Recently while listening to the radio on my way to work I heard about a national event called "Record store day". A group of well known musicians are the brains behind this event (and website) and are trying to give notice to the Independently owned record shop (over 700 of them in the US alone). With MP3's, Ipod's and other forms of digital music, a good chunk of the population has never been in a classic record shop, and as a music lover I find that sad.
But since we are hear to talk about fishing, the above got me thinking about the small independently owned bait & tackle shops in all our backyards. They are suffering the same fate as the record and books stores, Internet shopping and the rise of the super store (BPS, Cabelas, Gander Mountain, etc.) has left them nearly obsolete and the younger generation of anglers spends more time in on-line chats forums telling fishing stories then on the floor of the local bait shop.
Independent shops are an important part of fishing in the community and need to be supported. They can help grow fishing in the area and help pass along the rich history that the fishing community or local lakes hold.
Im not here to say boycott the big guy, that is not the message I want to get out, they to have an important roll to play in the growth of this sport we love, But we do need to remember the little guys who paved the way, the guys who sold you your first rod, that told you about the secret fishing hole that no other kids knew about, and the guy who handed a dozen worms to my dad each sunday morning before we hit the lake those are the guys we need to support, and maybe one day we will even have a "national Bait shop day"
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