BEST LOCAL TACKLE SHOPS

Pauky,

There are a few shops so well located that it really makes it hard for the competition.

Here's what I know of in Virginia Beach:

Major shops:
Lighthouse
Long Bay Point
Oceans East
Oceans East 2
Ben Raugh
Taylor Landing
Princess Anne Distributing
Bubba's

minor shops:
Lake Whitehurst
most of the fishing piers
that pizza place near the crab creek ramp

Cdog, I guess you and I must have been the only ones shopping there or they would still be around!

One of the problems when local shops don't have support. Just my observation, but to me the Hatteras area caters to the fisherman because the state supports the fishing community, whereas this area, well, it supports the military. No offense to the military, but it's "beer, women and pool" attitude reflects on where the concentration of entertainment dollars go. Malls, bars theaters, cheap restaurant/pool halls, etc. capture the military dollar for the most part. Now I know we have a lot of military on this board, so don't get offended, but I believe they are a minority in their own community.

I've lived here all my life and every year that we had big storms we would loose a pier. Never replaced. The beaches used to be lined with piers. You can still see the old pileings. No more. Now it's motels and condos. Property values for waterfront property do not permit, for the most part, "mom and pop" proprietorship. Taxes on the property alone prohibit it. Shame.

Some interesting economic theories are being put forth here.

I wasn't aware that jiggle joints plus tackle shops add up to a fixed number. I suspect no one else is either.

The thing that is killing Virginia Beach fishing is the people who keep electing city officials who have no concept where the money comes from.

The last word I got on Va Beach revenue was that about 20% comes from tourists and about 20% comes from the military. Since the tourists are seasonal, those shops and restaurants that close outside the tourist season tell me that tourist dollars come fast for a couple of months and then taper off.

So what does Va Bch do? How about propose a 5 star resort? This is a city with it's only saltwater inlets blocked by fixed bridges, no airport, and no train station. Nearly all of those tourist dollars come through the HRBT and all you hear from the beach is how they don't want to pay for roads outside the city limits. Brilliant.

Those motels and condos aren't filled with military people. They stand mostly vacant for a good part of the year. Empty rooms support few tackle shops.

Want more tackle shops? Let's try inlets that can take a boat 60 feet tall, triple the current number of boat slips, and some serious incentives from the city to promote fall fishing to out of town people. Gosh, we might even become like San Diego and dwarf the military dollars with other revenue. Nah, it's too easy to blame someone and go back to sleep.

Those military dollars are pretty addictive. They aren't seasonal and are nearly recession proof. It's hard not to like that. The overwhelming majority of those dollars are going to such luxuries as rent, utilities, and food.

If you think North Carolina doesn't suck up to the worst elements of the military, you might want to spend a couple of days in Jacksonville. I believe Hatteras would do it too if they had a chance.

NS4D,

Since your post has digressed, I offer the my top 5:

1) Lighthouse Tackle, Virginia Beach, VA
2) Frank & Fran's (The Fishermens Friend), Avon, NC
3) Johnson's Sport's Shop, Drummond Island, MI
4) Viking Marine (Bait & Tackle), Matlacha, FLA
5) The Raugh Company, Virginia Beach, VA

So there's my nickle and let's call it inflation

Fish this,

`bucket