What do you look for in a good bait shop?

[mtheis]

I often buy my bait at Blue Ribbon Bait. This might seem like a slam, but hey, don't touch every sucker with your hands, don't throw in a few half dead ones in the process, and don't count every one either!

Oh, keep some pop in the cooler too will ya? Jeeze!

[89Bronco]

I forgot one more thing...There are two bait places up north that I've gone to. Both are very friendly. At one, the lady has always "counted" the dozen minnows out as she is pouring them into the bucket. If I want more I have to say "2 dozen." (And pay for 2 dozen.) At the other, I get a "scoop" full of minnows at a "dozen" price. Can you guess which place I go more often? And which place I am more likely to buy extra tackle, pop, snacks, etc.? They might break even or even lose money on bait at the second place, but they more than make up for it with the other services because they are going the extra mile to make me happy. If I'm happy, I'll spend more time and money there.

[Boz]

All that is well and good. Good bait. Info on hot spots. A smile is wonderful. But there is nothing that bugs me more than going into a bait shop and asking what is happening on this lake or that or the region, and have them say "nothing is biting." "Everything is dead." I mean, I have driven how many hours, intending to spend how much money, and suddenly all the air is let out of my balloon. Do what fishermen do. LIE TO ME! Tell me life is great. Tell me to buy three of these, four of those. How about one of these new fancy gizmos. SELL ME. I can get shut out on my own. Fill my head with vision of sugar plums. I must be stupid, cause I keep going back to the places where dreams are made and never mind leaving a few extra bucks behind cause I don't want to run out of a certain bait during a feeding frenzy.

See you on the ice.

[Gus]

Friendly service, asking where I plan to fish and offering info on the lake, and most importantly to me is not counting minnows. I don't need 4 dozen for 1 dozen price, but a good scoop of 16 or 18 is plenty to keep me coming back.

[ChuckN]

A good bait shop has a friendly smile, a little talk about this and that, a fair amount of tackle, and of course, plenty of bait. Simple as that.

There is a bait shop I know of that I cannot believe this man is in business. He doesn't talk, he's grumpy and once he broke the lid clear off my brand new insulated minnow bucket and said "that's too bad". He counted the minnows one by one too. I should have said something, but I blew it off. After leaving I realized I wasn't happy and it was a bad start to what I thought was going to be a good day of fishing. Upon talking to friends about this bait shop, they too had bad experiences and they all drove out of their way to buy bait elsewhere! Word travels fast!

[gill man]

I know of one bait shop in my area I just love going into. It's a small, cozy little shed. It's got a couple fish mounts, a fairly decent selection of lures for such a small building, the prices are good, and the bait is good.
You don't get many return customers when the minnows are belly up by the time you get to the lake, or the grubs are gonners in two days.
Also, we fisherman spend a lot of money on equipment and gas, so we like cheap stuff. If you can afford to throw in a couple extra minnows, or throw in a shiner or two when we order sucker or fatheads, we'll come back for sure. I can't stand the places that count out exactly 18 crappie minnows. I realize you might lose a few cents here or there, but if you throw in some small freebies now and then, you'll have return customers.

The owner of this bait shop is also a guide, and he doesn't keep all his information to himself. He's a good, humble guy that's willing to give you a good tip or two every time you stop in. And you always get a "good luck," or "have a good one" before you walk out the door.

And good location is important. I don't want to drive 10 miles south if the lake I'm going to is 20 miles north. I realize you can't be near every lake, but try to put yourself in the middle of several, or on the most popular route to the popular lakes.

So, here's the criteria(I might miss a couple): Good selection of lures and bait at good prices, quality bait that stays lively, don't be stingy with the cheaper baits. You won't lose much money giving out 15 fatheads versus 12 of them(big shiners might be a different story though). Try to keep up on local fishing info, and give advise. Be friendly(a big one). Put yourself in a good location for high travel areas.
Keep a good atmosphere. It might sound funny, but make it 'look' like a bait shop, not a big formal, shirt and tie business.

If you do all those things you should be pretty successful!

gill man

Edit: I said I don't want to drive out of my way to go to a bait shop. While that's true, I've done it. There's a bait shop 5 minutes from my house that I won't go to. They sell bad bait at high prices, and half the time whoever is working makes me go pick out the bait(from a tank where half the stuff is floating and rotten). I've taken the 15-20 minute drive to TNT's bait shop, and back, just to shop there.
So, I'd rather not drive the extra, but if you have a good enough business, I'll go out of my way to shop at your store.

[This message has been edited by gill man (edited 12-23-2003).]

[can it be luck?]

One thing that's nice about some bait shops is the availability of bait 24 hours a day. Besides all the things that have been mentioned by others, it's nice to have this too. A refrigerater or vending machine with minnows, leeches, waxies, etc. I know it's not "practical" to do this because of the obvious reasons, but a vending machine might prevent theft. I know of only a couple places that do this. I always make it a point to give them my day buisness as well as a little extra $$ when I serve myself. I know that careful planning would prevent the need of this........But sometimes fishing plans develop rather quickly!

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http://groups.msn.com/canitbeluck

[Ed Carlson]

OH-JOY..A bait vending machine!

Come on now, has ANYONE ever got a Bait vending machine to actually work?

Or is it just me they love to rip off? Dead bait, frozen, mummified, or more commonly nothing at all, that's my Experience with them deals Eh!

I will NEVER put another buck in a bait vending machine as long as I live!

Besides, if you ask them bait vending machines where the fish-r-bit'n, they never say squat. Stuck up #%^^^ vending machines anyway. They are not worth the sore toe to kick um!

Baaaaaaaaaaa bait vending machines.

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Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding
"ED on the RED"
[email protected]
><,sUMo,>

[Old Guide]

Friendly, knowledgeable sales staff.
Up to date info on where the current bite is.
Good selection of bait and "hot tackle" (stuff thats catching fish!)
A good count on minnows. A friend of my dad's who had a very lucrative bait shop said his best advertising he ever had was a lot of extra minnows thrown in at the end of the count! (He made a bundle $$)

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Old Guide Charters
Lake of the Woods
http://fishingminnesota.com/oldguidecharters/
Call Toll Free:1-800-952-(9484)

[BAKERMAN]

I am ususally the guy that wants to get started early before the season starts by improving my lure selection. a few bait shops don't get their inventories build up early enough for me. otherwise I agree that my favorite bait shop has a friendly,responsive and "feels like home" atmosphere

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BAKERMAN

[EBass]

Gotta have clean water for the minnows. Wayzata Bait water is cloudy and stinks. Not cool!!

Also, put a few extra minnows in. Princeton Bait is really good at this! Love that place, same with Vados.

Maybe a small assortment of snacks/soda.

Try not to jack up the price on tackle, we will go else where. And if you rent vexilars or whatever, make sure they work. Copy right that Holiday Gas Station just before MilleLacs. Place sucks!

[early007]

Thanks everyone I really appreciate your input. You gave me a few really good ideas. If you think of anything else let me know. And if your ever in the area stop by and say hi.

Jason Erlandson
Dave's Sportland Bait and Tackle
Nisswa MN
218-963-2401