For fishing fans in Splott, Tackle-Mart on the corner of Habershon Street and Moorland Road is both treasure-trove and life saver. It’s open all the time and sells bait, tackle, rods, reels, weights, nets – you name it, they’ve got it. For such a small shop, it’s amazing how many different bits of fishing kit they sell.
This week Inksplott popped in to interview owner and manager, Steven Powell, who told us a little bit about his business:
Inksplott: Hi Steven, thank you for being interviewed for Inksplott. Can you tell us a little about your business?
Steven: As you can see, it’s a small fishing tackle shop based in a local community. I try and keep the prices low so that local people can afford what I sell.
Owner Steven Powell
Inksplott: How long have you been here?
Steven: Nine years. Before this, the shop, I believe, was a flower shop. No! No, sorry – it was a book shop!
Inksplott: So the fishing shop has been here for nine years and you sell rods, reels, tackle and you also sell bait?
Steven: Yes, we sell live worms, live rag worm, ground baits for carp fishing, pellets as well for lake fishing, soft hook baits and your common garden worm.
Inksplott: Do you find more people come in for course fishing bait and equipment or sea fishing?
Steven: It’s 50/50 between lake and sea.
Inksplott: OK, so what’s your real speciality?
Steven: It’s the rods really. Most of the sea rods, because I don’t stock expensive rods, you can buy rods here from £25 up, as opposed to paying over £300 for a rod.
Inksplott: Brilliant. For a little shop, you’ve really crammed things in here! You’ve got quite a lot on offer haven’t you?
Fishing goodies at Tackle-Mart
Steven: Yeah, I’ve got to use all the space! I can’t stock things like fishing luggage and bivvies, which is like a small tent, because I just haven’t got the room.
Inksplott: You’ve got pretty much everything else! OK, so if there was one thing that you wanted to say to people to encourage them to give you a whirl, as opposed to going down Newport Road somewhere, what would you say?
Steven: Don’t be shy to come in and ask a question. If you don’t know anything about fishing, don’t be embarrassed to ask. I can show you how to set things up, what you would need, without going over budget.
Inksplott: Fantastic! Do you live in Splott? Are you a Splottlander?
Steven: No, I live in St Mellons.
Inksplott: Because what I also ask is tell us a secret about Splott or something that people wouldn’t necessarily know about Splott.
Steven: (chuckles) It’s not as bad as it seems!
Inksplott: (laughs)
You can find Tackle-Mart at 182 Habershon Street, Splott, Cardiff, CF24 2LE and you can reach Steven on 02920 453274.
Opening times Hours:
Monday 8:00 am – 12:30 pm
Tue-Thu 8:00 am – 5:30 pm
Friday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 7:00 am – 12:30 pm