It was good to read the post about Ted's. Sounds like a great shop and guys. It made me think of a good subject that deserves some yays or nays for some specific shops in Washington (as we did for some in Oregon back awhile ago). One of my pet peaves is having a tackkle shop or marina you call for a fishing report, trying to make an important decision, give you an erroneously exagerated prospect report or even outright lies to get you to come and spend money there when the fishing is just as good in your bathtub. What is the shop report integrity like in general in your area of Washington? And what ones would you like to post deserved positive and negative comments about? I prefer not to give my business to dishonest ones! - RT

I think you need to have a good repor with the guys at your local shop. If you feel that you are negelected unless you are buying things only then I suggest that you move on. I have a favorite shop here in seattle, they cater more to fly fishermen but I am always welcomed regarless of my purchas. They help out with what to buy and what not to. They are all great fishermen/ fly and non fly. It does take sometime to get to know the people at your local shop. I think it's ok to goto big department style shop like outdoor emporium,sportco gi joes etc, if you know what your looking for and thats it but your local tackle shop will be more helpful. It does take time to get to know these guys too, they are not just going to divulge everything, you have to make a "friendship" and things will work out and if you dont like a certain shop don't do bussiness. Sometimes it is better to pay a little more for that kind of service then to be hearded like at the big shops(chains). The local shop will be loyal and honest with you if you treat them with respect. Support your local shops, thats amy .02 cents worth. Good luck to all and WDF&G needs new managers to run things.

I'd love to be able to give the nod to a local shop but the problem is.......we don't have one! Maybe I'm getting off on a tangent a bit here but "the local shop" is becoming an endangered species. In Aberdeen, the last full blown sporting goods store we had was Failor's about 10 years ago. I know of 4 other small shops in the Aberdeen/Hoqiuam area since then that have tried and failed. Reasons for failure ranged from restrictive seasons, a poor economy, to poor service(unknowledgeable and/or giving TOO MUCH info. for areas that can't handle the pressure-true secret spots.) Even Olympia doesn't have much in the way of multi-technique, specialty fishing shops.

Sorry to ramble off base but it is a true frustration. I litterally have no vote for a semi-local place based on customer service alone because all my options are of the wal-mart variety locally. But....I always find tough to find items at Sunbirds in Centralia...great selection!