Local tackle shops episode

[Drossi]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

. Those shops need traffic.. If not they fail, simple as that.. I agree a shop needs to be open VERY early, especially if they want to sell bait.. One problem is this-Most guys simply don't use bait anymore in FW. With modern high tech lures that are so effective bait just isn't all that neccessary except for maybe Carp or catfish... Shops LOSE money on live shiners, fatheads, Herring or Sawbellies as they are known up here in NY. They just die in the tanks after a while..Owners need to buy and sell them fast as they just start dying quickly. Right now, I can't buy bait anywhere, except worms in gas station.. There might be one or two bait shops within a 50 mile radius. The vast majority stopped because the cost was killing them. They told me. Different scenario in NJ, with the big population but still online sales of tackle and accessories has to be hurting a lot of those small businesses. It cannot be easy to make enough profit in NJ with its crazy overhead selling just bait, even saltwater bait.. bob

I think live bait, specifically herring and shiners have probably always been a money loser for a shop. The purposes for selling them were to get fishermen into the shop in the 1st place, cause rarely does one leave a shop with just bait, they often will pick up other items as well.

I'm honestly stunned there's still freshwater fishing shops still around. The overhead has to be murder. Plus most people buy things other than bait online. Declining sales means cutting back hours or you just make the profit (loss) margin worse, that's why the remaining shops are open the limited hours they are open. If the shop isn't right on a body of water like Dow's I don't see how they aren't a money loser.