The original Herman's was on Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan by City Hall. Old man Herman was always at the register !! I remember getting my Mitchell Garcia 406 there and pairing it with nice Conolon rod from Paragon Sporting Goods (still a great store on Union Square, but no more Fishing Dept
). I'd still have that setup and would be still using it if I didn't leave it in my friend's mom's car trunk in the early 70s. The car was stolen and the fishing stuff in the trunk was worth more than the car !!
The store directly across Nassau Street from Herman's had an even better fishing section - Spiegel's, but it was more expensive.
However the mecca for finding cheap fishing tackle was Job Lot Pushcart Trading Co., also downtown on Church Street. I would go there on my lunch break buy some tackle and when I went back later that day to get some more, they'd be sold out. You never knew what they'd have from one day to the next and it was dirt cheap.
Sorry for derailing the thread; I had a Senior moment
