When Sofia Strang first got hooked on fishing as a teenager, she hated visiting angling shops. "I have vivid memories of visiting tackle shops, firstly because I was a girl and I always felt inferior.

"They were full of smoke and you would be served without the staff stopping their conversation with one of the many match anglers, who would sit there for hours on end chatting.

"The other problem was not being able to find everything you wanted in one place.

"In Oxfordshire, we are blessed with so many carp waters, but you would always have to travel from match shop to match shop to try and make a modest set-up from the bits and bobs they stocked."

The inspiration for a business idea was born, and it grew when Linear Fisheries, in Stanton Harcourt, gave her permission to make deliveries to anglers at the lakeside.

She teamed up with her father, Bruno Pasquale, an experienced businessman who has run a MoT testing and garden repairs business in Eynsham for 20 years, to set up Bruno's Carp Tackle.

Mrs Strang, who is now 30, learned to fish from her father as a child, and her interest was revived when her three-year-old daughter caught the bug as well.

She said: "The lakes are mainly carp, and there isn't a carp specialist anywhere in Oxfordshire.”

She set up the business, supplying tackle and bait, in June. Most orders come via the Internet site and by telephone, and are delivered to the lakes run by Linear.

"People come from all over the country to fish at Linear, and we are delivering to up to 200 people a day."

A former warehouse manager with a strong retail background, she drummed up business by sending her assistants, Damian Boon and Stewart Howell, to the lake to talk to anglers and give out business cards.

Deliveries are taken by van to the lakes’ car park, with the final journey done on foot.

"I have lost a few pounds and it keeps me fit," she said.

Mrs Strang says there are several famous female carp anglers, but — despite her strong views on prejudice against 'girls' —she has to admit most of her customers are men.

"We have a few women but most of them are buying gifts for partners," she said.

The shop is based in a spare office at her father's workshop at Oakfield Industrial Estate in Eynsham, but Mrs Strang says it is not properly set up for personal callers yet, though many regulars do drop in.

"It will open properly after Christmas. Most people order from our website, and we have set up a blog and a forum with useful hints and tips to help improve your fishing."

Contact: Bruno's Carp Tackle, 01865 731302. Web: www.fishingtackleoxford.co.uk