times have you gone into a shop and seen goods marked up in excess of what you have found on the net and still bought from the shop to keep him in business??

Alan

[Artistmike]

Originally Posted by coasty

Now I see threads on here for the most basic of advice even where can I buy a filleting knife.

Sorry rant over

'Tis me you're referring to and I do take your point. However these days I'm disabled and I find the Internet a godsend. The maximum time I can spend fishing is very limited due to my condition and I'd prefer to use what little energy I have, fishing rather than trawling round shops looking for tackle.

I do have a great tackle shop just within reach and do make a point of using it when I can but unfortunately, that's not all the time.

Let's face it, Internet shopping has become a godsend for many people for many reasons and the best shops have realised that they need to address the Internet as a potential for more sales, the shop I refer to has done that.

Anyway, I'm not whinging, just pointing out that not everybody has the time or ability to chat and yarn in a tackle shop, I only wish I could, in the meantime Internet shopping keeps me fishing.

[Stillwater angler]

I'd love to go to my local tackle shop and buy some gear except it closed down ages ago, which didn't really bother me to much as it was mainly course gear they sold anyway and the little bit of fly gear they sold they'd have to have paid me to use it
Harrogate isn't much better, yes there's fly tackle but it's fly tying materials i mainly look for and the one shop in Harrogate that sells tying gear is totally over priced.

[WelshOsprey]

Many shops have realised there is an internet Revolution and simply joined in. That way they get to sell to the public who like to visit the hop to try before they buy and have face to face communication and advice but are also offering their wares at competitive internet prices. Those who sit back and do nothing but complain have only themselves to blame.

[JJ O Malley]

I buy the vast majority of my flyfishing gear online, and the reason is this..

MONEY...
I would rather spend 1/2 as much for my fishing gear and save my money for fishing trips. money is hard come by, so i don't see the point in me throwing money away...

Lets have a look at my last few purchases...
Flyrod...
Why buy a rod for 900 euros when i can buy it for 300 euros online? I have bought several top quality rods for 1/3 of the shop price....

Fly lines.
Then there is fly lines. I bought 2 lines last season for 20 euros each online. The same line is 70 euros in Ireland.

Chestwaders.
I bought a pair of Simms g3 waders for 203 euros online which were in excess of 500 in a tackle shop.

Tippet.
I bought several spools of top quality flourocarbon for 10 US dollars a spool. These were about 25 dollars in tackle shops...

Tent.. Saved about 150 euros by buying online... (needed for backcountry fishing, so i include it as fishing gear)

Add in clothing, spotting glasses, tent, reel, etc etc etc... and this is why i dont use fishing tackle shops...

The money i saved in the past 9 months would have easily paid for my return trip to NZ.....
Tackle shops have their place and i do use them when i am stuck, and i would be sad to see them gone, but i cant use them for everything i need....
Enough said.. Thats my 3 cents worth...

Cheers JJ

[fredaevans]

What's really hurt a lot of 'brick and mortar' fly shops, as noted above, is the price they have to charge to pay for the B's and M. Many US based 'e-tailer's will pay for the shipping charges with a minimal purchase ($50 USD is fairly typical for tackle). And their shop/warehouse could be anywhere.

Our local fly shop typically charges about $2.50 USD for a fly, I can buy the same thing at a 'big box' sport shop for under $2.00. Same fly will be about $1.25 via the web; usually less if you buy a dozen.

Light weight item, such as flies, are usually shipped for free.