Whitby Angling Supplies

Author's product rating:   

Prices	Excellent value
Selection & range	Good selection
Quality of stock	very good
Customer service	Excellent
Ordering facilities	good

Advantages:	Prices take some beating, good quality stock, well established
Disadvantages:	not much space in store

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Whitby Angling Supplies has been trading in the Haggersgate / Pier Road area of Whitby (North Yorkshire) for longer than I can remember (though apparently it's over 30years), and I recall the days long ago (about mid to late 1980's, when my age had yet to hit double figures) looking in at the stuff in the window, and wanting the chain of fluorescent squid lures to try next time my Dad took me for another hopeless session off Sandsend Beach (he always claimed it was more of a challenge, when it was more likely he was too cheap to buy the permits for going freshwater fishing instead... how the hell I stuck with the sport I'll never know).

Fast forward to the present day, and that tackle shop is still there, though the window display has been largely taken over by a large selection of rods & reels (all of them at a REAL bargain price)...... and somehow I'm still fishing with a passion greater than ever, despite the fact I'm currently pretty disillusioned & p'ed-off with my local stretch of the River Esk (don't ask, suffice to say this year the £90 I paid for the paperwork to fish there only resulted in 3 fish, 2 of which were barely bigger than my left thumb..... and most the time I was driven to being seriously close to throwing my rod in due to outdoor education groups bringing groups of screaming kids crashing through my favourite swim in canoes / kayaks like an Apache indian war party nearly everytime I went).

Anyway, the range of tackle they sell which I've seen on display includes items from:
Shakespeare, Fladen, Masterline, Cortland, Rapala, STORM Lures, Okuma, Kamasan + Middy (hooks).... and there's more than likely a few more I've missed.

Quite a few of their prices will almost certainly make your jaw drop to the floor, wondering how the hell they managed it.
Some examples I've seen (and bought) include:
- Shakespeare 13ft Albany Match rod (RRP £145) selling for £50

- Shakespeare 2684/000 Summit Fly reel (RRP £16) for about £11... though in my case it was £22 with one of the 2 spools ready loaded with flyline, backing & leader.

- Masterline / John Wilson "Debut" 12ft Match rod (RRP about £45), which I picked up there for £17.95 (though admittedly I think it was an older model, but a good piece of kit nontheless)

- Shakespeare Ugly Sapphire 7ft Spinning rod (RRP £32) for £17.95

Their customer service is pretty good too, with the only time I had something I bought off them go wrong being dealt with by the following day - Around January 2004, I went there to spend my Christmas money, and picked up a Shakespeare "Professional" fly rod think a 9ft model, about a 6/7 AFTM rating as recommended in most my fishing books for fly fishing rookies.
The same week, I spent about an hour and a half(?) practising fly casting in the back garden, clear of any trees.... and just about got the hang of it. Later in the week (A Friday afternoon I think), I went out and spent a bit more time practising fly casting.......... I just about got the hang of it, when I heard a crack, and next thing I knew the last 12" of my shiney new fly rod was laying on the lawn =(

That same afternoon, I walked into Town and back to the shop with the rod, Boss was out, but the bloke behind the counter told me he'd have a word with the boss, and to come back the next day.
So, around Saturday lunch time, en-route to do some work at my Grandma's, I go into the tackle shop again, and the bloke said he'd seen the boss, and since it wasn't my fault was told to give me this other one (A Shakespeare Contender... a slightly older model, as I can't see it in any of my catalogues from 2001 - present), and he'd argue it out with Shakespeare later.

So, overall it's a good tackle shop (though a little cramped inside), with great bargains & customer service...... and proves it pays to shop around if you know where to look (let's face..... the more you save on paying for one item of tackle, the more you've got left over to get a few other bits & pieces... or just keeps you out of trouble with "she who thinks she must be obeyed", if unlike me you have one of them to contend with). :-)