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.