Paul Perry, owner,
Perry's Country Store and Sport Shop
amid a welter of fishing parenphenalia. Just ask!
Tackle Shops – An Indispensable Ingredient
Anyone who pursues trout with the fly sooner or later runs into this one great truth of the sport. While the newcomer may quickly learn the basics – setting up a suitable rig, wearing proper wading gear, and acquiring a starter collection of flies, etc. there is another very important agent in the sport – the local tackle shop. By local I mean the shop nearest the stream of choice.
Reflecting on many years of fly fishing brings back memories of the many tackle shops I came to know and depend on. From the larger, regionally known establishments to the backwater mom and pop emporiums, all played a critical part in my education and development as a long rodder. No matter where I fished, here in the East or out West, I always, without fail, visited the local fly shops. I doubt that any fly fisher can honestly say that he mastered the sport without the help of at least one tackle shop and its owner.
In my newbie days as a fly fisher Ridlon's Hardware was the place to buy a rod and flies. As a youngster I would contrive some excuse to go in and browse, mainly to eavesdrop on the fishing talk and eventually pester John Ridlon with fishing questions. I don’t recall anyone shooing me out the door – all, young and old, were welcome! I saved my lawn mowing money week after week to buy my first rod there- a wonderful little 7- foot bamboo. I can't remember the make, but I do recall that it was $12.95! The little bamboo? Sad to say...clumsy youngsters shouldn't carry bamboo. It wound up as kindling.
Ridlon’s, of course, became Halloran’s Hardware. And Jack Halloran, bless his heart, continued the tradition of making everyone feel comfortable. Jack admitted that he didn’t know very much about fly fishing, but he would order anything one needed and, in fact, carried a decent inventory of fly fishing items. As I became more knowledgeable about the sport, I was able to hook him up with some pretty good fly tiers and suggest some refinements to his line of goods. It became almost mandatory, then, that I show up at least once a week and bring him up to date on stream conditions, the hatches, etc. A good raconteur, Jack was also a very good listener and over time his was the place local fly fishers shopped.
One of the most influential fishermen in my early days was Jack Mickievicz owner of Jack’s Tackle on Route 6 in West Pike. Jack, who built two wonderful rods for me, was an accomplished fly tier and a manufacturer of fly dressing materials. He knew his hatches and generously shared his knowledge with his customers. Jack kept a good inventory of fly tying materials and the usual fly fishing tackle accessories, some a bit pricey, but would also go out of his way to point out that many of these were not needed or could be had much cheaper in a hardware store. Jack was not particularly impressed with the “high flyers” – those who just had to spend the big bucks to impress their peers. Stopping at his shop was a must for anyone fishing the upper Pine Creek drainage. A death in his family forced Jack and his wife to abandon the shop and return to downstate Pennsylvania to take over the family business.
One evening about fifteen years ago, while enjoying a quiet happy hour at a local pub, I noticed a young man carrying a peacock quill - clearly a dead giveaway that he was a fly tier. Sure enough, after introductions, I learned that Brad Birely was moving from downstate to Galeton to set up a fly shop, Northern Tier Outfitters. Over the next several years Brad and I spent many hours on Potter County streams. Brad was a good production tier and sold many thousands of his flies locally. He also introduced a line of custom fly rods. Brad’s second talent was photography and he has taken quite a few very good fishing pictures. Eventually, his location, which was well off the beaten path, forced him to re-consider fishing as a business and concentrate full time on photography. Today he operates a full service photography studio from his home in Galeton.
Another nearby shop still doing business is Perry’s Country Store and Sport Shop in Austin. Perry’s has been in operation for many years and is one of the best places to stock up, be it fishing gear or bait, or beer and food. Paul Perry, who grew up fishing the Allegheny, is quite comfortable with the passing array of tourists, fishermen and hunters, and he’ll take the time to steer you to the most likely spots. There’s a certain reassuring ambiance about this type of shop…the place is chock full of stuff and one could search for hours to find a particular lure. But ask, and Paul can fetch it in seconds. And probably have a story to go along with it. Perry’s is one of only five places left in Potter County, for example, where you can still buy a topographic map, the old standby of hunters and fishermen. Anglers heading toward the Sinnamahoning drainage will find that Perry’s keeps long business hours and is open on Sundays ‘til 9:00 pm.
When I first met Charlie Stone he seemed to be a bit rough, but he was, in fact, a consummate, dedicated fly fisherman who took a very strong interest in anyone who approached the sport in a serious way. His shop, Cross Fork Tackle, was small, but neatly laid out. I hesitate to say how many fly tying tips Charlie gave me, all in return for purchasing a few dollars worth of fly tying materials. I always thought of him as a “diamond in the rough fly fisher,” as he had little use for dandies and wannabees. So we got along just fine! This was many years ago, when Kinney’s was Harry Kinney’s, when Cross Fork was still pretty much off the beaten path, when Cross Fork Creek was strictly wild trout, when I’d rather have a hot dog prepared by Charlie’s wife than go across the street for something fancier. Sadly, Charlie, who had dreamed all his life of owning Montana trout fishing property and who, in fact, acquired it, then died prematurely of a heart attack before he could enjoy it. His death left a great hole in my fly fishing universe.
Continue
down Route 144 and you’ll come to Phil Baldacchino’s Kettle Creek
Tackle Shop,
another shop that’s been in business for many years.
For the longest time I characterized this shop as the “K
Mart of
Tackle Shops,” as it seemed at the time to have everything. But Phil knew his business (a lot of
downstate fly fishermen up for weekends on Kettle Creek who were used
to the
big city look) and, in fact when I needed a certain hard-to-find reel,
it was
Phil who I called. I don’t think I ever
saw Phil wear anything but very natty guide type outfits which
certainly didn’t
hurt when it came to impressing the city boys.
Slate Run Tackle Shop, hard by the stream, is one of this area's
most isolated destination shops.
Just across the county line in Slate Run, Tom Finkbiner set up many years ago in what has to be the best possible location for a fly shop. Slate Run, a tiny little community, isolated from the rest of us, and boasting one of the finest trout streams in Pennsylvania, is the ultimate fly shop location. Thousands of fishermen have crossed its doorstep. Over the years Tom developed quite a reputation for managing the many anglers who showed up to fish his stream. I doubt that he would remember me as Slate Run was not one of my regular beats and I didn’t visit there often, but I recall many pleasant hours poking around his establishment and his stream. But, always, lurking in the back of my mind was the question: “What in the heck do these people do in the winter time?”
At one
time, Wellsboro had two tackle shops. Davis
Sporting Goods, located near MacDonald’s carried a
line of
top-notch rods and lines. Time has
taken its toll and today the Wellsboro angler calls on The Tackle
Shack, just
outside of town. I have not visited the
store, but understand from their website that they carry a full line of
fly
fishing stuff, including our very own Potter County-made Gaines Poppers. The Tackle Shack is registered with the PA.
Fish & Boat Commission as a licensed Charter Boat & Fishing
Guide
Service.
Flyfisher's
Paradise, located in State College, has been
serving
fly fishers for 33 years.
Anyone who fly fishes central Pennsylvania is missing out if they don’t drop into Flyfisher’s Paradise in State College. Always, during those years when I traveled to distance Pennsylvania streams, I tried to arrange the trip so that I could “swing by” State College. Centre County probably has the best fishing of any county in the state, and Steve Sywensky, the owner for 33 years has put together an outstanding staff and provided consistently good service to thousands of Pennsylvania fly fishermen. In addition to the normal activities of a top rated shop, Steve also sponsors entomology classes and fly tying seminars. It had been many years since I had ordered any fly fishing stuff by telephone, but a couple of years ago I called Steve to place an order and he remembered me after probably ten years of not seeing each other.
All well-managed tackle shops have some arrangement where the stream conditions and current hatches are displayed. It may be only a lowly blackboard, it may be more elaborate, but everyone looks for it first thing. This board is, during the height of the season, the critical element in the store. Fly fishers just starting out for an afternoon’s fishing stop in to get the latest info; those who may have spent the morning on stream stop in to unwind, have a cup of coffee and offer their updates to the board. It is here in front of the board where you’ll often bump into a well-known angler; it is here that the really interesting fishing discussions take place.
Where else – Wal-Mart? Dicks Sporting Goods? Well…sure, if one is desperate. And you might even save a few bucks, to boot. But is the Wal-Mart clerk going to remember you ten years later? And will anyone there know anything about the stream you plan to fish? Or where to get the best ‘burger when you’re done? These humungous retailers have their place, to be sure, but, no, I’ll pass on the mass merchandizing for something as important as fishing. Thank you very much.
On The Web
B. A. Bireley Photography - http://www.babireleyphotography.com/
The Tackle Shack - http://www.tackleshackpa.com/
Slate Run Tackle Shop - http://www.slaterun.com
Flyfisher’s Paradise - http://www.flyfishersparadise.com/
