Local tackle shops episode

[AndyS]

Most shops will tell you, they can't make a living just selling bait.

[Dclark2]

Maybe I am old school which I am but I would not buy a rod without running a line through the guides with different weights to feel and see the bend. You need a shop to do that or a UPS store close to return what you don't like.

[Jigman13]

I frequent salt water shops. I rarely if ever go to those largely designated for freshwater. I'm 99% artificial when fishing freshwater. Saltwater is bait, leader, hooks, info., etc.

The bait i do use in freshwater isn't carried by any shops within 100+ miles of me, so I trap and catch my own within NJ baitfish regs.

[Chrisper4694]

Originally Posted by Jigman13

I frequent salt water shops. I rarely if ever go to those largely designated for freshwater. I'm 99% artificial when fishing freshwater. Saltwater is bait, leader, hooks, info., etc.

The bait i do use in freshwater isn't carried by any shops within 100+ miles of me, so I trap and catch my own within NJ baitfish regs.

Theres a lot of good local secret info hiding in those local shop owners though!

[AndyS]

The saltwater shops seem to be doing surprisingly well.

[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

[NJSquatch]

In talking with the local shop owners one issue is just the lack of people fishing. The ones that do frequent the shop are getting up in age and the next generation isn't interested in the sport. I very rarely see kids fishing. Growing up there was a big group of us that would be at the fishing hole everyday during summer break. None of our parents fished.

To make matters worse is that any parent that was into fishing has now lost their free time with all their kids activites and wind up being a taxi service carting them around.

I generally fish artificials but do make a weekly stop for live bait during ice fishing season (if we ever get another one!)

My local shop does have a large selection of lures that you can't find elsewhere and it does draw in customers

[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.

[Chrisper4694]

Originally Posted by AndyS

The saltwater shops seem to be doing surprisingly well.

Probbaly because live and dead bait is accepted by saltwater anglers but for aome reason demonized by freshwater anglers.... i blame the bass fiahing elitists