Tadley Angling-A Busy Shop With A Good Reputation

For most of my sixty odd years of fishing, the tackle shop has attracted me like a bee around a honey pot. The tackle dealer was often a father figure full of knowledge and local information on how and where to fish and who was catching. I likened the tackle shop to a club, where you could spend five minutes or five hours talking about our great sport or pastime and putting the world to rights. Tadley Angling in Berkshire is just one of those shops, which are sadly disappearing as anglers buy from the internet. I personally feel it’s wrong to use this technology, who will supply those little items of tackle and bait when our shops have gone?

Then we have tackle outlets that are more like a supermarket, I hate them. My impression when I have visited these places is they treat you as a number and not a customer. I just take a quick look and leave. Some of these places are staffed by people who spend more time telling a good story than looking after the customer. I well remember Mark a fly fisher visiting one of these supermarket types of angling store to buy a whip for his young son Jonathan. After waiting around for ten minutes or so he managed to get the attention of the person behind the counter. When asked what he wanted Mark said “A whip for his young son”. The ignorant bloke behind the counter pointed to a row of poles and whips, he then turned away and continued talking with the beer swilling group. Mark said to Jonathan “Forget it son they don’t want our business” In another the owner sat behind the till with a beer belly and a horrid dirty tee shirt with a cigarette stuck in his moth. I immediately walked out. At another shop the two owners sat behind the counter eating pie and chip. How horrid, naturally I didn’t buy. Some years ago I was in a shop when a lady called in wanting a rod and reel for her seven year old son for fishing the local canal. She was offered a white solid glass fibre pier rod. I told the lady not to buy as it wasn’t suitable, and to visit another shop. Thankfully a year later it closed down. If your lucky to have a good tackle shop make sure you support it.

From July 1st we want even have to put up with tobacco smoke in our shops, one more reason to spend time talking with other anglers. Tadley Angling is a well stocked shop where the Kevin and his wife offer good advice, a cup of tea or coffee and it’s full of good old-fashioned charm that draws you in where often you get to meet the successful local anglers. No doubt as I do you will be parted from your money by a float, though you have dozens, or some other item of tackle. At Tadley Angling customer care and satisfaction are very important, so newcomers to the sport can shop with confidence knowing they are only buying what they need. Its certainly a very friendly atmosphere, not only a great place to shop and pick up the odd bargain but a source of information on Local waters permits and day tickets etc. The shop although small is extremely well stocked. The quality of gentles and worms that I have purchased has been top class. You can always give Kevin a call on 0118-9701533

Some Recent Catches

Will Carter of Tadley Berkshire a river Kennet regular had a good catch of barbel yesterday, during a morning session lasting just an hour and a half he caught two barbel of 7 and 5lbs, then during an evening session of two hours he caught five more barbel of 6lb 11ounces 5lb 1 ounce 9lb 5 ounces 9lb 9 ounces and 8lb 8 ounces Will’s 9lb 5 ounce fish had a length of twenty nine inches from nose to fork of tail. As Will said “The fish was empty and I reckon it could be a big fish later in the season” Will is one of those hard working anglers who spends a lot of time on the river bank looking for fish then watching how they react to various baits

Congratulations go to Mick Holgate of Standish Wigan Lancashire who during his holiday in Norfolk caught a personal best tench of 8lb 3 ounces from Commons Lake at Lenwade a ticket water costing just £8-00 as Mick told me “Its was a very picturesque water but full of Canadian pond weed, being a weedy water I steeped up the line to 12lb line. His personal best tench was caught on 2 grains of sweet corn. A braided hook link size 6 hook and an in line Pallatrax stonze weight. Mick also had tench of 4-8-0 5-9-0 and 6-6-0 well done Mick on a great catch.

Ryan McCormick of Bolton fishing a club water probably the first double figure barbel from the River Ribble this season weighing 12-8-0 bait was a seafood boily hair rigged using a size 8 hook to 15lb braided hook link Brian Hewitt of Lancaster who fished the Ribble near the Tickled Trout had a good catch of chub up to 4lbs all on caster and swim feeder rig, but Brian got the surprise of his life when he netted his first double figure barbel weighing 10-12- 0.

In the lake district on Windermere Paul Edmonds of Burnley had a super catch of roach estimated at over 30lbs all caught on three red gentles on a size 14 hook to 3lb line Paul fed his swim with an egg size ball of brown crumb and hempseed every twenty minutes he reckoned his best roach would probably have weighed about one and a half pounds. If you want to have a good day’s roach fishing then I suggest you visit Windermere it’s stuffed with good quality roach. Most anglers tend to fish a swim feeder rig; though I reckon fishing a sliding float at long range could also be a winning method.