Sadness at closure of fishing shop
The head of a local fisheries group has said the recent closure of a historic Perth sporting shop was a “sad day” for the local fishing industry.
The PD Malloch store on the High Street, which specialised in fishing and hunting equipment, closed its doors on February 26 after nearly a century and half in business.
The shop, started by Peter Duncan Malloch and his brother James 149 years ago, was taken over by Elaine Buntin and her husband John in 2005.
Elaine blamed the closure on falling trade and said they both saw a general decline in business over the last 15 years.
Ted Eadie, president of the Perth and District Anglers Association, paid tribute to the shop.
He said it was “a sad day for fishing on the River Tay as local fishing tackle and gun shop PD Malloch closed the doors at Old High Street, Perth, for the last time on February 26, 2020.”
He added: “The shop was first opened in Scott Street, Perth, and was a leading reference to salmon fishing, both on the River Tay and all Scottish rivers in general.
“PD Malloch was a leading authority, innovator and inventor to the salmon tackle industry, and made many clever modifications and standards, including the famous side-caster reel, and also wrote many books on the life cycle of the salmon.
“Since he also had access to the netting industry on the Tay salmon fishing, he was in a perfect position to study fish scales and fish runs and trends, how to read these and interpret the age rings on the scales, and he became an expert on reading these.
“Perth now has no tackle shop open to the public.”