San Diego Tackle Traders

San Diego Tackle Traders is not a walk-in retail floor. Brothers David and John Nichols run it out of 7036 Convoy Ct in Kearny Mesa, and the business is buying, selling, and trading used, vintage, and collectible high-end saltwater gear — reels and rods that mostly come in from other anglers rather than off a distributor's truck. AVET, Accurate, Shimano, and Penn all turn up in the inventory.

Because it works one appointment at a time, there are no posted retail hours. Call David at (858) 204-1459 or John at (760) 672-7080 to set a time before you drive over. That is also how you sell or trade: bring the gear in, and they price it against what they can move.

If you would rather see the inventory in person without an appointment, they set up at the big Southern California shows — the Fred Hall Show, Day at the Docks, and the West Coast Sportfishing Expo.

One thing to know before you plan a trip morning around it: San Diego Tackle Traders doesn't sell live bait or run charter boats, and the Convoy Court address is inland, well off the Point Loma and Mission Bay landing strips. For dawn bait and same-morning gear, use the landing shops — Fisherman's Landing Tackle, Point Loma Sportfishing Tackle, Seaforth Landing Tackle, and Dana Landing Market & Tackle. For new gear over the counter, Squidco Fishing on Barnett Ave and Angler's Choice on Rosecrans are the two closest full shops. The full list is on the San Diego tackle directory.

San Diego Tackle Traders is a Fish City partner.