Remember
the old fishing tackle shops, often tucked away in a corner shop or a
back street? Mike Firth meets the Sheffield father and son who are
giving the sport a whole new image....
February 2003:
It
all started with a battered old cane basket, a split-cane rod and a box
of worms. The young Tony Flint was hardly well-equipped for his first
angling trips when he caught the train to the rivers of Lincolnshire
from the old Sheffield Victoria Station, but nowadays he has more tackle
to choose from than anyone else.
Tony and son Rory have just opened what is already labeled the best
fishing tackle shop in the country - a superstore of tackle, bait and
other vital equipment in the premises of a former Dronfield nightclub.
"I'm told by people in the know that we are the best in the business,"
said Sheffielder Tony. "There may be other shops just as large, but they
don't have the same staff knowledge as us and they can't match our
prices."
There
is little wonder that the massive Climax Fishing Tackle premises are
already attracting serious anglers from as far afield as Scotland and
Kent. "We are basing the business on the supermarket theory," explains
Tony. "When anglers plan to do a serious spend they need to see a full
range of products to choose from and that's why they are coming to
Dronfield. "Angling is the largest participant activity in the country
and there are more anglers per head of the population in Sheffield and
Rotherham than any other area of the country. Just like with other
popular sports, the range of equipment is getting wider all the time."
Tony and Rory previously ran The Carp Cabin at Meadowhead and
Matchwinner tackle shop at Coal Aston but the range of equipment they
now have on offer dwarfs their previous displays. The Climax showroom
has huge appeal to anglers of all persuasions, whether they prefer carp,
trout, sea fish or whatever. Rory is the carp fishing expert while Tony
prefers to fish for barbel... when he gets the chance.
"I usually try to get away fishing myself at least once a week but I've
hardly had the opportunity since we began working on this new business
last September," he says.