Baltimore Charm for 100 Years
Despite being such a big city, we’re constantly saying that Baltimore is one of the most underrated cruising destinations on the Chesapeake. Some of our best weekends have been spent with the boat in the Inner Harbor, exploring spontaneous festivals, restaurants, and museums that are everywhere you look along the massive waterfront. Spend any time in Baltimore, and you quickly come to realize why they call it “Charm City.” And one local business in particular specializes in charm.
For the last 100 years, a little tackle shop has been at the epicenter of Baltimore’s most hip neighborhood, Fells Point. Tochterman’s Fly Shop sits just east of the Inner Harbor, tucked in a few streets in from the water and within walking distance to Patterson Park.
Tochterman’s opened its doors in 1916, when Thomas Tochterman decided to open up a second business for his wife Anna to manage while he worked at a stall in the fish market downtown. “On the weekend, he said, ‘This seafood is going to go bad,’ so he brought it home to my grandmother,” says Tony Tochterman, the third generation to stand behind the counter. “He decided to see if he could hustle it at the store, so he put out a wooden sign showing peelers and baited crab and fish. People would hop off the street car, grab some bait and tackle, and hop back on it.” Anna made cod and crab cakes and sold those, too. “People came in to get food and bait for fishing.” The family lived above the shop and raised their family in East Baltimore.
Tochterman shows a photo from 1916 with his grandfather standing outside the same shop front; the only difference is that the family’s name is spelled differently: Tochtermann. “World War I happened, and although we were third generation, the neighborhood was full of Polish, Greek, Italian, and German families. We felt that by having the second ‘n’ in our name, we were showing allegiance to the Kaiser. By dropping the ‘n,’ we became good Americans.”
Since the name change, there haven’t been many other big changes to the store. The 10-foot long neon sign that features a bass jumping out of the water was created in 1938: “It’s been classified as a Maryland historical landmark.” The front door has been the same since 1949. “We’re working on changing that now.” They sell offshore tackle as well as live blood worms. “It (offshore tackle) is the fastest growing part of our business.”
“Most of the fishing that’s been out of Baltimore came out of the harbor or Patterson Park,” Tochterman says. “Bass fishing was the most popular back then, and we would sell live bait as well as some artificial lures that were made by my grandfather and father. They used a lathe to make the floats, and hand painted them.” A recent auction sold a Tochterman Original Float for over $150. “When I saw that, my dad was still alive, and I said, ‘I’m putting your tail downstairs to make floats again!’ and he said, ‘I am never going to do that ever again.’”
Tochterman’s clientele varies, from local fishermen to international anglers. They’ll hoof it three blocks to Patterson Park, where they’ll find bass, bluegill, and trout in the pond, or they’ll head offshore or to South America. The shop sold Lefty Kreh his first fly rod in 1948, and they sell worms to inner city kids headed to the Park.
To the Tochtermans, their customers are all the same, and they’re all friends. “If you carry a fishing rod through an airport, I guarantee you another fisherman will come up to you and say, ‘Where are you going? What are you fishing for?’ Fishing brings people together. Fishermen will talk to other fishermen; it doesn’t matter what your nationality is, your economic status, or your age.” To that end, Tony and Dee talk with their customers. Tony hunts through inventory (sometimes in wooden crates) to find them what they need. “You can buy the same type of equipment for the same prices, most of the time,” he says. What makes Tochterman’s different is their customer service. “We enjoy waiting on people. It’s fun to be here, and if it’s not fun, you’re nuts.”
Thankfully, generations of Baltimore fishermen agree, and they come to Tony and Dee for supplies and local knowledge you won’t find anywhere else in Baltimore. And it’s truly charming for this city.
Tochterman’s turns 100 on February 8, and has an event planned to celebrate. Call the shop at (410) 327-6942 and tell them PropTalk sent you.
by Duffy Perkins