Now that Thanksgiving has passed and we are in December, it is time to listen to Christmas carols. I hate my radio when I hear Christmas carols November 10th and just listen to my cd player.It is time to be in the Christmas ( or Holiday if you are not Christian. I respect your religion if you respect mine, but in my house it is a Christmas tree ) spirit. So I thought I'd write down the places I buy my fishing gear. Today seems as a good a day as any to write this post. I have it off from work. It is windy and the ocean is dirty so I can't saltwater fish. The salmon have not been stocked yet and trout fishing was not good last week. Although I could carp fish, it is 38 degrees and sunny with a 20 mph wind coming from the north. North winds seem to shut down carp fishing in the lake I fish, so I write.
As you know I actively fish for stripers, carp, trout and blues. This year I have gone back to basics fishing for largemouth bass this summer. Also I have tried to catch some new species this year such as lake trout ( successful), false albacore and landlocked salmon ( both unsuccessful). As you can imagine, to fish for all those species you need a lot of gear. You can't fish for stripers with the same gear you would use for trout.
Unfortunately, you can not buy gear for all those species in one catch all tackle shop. To get the best prices and selection you have to shop around. I am not a fan of shopping. My wardrobe is always in need for new clothes. I believe in the line in Kris Kristofferson's song "Sunday Morning Coming Down" - and found my cleanest dirty shirt. Ok its not that bad, but in all shopping for clothes sucks.
That said, there is nothing more exciting then knowing I have a package of fishing gear in transit from a website. So without further adue, here are the stores and sites I buy from. Maybe it will help you with your Christmas list from St. Nick.
K-1 Baits www.k-1baits.com K-1 sells a lot of carp bait. I only buy flavors from them. One bottle of a flavor will last a couple years. I have scopex, fruity pineapple and tutti-fruity. I use these to flavor corn. They also sell boilies. I need to give them a try.
Wackerbaits www.wackerbaits.com I bought quite a bit of gear from them. I bought my bite alarms and banksticks from them. Also my baiting needle, Carpmax size six hooks, and other gear. They have all prices of gear from cheap crap to out of my price range. There is plenty of mid priced good quality gear.They also sell Pesciva corn. My friend Dave is nailing fish left and right with this stuff. I will have a couple tubs of it next year.
Fishwest www.fishwest.net is a fly fishing shop in Utah. They sell pretty much anything you would need for fly fishing. I actually only buy one thing from them, Tiemco 2457 hooks in size 6 and 8. These are actually nymph hooks, but a lot of us use them for carp fishing. They are light but work real well for pond carp. They are $5.95 per 25. This is a hell of a lot cheaper than the $6 for 10 of the above Carpmax hooks. I use the Tiemco hooks in ponds and the Carpmax only in big rivers with big fish and current. FREE SHIPPING no matter how small the order.
Anglers Dream Fly Shop www.anglersdream.net This is where I buy all my freshwater flies. They sell a lot of fly gear but for flies the prices can't be beat. I usually place a couple orders a year. The customer service is outstanding. I have my flies within a couple days.They send a hand written thank you note and usually a free fly. I suspect at prices as low as 52 cents the flies are not made in the USA. I can attest to the quality though. I caught 18 fish on one hares ear ( 10 trout and 8 sunfish). It still looked brand new before I casted it into a tree this spring. I will say some of the nymphs do not sink well. So I use unweighted nymphs near the surface during a hatch and beadheads when I want to get deeper. Shipping is only $ 2.88
Cabelas www.cabelas.com Obviously Cabelas is a huge outdoor chain. You could buy almost anything you could want from them. I place one annual order with them a year. I live near Bass Pro Shops so I only order things from Cabelas that BPS doesn't carry or is cheaper at Cabelas.
I only use steel sinkers for weights one ounce and under. It is a personal choice not to use lead in these smaller sizes. Besides lead is illegal at Wachusetts and New Hampshire ( it kills loons) so I figure I may as well use non lead everywhere. Ultra Steel is about the cheapest brand. BPS carries it, but Cabelas is about 30% cheaper and I get more per bag. I also buy my clear casting bubbles from them. I bought a Cabelas brand reel from them last year and so far I love it. Sometimes their sales are cheaper than Bass Pro, so I keep an eye out for sales of stuff I use in quantity like sinkers.
Bass Pro Shops www.basspro.com I live near BPS in Foxboro. Largemouth bass fishermen can find anything they need at BPS. They also have a great selection of fly fishing and saltwater tackle. Not everything I need is at Bass Pro. I find flies expensive compared to Anglers Dream. Cabelas does have random things ( like Ultra Steel Sinkers) that Bass Pro doesn't.
All that said, I ask for Bass Pro gift cards for Christmas, there is always something there I want. Right now I'm hoping for enough gift cards to buy the float tube with fins and pump.I make my own saltwater flies, BPS has the material I need, it is slightly higher priced than some websites, but I don't have to pay for shipping if I drive the 15 minutes to pick it up myself.
Walmart www.walmart.com Do not overlook Wallyworld when buying tackle. They do not usually sell high end rods and reels. They do sell the same lures and jigheads as everywhere else. I buy my hooks, Powerbait, jigheads and the occasional lure from Walmart. You can't beat the prices.
Liquor Store- Skyy Pineapple vodka for flavoring corn
Tackle Shops- They are definitely way more expensive than Bass Pro or Walmart. They do usually have good infomation. I will obviously buy bait from them, but I may stop in for a package of hooks or some other low cost item just to ask a few questions on whats biting.
There you have it. Its a pretty extensive list, but if you are a multiple species angler you limit your options only going to the tackle shop or Walmart.
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