Where To Buy Saltwater Fishing Tackle

I am fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest and saltwater fishing is within 30 minutes of my home. I live near Puget Sound which has a year round population of resident king salmon (Blackmouth) and also a multitude or steelhead containing rivers within an hour or two of my home. So it is no coincidence that there is a number of large tackle shops and boat dealers nearby. If it is your first time buying a new brand of rod or reel, there is nothing like being able to pick one up and bend it and feel the weight of the new rod or to pick up the reel and spin the handle a few times. Handle spinners are the fishing equivalent of tire kickers except spinning the handle gives you an idea of how smooth the reel actually operates. 

It is the same with fishing tackle, and for saltwater fishing tackle, you will be spending a bit more money than you may have experienced when you were just bank fishing or trout fishing from a car topper boat. When the bill is going to be big, it helps if you know exactly what you are buying and get to touch it and play with it a little bit. Having experienced and knowledgeable sales staff also makes a difference. Your local tackle shops are the best place to start. And supporting your local stores just a good thing to do. They can't stock everything but get what you can from them and find the rest online.

There are more online fishing retailers than I can count but I usually stick with the ones I have dealt with before as good accurate service and prompt delivery develops happy and loyal customers. When they start sending you yearly hardcover editions of their catalog than you have your first indication that you spend too much money on fishing tackle. I will list and give a brief description of the outfits I have been very satisfied with.

 Bass Pro Shops

 You would not normally think of them when shopping for saltwater fishing tackle but they have added the Offshore Angler catalog to their mix. It is all the same place. Offshore Angler is just a better marketing tool for saltwater fishing tackle than Bass Pro. And their selection of saltwater rods and reels along with saltwater fishing gear is as extensive as anyone else online. I have done business with them for over 20 years and never had a wrong order or a disappointing purchase.

 Cabela's

 They recently built a store about 40 minutes drive away so once in awhile my fishing friends and I wander through to see what is new. Yes, we spin the handles on dozens of reels.  Their catalog is geared towards all kinds of fishing tackle but you will find some of what you are looking for there as far as saltwater fishing tackle.

 Amazon

 Amazon does not have a catalog. Online though you can search their website and find much of what you are looking for. It gets confusing sometimes as they sell a lot of products through third parties. You might order a reel or some line that will be shipped by Cabela's or any number of smaller online retailers. It makes no difference for you but a big difference to the online retailers who are affiliated with amazon this way. Think shared inventory. As far as prices, Amazon is as low as anyone. The only downside is you really need to know exactly what it is you are looking for and finding some things on their site takes a little more effort. Not a big deal if you are going to save several dollars on a hundred dollar order.

Charkbait

 This is a saltwater fishing tackle specialty store located in Huntington Beach California. Their mail order service is exceptional and the people you deal with are actual fisherman who use the products they are selling you. Their focus is offshore tackle for west coast fishing. Their prices are good and they will have things the bigger less focused stores may not. It is a small outfit so they just do more.

 These are my first go to sources when I need something I cannot find locally. I have had great service from all of them. Last year I tried an outfit on the east coast because they had 3 pound spools of Berkeley solar and some other saltwater fishing tackle I was interested in. Never again. The products were okay but the packaging showed they didn't care much about their online business. The line was not protected in any way from other products in the box. Getting bounced into other products in a truck can damage fishing line. Live and learn.