The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Field’s fishing tackle shop, I bought a new Rapidex and a B.James MK IV Avon in the 60’s.

Surrey angling at Rosehill Morden
Run by Tony Finch and his wife.
Great memories and lots of good advice.
Very nice people indeed

ive been using the same tackle shop for over 6o years, not many proper tackle shops left now, use them or loose them, homestores of swaythling southampton is well worth a visit if your in hampshire

Probably "Fowler's for Fishing Tackle" in Cricklewood Broadway, though it was mostly petfood and hardware by then.
After that, I remember being taken to Benwoods of Church Street, Paddington, where my first fixed-spool reel was bought for me - an Intrepid "Regent", which played no small part I my buying a Rapidex as soon as I could afford one - but the first I used with my own money were Harding's of Willesden, about 2 1/2 miles from home, but near the Borough's main library and not far off my way to school; and then Frame's of West Hendon, less than a mile away, but the other side of the "Norf Circ", in the direction of such exotic places as Burnt Oak, Colindale and Edgware (So that, I thought, is where the Edgware road goes! Decades later, on holiday in Glyndyfrdwy, I saw a road sign reading "A5. London 293miles" and realised how limited were my horizons). At first, it was half a shop (196b, I seem to recall), but it flourished and moved to its present site, three doors along at no.202.

Dave Swallow "Custom Tackle" Columbia Road, Bournemouth. It was shop policy not to wear waders in the shop as light fingered anglers were known to drop floats inside of them. The main attraction as a thirteen-year-old was to see his wife Thelma sat on a bar stool behind the counter in her mini skirt and black knee high boots. Happy days.

Stour Otter

Fred Hoyle on Penny Street, Blackburn. I went there with my father in either '57 or '58 and we bought the materials to make a 6' 'spinning rod' in yellow solid fibreglass. Used to go there to buy hooks at a penny a time and stare at the Ambidexes in the window.

The shop was on Bath Street in Ashby de la Zouch (I believe it's a Chinese take-away now), and I just wish I could remember the name. We finished school at 4pm in those days ... and the bus home didn't leave until 4.45pm ... so I spent quite a while over the years with my nose pressed up against the window ogling the delights inside !

Horseshoe Fishing Tackle in Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire where I would be served by the owner Cybil and sometimes Steve. Steve ended up working in latter years for the late Steve Parton at Sparton Tackle.
Sadly, Horseshoe Fishing Tackle slipped by the wayside many years back but their sticker still remains on one of my early diaries.

Venn Fielden's in Minehead, in the early 60's. A tiny little shop with a surprising amount of stock, mostly pre war, in drawers and boxes. I remember in particular, hooks were sold loose in a big compartmented box, everything from trout hooks to conger hooks. We used to buy our catapult elastic there, by the yard, it came in two sizes, 1/4" and 3/8" square, we couldn't pull the big stuff, but it didn't stop us trying. As kids we used to spend hours looking in the window at the rods, air rifles and pocket knives. I was lucky, because he always knocked a bit off for me, as my father did all his rod repairs. Good days...

Woodys in Wembley took was my first, I used to pester my grandad to take me in there every time we went close by.

I remember it being quite dark inside but the shop had a mystical already to it and I loved looking at the rods, guns and knives in there and always wanted everything, sadly we couldn't afford it but if I was lucky and I had been very good I would get some pellets for my air rifle which I would fire in the back garden, shooting the apples and pears off the trees!! God only knows what would happen if you did that nowadays, you would probably have the anti terrorist squad knocking the door down in 5 minutes

I went back to Wembley about 3 years ago and hardly recognised the place, so much had changed, but then I saw that Woodys was still there and suddenly it felt as if I was home again, amazing when you consider the amount of fishing shops that have closed down over the years!!