Resistance Overcome

I love bass fishing.

Actually, I love fishing in general.

I love catching fish, I love pretty colors, and I absolutely want to catch the first, the biggest, and the most.

But tackle? Well, I’m just not really into it.

So whenever Pete says he “needs” to go into a tackle shop, my first thought is always, “Great. This is going to take forever.”

On our recent trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, he put the Suburban’s brakes to the test with a sudden stop at TW’s Bait & Tackle.

I figured I’d sit in the car, but then I reconsidered. It’s important to be supportive and going inside might make him hurry up. Maybe I’d look for something we MIGHT not have in the garage. What I quickly realized is that no two tackle shops are alike and some of them have a whole lot more than bait and lures.

Inside, I discovered what I would officially call “Hanna bait.”

Fishing apparel. Lots and lots of fishing apparel. I even found a new brand, Port & Starboard. Apparently I couldn’t leave the tackle shop without buying something I absolutely did not need – another purse.

Which got me thinking…maybe tackle isn’t so different from fishing clothes and lifestyle gear. It’s something you probably already have in the garage or the boat, but this one is a different color, a different size, or somehow just better, so obviously, you need it.

Maybe I shouldn’t judge a tackle shop by its cover.

Pete didn’t walk out with anything in his hand.

But he did walk out with a very happy wife.

I’d call that a successful tackle trip, although Pete may start passing them up in the future.