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Another one bites the dust

Stu Killen ' s main reason was given as the decline in the river match angler. When I Fished there were always 30 plus in club matches plus opens regularly of 100 to 200. Now its different, carp puddle matches are only around 15 to 20 anglers, rivers apart from a few matches are lucky to get a dozen.Derby Railway run 4 matches a season 3 club events which attract around 20 anglers and one open which is about the same. Years ago there would have been 200 on each.
Like everything else it's the changing face of fishing.
 
Not so much the changing face of fishing as the changing face of the world I fear Paul. Think about this....what do you see when you look at all the people around you, wherever you happen to be? I will tell you....the majority of them will have one thumb and one eye glued to a smart phone. Be it in the pub, a restaurant, a family gathering, it makes no difference, that is what you will see.

Modern folk live in an entirely different world. They don't need fishing, they don't need anything actually, apart from that phone. Take that away from a modern youngster and he/she would likely go into some form of withdrawal induced coma :D

By the way, you can even get a fishing app on your phone if nostalgia causes problems for you.

Fishing? Forget it, it is a thing of the past, the pastime equivalent of the Do-Do.

Ba humbug.

Cheers, Dave :D
 
Derek Funcks said:
Dave, have you noticed, as you get older, everything gets smaller ;) i mean wagon wheels. :D
Click to expand...

Absolutely true Derek....the old wagon wheel is not what it was . To make matters worse, my GP has informed me that the well known cure for this problem is only available now via private prescription...the NHS no longer offer help. Shame really because I have always believed in being an upstanding citizen.

Cheers, Dave :D
 
Just a quick heads up for anyone in the Ringwood area this weekend. Avon Angling will finally close on Tuesday 31 January and is currently selling EVERYTHING half price - rods, reels, you name it and if they've still got it, it's half price.


Dave
 
There's definitely still a place for at least some tackle shops (as long as there are anglers, of course). As others have said, the guarantee of quality fresh bait such as worms and maggots cannot be had on the net, and the ability to see and hold rods and reels is something you'll never manage virtually. I would also say that tackle shops are one of the few remaining high street brick and mortar places where you can still get the odd killer deal that you'll never find online, not even on eBay. Earlier last year, for example, from two separate tackle shops I picked up a new and unused Shimano Purist barbel rod for £80 - cheapest I could find it online was 2nd hand on eBay at £155 - and, again new and unused, a Shimano Alivio medium feeder rod paired with a 2500 baitrunner reel for £45 - the reel was effectively free. I also note that most end tackle items are no cheaper on the net than they are in tackle shops (which could just mean that the tackle shops aren't making any profit on them, or possibly even selling them all as loss leaders), so no massive saving to be had there.

I think the tackle shops that will survive are the ones that have a decent internet presence as well, either their own website (Fishing Republic, Glasgow Angling and the like) or an eBay shop.
 
Steve, if you find end tackle at the same price online, either:
1.it's free postage and the seller has reduced profit margins because of this or
2.You pay the postage because when you weigh up the cost of fuel to the nearest tackle shop it makes it worth your while.

Whatever the case, end tackle would appear to be good for profit.....when it's £2 plus for 20 rubber beads for example!
 
Just a further heads up re Avon Angling in Ringwood. Apparently all remaining stock has been sold to a private buyer so maggots only until closure on Tuesday.


Dave
 
Therein lies the problem boys.
We can all buy cheap terminal gear online but where will we buy our live bait such as maggots when there are no more tackle shops.
If we don't support our tackle shops we will not be able to buy decent live bait:(
 
Tackle shops

Keith

You are right we need to support the tackle shops lost three down in my area recently rods and reels, pages. Hansfords I was in the Avon angling today when the chap bright all the stock it would appear he's opening a new tackle shop in winbourne.

Darrel.
 
Might be a gap in the market there in Wimborne if he can get his proposition right. Definitely some local anglers via Wimborne club and he could pick up others from the surrounding areas if he's competitive and offers good service. Top quality bait will also be key, of course.

Best of luck to him - it's a brave venture and I hope he makes a success of it.


Dave
 
Keith Humphreys said:
Therein lies the problem boys.
We can all buy cheap terminal gear online but where will we buy our live bait such as maggots when there are no more tackle shops.
If we don't support our tackle shops we will not be able to buy decent live bait:(
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Like most people I do get a few bits and bobs off the web, but I do try and at least give the local tackle shop an opportunity to match bigger spends such as rods, reels, chairs etc.99% of the time they do me a deal.
At Xmas I simply ask family for vouchers for the local tackle shop, cash them in and effectively have an account that I draw down from - good for them and great for me as the wife can't see what I spend on bank statements, so I tend to top up my tab with a tenner or whatever change I have every time I go in!!
I do a bit of shooting so it's very handy to get ammo there too and they run a gunsmiths all under one roof
Plus it keeps a couple of cracking local lads in jobs, and they do attract their mates into the sport, and as been mentioned it is a goldmine for info.
Perhaps most importantly to me , it's a place that I can mooch about in, if I don't spend a bean I'll still be offered a cuppa and a biscuit and can have a yarn. And just occasionally remarkable bargains can be had - last year I was rummaging through a load of barbel rods and chanced upon a second hand rod with an interesting weave running through it - took it to one of the lads who told me it had been there for years and was a trade-in against a carp rod - he asked for £10 - it is an original 13' Century Armalite-test curve unknown and the ringing by modern standards is too small and too many, but boy what a piking rod it is - I absolutely love it - imagine what that would go for on Ebay!
 
In my area, there have been eight tackle shops closed down in a 25 mile radius of my home in the last few years. So, as my local village high street has gone the way of all small shopping streets, I have to hope that either charity shops or estate agents start selling maggots soon.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Didn't know that, Ray. Obviously a Wimborne club shop as I can't recall either Ringwood or Christchurch mentioning them. Hopefully, the new shop will be as successful as Avon Angling was - it always amazed me that the two shops so close together could succeed, particularly in the climate of the last twenty years.


Dave
 
Agree Dave. Not sure if 2 similar shops close together creates a conflict of interest unless they sell different gear, but it does allow the angler to make a choice. Interesting that it has been there for 30 years. I remember it being listed it on the Wimborne DAC venue features in Anglers Mail going back a long time to where you could buy your membership there.
 
Ray,
That looks suspiciously like an old site for the long since (5+ years) defunct Minster Sports which was run by a friend of mine and no longer trades as such unless the shop has been re inhabited again?
 
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