[Hamish Young]

It just so happens that work took me west over the weekend and, with an hour to kill in Fort William, I thought I'd nip into to one of my old haunts the Rod & Gun Shop on the High Street.

My colleague over the w/end said 'no, you wont..... it shut before Christmas'.

And so it turned out, the Rod & Gun Shop has indeed gone. That means that the last tackle shop in that part of the world has gone and an outlet for fishing information, kit and a chat has gone for good.
It's a great shame and there's no other tackle shop around for the visiting angler

The rest of the High Street in Fort William is also in decline, unless you're after an outdoor shop, a charity, a pub or a tourist trinket shop you're goosed. I can't believe how much had gone in the space of the ten years since I last spent time in Fort William, never mind the 20 years since I 'moved East'.

But the greatest loss (in my eyes) is the Rod & Gun Shop. Such a shame.

H

[Jim Eddie]

Sad indeed Hamish, we are lucky to be insulated from the current economic climate in Aberdeen

 

Jim

[Peter McCallum]

'Tis a common sight H, a sad reflection on our tackle buying. To much choice online i'm afraid  

[Euan Innes]

 

 

[Jim Eddie]

Do not recall who said it, buts its true, if you wan't to end up with a Million in the tackle trade you need to sart with 2

 

Jim

[Kevin Muir]

Like Hamish I was brought up not that far from the Rod and Gun shop in Fort William, I used to always gaze in wonder at the array of knives in the window display and the large wall of flies next to the till.

It was an old school shop with lots of goods in glass cases along the side wall and the guns at the back of the shop, as Hamish said it was always a great source of info on what lochs or beats were fishing well.

I bought my first fly tying materials there, for that alone it stands out for me as a shop to remember.

The shop will be missed by everyone in this area when they need something in a hurry and the postie can't get it to them in time.

A sign of the times but not always a good one, use it or loose it is the term often used.

Lots of businesses in this area have gone to the wall over the years, it is a long winter with almost no trade in a town where the tourist is the significant part of your customer base.

Sad, but a fact of life in the current climate.

Kev.

[Rob Brownfield]

I was in Sloans of Inverurie at weekend and I would say I have more tackle in my spare room than they have. They still have plenty of guns but the tackle side of things was not even worth looking at to tell the truth.

I remember the first time I went in there, it was an Aladdins cave.

Fact is, we are all to blame for the lose of tackle shops. I bet there is not a single person on here that does not buy equipment online. But that is modern life I guess.

[adambrain]

I remember sloans when it was brimming with stuff, my dad bought me my first beach caster in there when I was just a nipper.

Rob

I know what you mean about folk buying online nowdays and I am defo guilty for it a lot of the time but that is usually because I can't get what i want 'off the shelf', i love nothing more than to go into the tackle shop dragging my missus in as well to pay her back for the 4 hours in other "boring" shops. I miss my old school tackle shop in sudbury (down south). When i used to go in there, there was never anything i could not find it has alway been my favourite shop and always pop to see what the gob sh#t# has got to say when I visit home.
There is however a pretty good shop in either arbroath or montrose  i cant quite remember which one but i was near a cool reptile shop.


Adam

[Jim Eddie]

I remember sloans when it was brimming with stuff, my dad bought me my first beach caster in there when I was just a nipper.

Rob

I know what you mean about folk buying online nowdays and I am defo guilty for it a lot of the time but that is usually because I can't get what i want 'off the shelf', i love nothing more than to go into the tackle shop dragging my missus in as well to pay her back for the 4 hours in other "boring" shops. I miss my old school tackle shop in sudbury (down south). When i used to go in there, there was never anything i could not find it has alway been my favourite shop and always pop to see what the gob sh#t# has got to say when I visit home.
There is however a pretty good shop in either arbroath or montrose  i cant quite remember which one but i was near a cool reptile shop.


Adam

Adam there was one in Brechin that was a bit of an Alladins cave, very disorganised and stuff evrywhere but a good shop to spend a while talking about fishing. There was also a tackle shop in Montrose at the top of the high street near to the statue of the Duke of Montrose.

 

Jim

[Mike Barrio]

Hi guys

It is very sad to see tackle shops and other small local businesses close their doors

I love to forage around in a well stocked little shop and greatly enjoy the banter and fishing chat with the owner.

However, I do not see the internet as a threat to these businesses ..... it is an opportunity! Rather than depending on tourist visitors in rural areas, the internet opens the door to a global customer base all year round

Tackle shops in smaller towns, villages, or even remote locations can be very successful ..... look at Angus Angling in Forfar for example, or Stu's Fly Shop in New Zealand, you don't get more rural than Stu's "shed", but it is known all over the world. I'd like to see Hugo Ross listed here as another example, absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be!

Creating and maintaining a website is not that difficult, there are plenty of pre-installed hosted shop systems out there that are very easy to use and most tackle manufacturers will supply stock photos of their products etc. Even if the tackle shop owner finds this daunting, there are plenty of students that would love to get the chance to help out with something like this and to show them how to maintain it afterwards.

I offered to make a website for a local tackle shop free of charge more than 12 years ago and I have repeated the offer various times over the years ........ but it has never been taken up

Just another take on this subject ......................................
Best wishes
Mike

[Hamish Young]

And that's the rub..... many shops need to do more than just look at the on-line market and actually use it.
R&G shop didn't and I'm sure it will not be the last.

I think the worst thing with regard to this specific shop closing will be the loss of ticket information and the knowledge base available (as it was) to the visiting angler in store.
The R&G shop sold tickets for much of the fishing in the area which isn't (yet) available on-line.

Hopefully that will be available sometime soon.
These things have a way of working themselves out.

H  

[Mike Barrio]

Hi Hamish

When a rural tackle shop goes online it does so on a level playing field with the bigger city based shops, location is no longer a problem when you are selling on a mail order basis.

I agree ..... The local knowledge and local ticket information/availability gives that rural shop something original to offer potential customers and visitors to their new website that others cannot offer. They can obviously sell the usual brands that they probably already stock in their shop, but adding to that some original products like locally tied fly selections etc is the way to go in my humble opinion.

Best wishes
Mike

[Loxiafan]

I bet there is not a single person on here that does not buy equipment online. But that is modern life I guess.

True Rob, but I just bought another rod (sigh) from a local tackle shop and possibly could have got it a tad cheaper online even after the Association discount. I do buy a heck of a lot of stuff online, mainly hooks and materials that are not available but I haven't bought a single rod online and only bought my Lamson Reel online because the shop didn't have it and couldn't guarantee getting it. Like you guys I also spend a fair bit of dosh at Orvis (as Ben, Dave and Fiona can testify) as the gear is top notch, good tying materials, clothing and accessories and the advice given is honest and spot on for your individual needs.

I think Mike is right, that even a small tackle shop can sell online, even on eBay, which opens up further business. Many also need to diversify a bit and get in the gear/materials people actually want and use. I don't like to see anyone losing their job and am sorry to hear about the shop at Fort William - I remember it well and made many purchases over several holidays in the area, but then again I was that "tourist" business that Hamish alluded to. It reminded me of Tom Clarks in Arbroath where I used to buy my gear, a real old school place (though also sold bikes !).

I think if most people are honest they also look at parking/petrol usage to and from a shop and just think "what the heck" and pay £3 postage and order online as it is probably a lot less effort and cost ? That said it is nice to "finger" the tying materials or see the gear you are buying, right ? !

Lindsay

[Peter McCallum]

There is however a pretty good shop in either arbroath or montrose  i cant quite remember which one but i was near a cool reptile shop

Montrose has a gun and tackle shop but its heavily shooting orientated. Arbroath has a shop but not been in it recently. If you're looking for fly fishing in this area you have to head for sunny Forfar and Neil Andersons shop.

In my yoof cafaros (the wee one round the corner from the one now) in Glasgow also the origional Anglers rendevous were the places to go, friendly and knowledgable.

Sad times now 

Peter

p.s. Is this beginning to sound like the four yorkshiremen sketch? "eee w'en ah wur a lad..........." 

[Rob Brownfield]

Mike,
Is it not the case that even if a local shop has a fantastic website, they can never compete on a level playing field because the bigger shops or "tackle supermarkets"can offer items at a lower price thanks to bulk buying and larger stock. It is often the case that one or two large shops buy all the available stock between them, meaning the smaller shops just can't get stuff.