Have you noticed? It seems every day we find that we can buy more items online. Cars, pizza and now even a college degrees. And even more surprising, I read the other day that even the mainstay big box stores such as Costco and Sam’s Club are being squeezed out by other online wholesalers. And the future is un-predicable for many more retailers.

How about our fishing industry? Yup, there are now dozens of online tackle suppliers selling every type of tackle and gear on the market at discount prices. Even the very manufacturers have gotten in line with the parade. Seems everyone wants a piece of the angler’s dollar.

Why do anglers do their shopping online? It’s because the wholesaler’s prices can be cheaper than that of the local tackle shops plus as a bonus they receive free shipping coming directly to their door.

So now what does a local tackle shop do to survive in this era of the killer online market?

It’s called providing “personal customer service”. And it’s the same customer service they have been providing all along before the online marketers started wowing the angler away for their business.

Local tackle shops employ many local professional anglers. And for good reason. These local anglers know the waters, fish and what is takes to catch them. What equipment and lure work best? Best times, tides and locations. This is stuff you can’t find on any web site. And the best part – all of this information is free to anyone who either walks in the door or calls them on the phone.

Fresh bait and fresh fishing reports are the news of the day. Try finding these at the big box stores or on the online retailer’s web sites.

Finally, we all know online suppliers can sell us the same tackle and gear that we buy from a local guys maybe a little cheaper but the online guys can’t supply us with the advice we need to go with it.

So if we continue to buy on line at a discount and only go to the tackle shop for advice, the tackle shops will disappear.

Let’s support our local tackle shops every chance we get. They have a lot to offer, all you have to do is ask them.

But only you can make that choice. Let’s all make the right one.

Until Next Time – Tightlines – Capt. Tony