good sporting goods shops

[kornphlake]

I'm looking for a new spinning reel, I've looked at Wal-Mart and Bi-Mart, and wasn't impressed with the selection. I'm planning on stopping by Fisherman's Marine and Sportsman's Warehouse or whatever it's called now, as I know they have a better selection but their prices aren't always the best. What other stores carry gear with good prices on the East side of the Portland metro area?

I try not to buy anything at Wal-Mart but the reel I've been most impressed with so far was their Mitchell Advocet II Silver, what bothers me about it is that Mitchell advertises a list price of $25 but Wal-Mart sells it for $30, if I'm going to get ripped off I'll make a donation to a local store not an evil corporation. In the $25-35 range is there any reel that stands head and shoulders above the rest?

 

[kornphlake]

I ended up spending all morning driving around town to find the best reel. As suspected Sportsman's didn't have anything for a reasonable price, Fisherman's Marine had the same Okuma Ignite Bi-mart sells for about the same price, they also offered an Abu Garcia Cardinal for $35, neither the Abu Garcia or Okuma seemed better or worse than the Mitchell Advocet II Wal-Mart had so I thought I'd just get the Mitchell, but the wal-mart on 82nd didn't have the ultralight in stock, too bad it was $21 there compared to $30 at the wal-mart in Fairview. So I ended up back at Bi-mart and noticed a little Shakespeare Agility reel for $28 tucked into a corner of the display case. It may be a choice I come to regret, but it had a larger diameter spool than the other ultralight reels and a whopping 8 bearings. I felt like for my budget it was the best bang for the buck. I've wound 4# Trilene XL on one of the spools and I'll give it a thorough thrashing over the next two days.

 

[Kodiak]

Good store?

Good store?

So what is it that makes a good tackle shop? Is it quanity, price..what makes a good shop good and a great shop better?

 

[autofisher]

So what is it that makes a good tackle shop? Is it quanity, price..what makes a good shop good and a great shop better?

I believe that the employees and the product make the store. If an employee only knows where certain things are in the store, that's great. What about an employee who not only knows the location for the product, but can also tell you what will work best for where you are going. Tips, small demonstrations, product knowledge go a long way. And take it from someone who is still trying to learn as much as possible, that every bit of HELPFUL information is greatly appreciated. Not to kiss ass or anything, but the information that I got from Kodiak the other day while sitting down at the water, was more helpful than any of the information that I've gained from the majority of the people I've talked to at the stores. The difference? He actually cared if I caught the fish and didn't take it as I was holding him up from catching his own or stocking any shelves.

 

[kornphlake]

So what is it that makes a good tackle shop? Is it quanity, price..what makes a good shop good and a great shop better?

Off the top of my head, a good shop:
*carries the products that are the best value and doesn't bother with the flashy stuff that doesn't work
*isn't so cluttered you can't find what you want
*doesn't exclude (IE fly shops that are so elitist they won't take time to talk to someone who wants to fish lures or bait in a pond)
*has employees who use the equipment they sell and can honestly explain the benefits and weaknesses
*has prices competitive with the big box stores
*stands behind the products they sell, they handle warranty claims, no 30 day limits
*is close to home
*has convenient hours
*offers free workshops and demos, may offer loaner or free rental gear
*will special order upon request without price gouging

This list isn't exclusive to tackle shops, it could be a bike shop, a camera store, auto parts, pet shop, or any store that caters to a specific hobby. I find that the Portland metro area has an unusually high concentration of what I consider to be good or great stores, I just haven't found that great tackle shop yet. I would give fisherman's marine a good rating, the only fault I find is that they tend to cater to a higher end customer.

 

[gonefirefighting]

sounds like you should take a road trip to lacey and swing into cabelas

 

[Troutier Bassier]

Best Shop, Fishermans Marine, They Give Advice, They show Rigs, The have a lot of Corkies which i think are cool now,.

 

[Kodiak]

It is retardedly hard for a mom and pop shop to compete with box store prices and still make enough money to keep the doors open and pay bills. Can't order the volume needed to keep prices down.....so Other than price (and free beer) what makes them good?

 

[kornphlake]

This is the distributor's problem, they need to realize that they are letting big box stores undercut the mom and pop shops prices significantly. It's going to come back and bite them when nobody buys fishing gear anymore because everybody thinks fishing is unproductive and boring. The upcoming generation is very impatient, they won't take the time to learn from experiance and their parents are too busy working to teach them anything, there won't be anybody to keep the sport alive when there isn't a little tackle shop on mainstreet where the old timers sit around and talk about the best holes, what colors to use and what not. The internet will never provide that face to face communication.

Somehow camera manufacturers have managed to keep prices in check, the electronic superstores have the worst prices while mom and pop stores can often offer a better price. Of course the internet can beat them all, but unscrupulous vendors just steal your money or run a bait and switch scam, finding good deals is possible, but if a local camera shop goes out of business I'd bet it's more because of a weak economy than because of the marts undercutting pricing.