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Hey, Thanks, Patrick, you just reminded me of another one:
8. Guys who work or hang out in tackle shops really know what they're talking about.
I'm not ragging on you now, I know you deal with a certain shop that you trust and rely on. But as you travel, you'll learn that when you ask for advice and recommendations from the guys behind the counter, you're making two big leaps of faith--one, that he knows how to fish, and two, that he's going to steer you straight.
Tackle shop owners have precious little time to fish themselves. Their "where-to" information is largely based on customer reports, and you know the old saying. "garbage in, garbage out". The sharp guys don't blab in the first place, and if they happen to weigh a fish in, you can bet your bottom dollar that the place they said they caught it was miles from where it ate its last meal. The guys hanging around all day shooting the bull are what professional pilots call "hanger flyers". They talk a good game, but if they're sitting in a shop drinking coffee and eating donuts well into the morning, do you think they've been up all night hitting the suds hard?
Some guys that run tackle shops, like Pat Abate of Rivers End, are great fishermen in their own right, Pat was a guy who rubbed elbows and was an equal with guys at the very top of the game at the Cape and the Block/ Mike Thomas has fished his entire life, and knows rods and gear like he knows his house in the dark. Not every tackle shop guy is like them. You probably know more about fishing than at least half of them.
Also, what makes you think that a guy is going to steer you to the right reel for your application, rather than the one that has a higher mark-up and thus more profit for him? Penn reels have a very low mark-up, and many Shimano models do, too.
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