What's the best locally owned shop in the metroplex to purchase a fishing kayak? I'd like good customer service and knowledgeable salespeople who are into the sport and not paid by how many the kayaks they can sell.

Mariner Sails

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Mariner Sails in Dallas, Mountain Sports in Arlington, Anglers Pro in N. Richland Hills and Dave with Kayak Instruct in Rowlett. I'll bought from all 4, but Mariner Sails has all the kayaking accessorizes in the world.... All are great shops.

theres also Backwoods in Ft. Worth. Coming from my neck of East Texas though Mariner Sails would be the closest store from Gladewater.

Mountain Sports in Arlington, TX

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Mariner Sails in Dallas, TX r 2 of the best brick n mortor stores in DFW hands down.

Mountain Sports offers a lot in the way of Yaking, Rigging the most in Camping, Hiking, & Climbing gear.
Mariner Sails offers the most in Yak Fishing, Rigging, Paddleboarding & Sailing around.
They both have a nice selection to choose from & hire folks that are ready & willing to assist.

Mountain sports carries: Jackson & Wilderness

Mariner carries: Hobie, Ocean, Wilderness, Native, Perception, Santa Cruz, Nucanoe, Old Town, Feel Free...

Mariner sails.

Hands down it is MARINER SAILS.

There are very few, if any other watersports stores in the entire USA that can even come close to the expansive variety of kayaks, accessories, and kayak fishing gear available under a single roof.

When you add a dedicated and knowledgeable staff, working under the ownership, leadership, genuine friendliness and honesty of Aris Tsamis, you have the recipe for a successful and customer oriented business. Forty plus years in business is a true "amen" to my comments.

BUT.....If you want to shop in a fully loaded tackle shop at the same time....
Go see Rick over at Angler's Pro tackle!

I have told this story on here once before but here it goes again. Just an example of their customer service.
A buddy and I went to fish a Mariner Sails tournament at Lake Fork in 2015. My buddy hit a tree with is native propel and broke the prop. I called Mariner Sails while on the water and my phone was cutting in and out and asked if they could bring one. Turns out there were none in stock, but they were nice enough to take one off a floor model or Duc had an extra one. I am not sure on the details, but they did call me back and say they had us taken care of. A simple call back these days is pretty hard to come by in any customer support. Either way they made it happen and took care of the problem at the Captains meeting before the tournament started.

That my only dealing with any DFW store other than online orders as I live in Lubbock. They have really quick online order fulfillment too. Ordered Monday and had parts 2 days later on Wednesday.

And keep in mind I had never bought anything from them. They didn't/don't know me from Adam. I was just some guy looking for a $20-$30 prop how much ever they are. I don't know what else you could ask for from your local shop.

Mariner sails. They do more for the sport than any other shop period. They offer educational classes and speakers, host get togethers, fishing clinics and thats before i mention the tournaments. The selection of kayaks is the best and they are the no1 dealer for yak attack. They have anything and everything for kayakers.

Mariner is also heavily committed to giving back to the community via both direct product donations and staff.

One of Mariner's heaviest personal involvements is with Heroes On The Water. Mariner has held numerous events and clinics where HOW was the benefactor of all proceeds. 100% of the MS Kayak Fishing Club dues go to HOW and every member gets more than generous store discounts that more than pay for his/her membership fee. With Aris' generosity and creative planning, many thousands of dollars have gone to our local HOW chapter's coffers.

Other community involvement that immediately come to mind are: the Thursday Night Working Mans Tournaments, Turning Point/RISE Adventures (both groups encourage on the water activities with our handicapped neighbors), Coastal Conservation Commission, Earth Day at Fair Park, White Rock Lake Celebration, and numerous fishing tournaments whose proceeds go to charities.

As a biased retired staff member, I can honestly and accurately state that the store's involvement is not for monetary gain . . . it is truly an act of thanks to have the resources, ability, and creative talent (under Aris Tsamis' direct and contagious enthusiasm) to be able to give back blessings to the community.