Besides fishing and barbeque, I have an addiction that can't be cured with a 12 step program. Every time I try to rid myself of this obsession, I pass by a house that has a "Garage Sale" sign in the front yard and my truck comes to a screeching halt! My fixation for garage sales stem from the fact that they're great places to find fishing tackle! It's amazing the quality of fishing gear you can buy if you're lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time!

Garage sales as a whole are rarely good suppliers of outdoor paraphernalia and are not very good places to fill your tackle box. If the man of the house is alive or still around, most likely he had rather sell his first born than to lose an old faithful rod and reel. Getting him to part with a favorite lure is out of the question!

Fishing tackle is expensive! Good tackle is even more costly, unless you find used equipment at a very good price. Even though most fishermen had rather sell their first born than get rid of an old faithful rod and reel, I occasionally find great bargains in fishing equipment. So where do these fishing treasures come from, you ask? From widows and ex wives! They usually have no qualms at all about selling their past husband's outdoor equipment cheap!

The best garage sales for finding fishing gear are the ones a recently divorced spouse will have to remove all traces of the ex-husband. Depending upon the intensity of their divorce, and the time the husband has spent on the lake fishing during their marriage, usually determines the price of the object! Sometimes she will gleefully reduce the price of fishing tackle to almost nothing, leaving the buyer with a fantastic buy! Remember the old line, "Hell hath no fury.."!

The second best places to find the rods, reels, lures, waders, tackle boxes and dip nets are estate sales. I look for the sales where the man of the house has departed these earthly waters for that big fishing hole in the sky. Widows and his children usually get rid of the old man's outdoor gear first. They're tired of it cluttering up the closets and most of the time offer his rods and reels at a remarkably low price; practically giving the stuff away. Sometimes you can find some really good stuff!

Great sources for all kinds of outdoor equipment are church rummage sales. The congregation donates things they don't want and put it in the rummage sale to raise money for kids to go to camp or a number of worthwhile causes. Sometimes a long forgotten rod and reel that's been in the attic for years, miraculously appears on the sales table in the basement or parking lot of the church. Antique fishing tackle is much sought after.

Auction houses on Saturday night that sell all sorts of junk to whomever bids the highest, is sometimes a source of fine tackle. A few weeks ago I witnessed a bundle of six rods and reels sold for 12 dollars. Five of the items were inexpensive bargain store tackle, but one was a Penn Star Caster reel tied to an expensive rod. That's the fun part of attending local auctions. You never know what you will find that you just can't live without!

Pawn shops and thrift stores are other sources that occasionally will have a rod or reel that is worth buying. It's more than likely though, that the cost will be prohibitive. I've found that it makes more sense to buy a new piece of tackle than it is to pay what these business charge.

Searching for something often times is more pleasurable than the finding. It may be that the sense of adventure in locating good yard sales are similar to those involved in fishing and searching for the perfect barbeque! I hope that I never loose whatever it is that draws me to these activities. The journey is too much fun!