Alternative Tackle Co: serving the world’s fly fishing eccentrics

Anglers love their tackle and can spend hours flipping through catalogue pages in search of that new rod & reel. But in truth, apart from a few exceptions, retailers offer much of the same brands and ranges. Alternative Tackle is one such company to claim that a product with a difference is not just a salesman’s dream but also an angler’s most cherished companion.

FlyFishingSpirit: Mark, how would you sum up the philosophy behind alternative tackle Co?
Mark Leggett: In a world of Tackle shops, distributors & manufacturers, all largely providing remarkably similar products, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the angler to find anything really “different”. That difference might be in the elegantly beautiful simplicity of a new & innovative design. Maybe its the unique quality of an exquisitely handcrafted product of an artisans workshop. These things are hard to find and so, for the artists, innovators and other dedicated individuals producing them; they’re hard to sell. This is where we come in: we aim to be the link between those of you who seek for that elusive, special item of tackle & those dedicated and talented individuals who produce it! “Serving the world’s eccentrics!” we proudly stand by our motto! It could just as easily be seen in a traditional craft, now forgotten but still valid & kept alive by some dedicated individual in his backroom, patiently waiting for the wheels of fishing fashion to turn in his direction again. Or found in the rods made by someone who knows their style of fishing better than most and is using their hard won knowledge and seasons of experience to quietly produce the perfect rod designs for their favourite waters. 

FlyFishingSpirit: how did you come up with the idea and since when have you been trading?
ML: The idea was born during a conversation by the side of a football pitch. My business partner Davy Freeland & I were watching our sons playing football & having a conversation about our respective (obscure) obsessions; his being North American Sports & mine being fly fishing & in particular fly fishing tackle. Davy with his associates had turned his obsession into a fulltime job & created an internet based business selling American & Canadian sports equipment & clothing. We decided that it would be worth seeing if we could do the same with Fly Fishing Tackle, using Davy’s experience & technical knowledge & my obsession. We have now been trading for about 13 months.

FlyFishingSpirit: talk to us about the range of tackle you have selected

ML: Our products are chosen carefully to fit in with our philosophy (see above!). We look for high quality, unique, innovative, or especially desirable tackle, from around the world. Many of them by their nature, would be of limited interest to a more traditional, commercial retailer due to complexities of limited supply, long lead in times, smaller profit margins high shipping costs & etc. But as we do not function in the same way we are able to bring these products to the market. Some of our products are more widely available but deserve to be more so, or I just really like them & so they go on the site!

We have had a lot of interest & positive support for what we are trying to achieve from customers and people in the trade, but I couldn’t exactly say we’ve been struggling to keep up with the sales! We have dealt with orders & inquiries from Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Norway, France, Germany, Spain, Italy & America as well as the UK. We are still new & trying to get our message out and I think that will naturally take some time, but interest is definitely growing.

The products we have had reviewed in the fly fishing press are generating most sales and I think that is to be expected. It is difficult selling products that prospective customers have not been able to handle, when they only have the information on the website to inform them. Reviews obviously help a lot & we also offer an unconditional full refund service for all of our products (if returned within 2 weeks in same condition as received). Where possible we will send out samples of more expensive items for customer’s to try (we normally ask for credit card details as security in these instances). I hope that we can build a reputation for excellence in our product range & for our service that will enable prospective customers to order with confidence.