Throw Back

Power bait, salmon eggs, some jigs, a spinning reel,GPS, and a knife set.

I achieved my goalbof getting out more often. I caught zero bass, maybe one trout. On the upside me and my two year old slayed the bluegil and sunfish.

Bought my first Senkos

1. Invest in quality lures 2. Get out more often. 3. When no one is catchin anything with any logical bait, don't be afraid to try something absurd. I mean if you catch nothing on a Senko, and I catch nothing on wad of old bubblegum, who did better. I'm not gonna watch the same thing fail over and over on a slow day

Any kind of fishing can and will improve you. More important, if you think it might be fun, don't worry if its gonna give you the edge, just get out and enjoy it.

Stretch good daily. Not just on fishing days. another option, just toss out a worm and let her sit. I mean, I'm sure you can catch just as much nothing with one. The important thing is being on the water right?

I assumed the "serious" fisherman would only be a small percent. The big percent would be the average guy getting wigglers and power bait. That's why o assume the real money is in beer and snack's

will look into them

Well that is a bummer for sure. I do thank you guys for the input. ANy other suggestions are welcom, but I think I am developing a plan that will be banked for later.

Expecting me not to tell fish stories is like expecting me not to tell you about all the record class bucks I coulda shot with my longbow this season, but I passed them up.

I do know about the regs regarding food, as well as beer/wine. I have work in the food industry for three years now, so I know it fairly well. I know it begins to draw away from the tackle, but I dont see any other way. An average lure will bring the store owner $5. Thats a lot of lures just to reach store rent let alone for your house, and worms, if you do it yourself, are looking at 75 cents. Again, a lot of worms. I would imagine I would have to be a one stop shop, grab your tackle, bait, a sandwich and a case of beer. Beer and chips are going to bring people in, instead of just hitting the grocery store and dealing with the lesser tackle options for the sake of convienence. I figure a few snacks, beer, soda, sandwiches, maybe soup in the winter, icecream in the summer, hot coffee year round. Maybe, if space allowed a bar or a few tables to sit and swap fish tales.

I like the trailer idea. Definatley will look into it

Another thought I had is there can be some real benefits being off the water. In town I could potentially bring more customers in for Christmas specials and winter sales. Times when they won't be out on the lake, but still might wanna stock up

Daughter reelin in her whoppin bluegill

I was thinking it would have to be a convenience store as well. While people are on their way out they can grab chips, beer, and a sandwich. A scoop of ice cream on the hot days and cocoa and coffee on the cold

Still open to ideas from customers. What's important or a perk for you? Is price most important? Even if it means Chinese knock offs. Do you want to see more made in America products? major companies or local? What kind of service other than fishing reports? Rod repair and reel cleaning? Chips and beer handy? Boat storage? Maybe a kids day every month?

I'm an hour or so from the delta off of 49. And I know about the switch, I'm a hunter ed instructor and we covered it thoroughly at our conference, I just didn't wanna confuse anyone. But in the northern regions crawdads still ok

I talked t dfg. No live finfish. Crickets, worms, meals, and crawdads are all a go. And nowhere around sells more than worms

Hey, from northern California. I did most of my bass fishing in south Dakota though. I love to fish for anything, but am starting to target bass again. I am a hunter education instructor up here as well. I love to be out in the woods any chance possible.

I guess another thing to keep in mind is perspective on "getting by". I know plenty of adults who would cry if they were making less than 40k a year. Just last year I was at 16-17k

oh I know and fully understand that aspect. When my dad was young and had a business, the standard was 3-5 years. In this economy people are saying 5-7

I know that most buy online, but in a lot of areas I feel like that could be because big 5, WalMart etc, don't carry specifics that some people look for. what would draw you guys into a local shop?

Hey guys. New to the forum, not too new to fishing. Me and a buddy have been considering opening a tackle shop and I was just looking from input from owners, current and former, and customers. To lay out the situation, the location of the shop would be in town, not on a body of water. I live in the northern california area, about an hour from Sacramento. We are around a half hour a way from three good size well managed lakes, and about 45 minutes from a whole slew of smaller yet great quality lakes. We are also less than a half an hour from a great river. Sacramento river is a little over an hour, but is popular for the salmon run and the striper. Just outside of an hour is a lot more great lakes. But, there is really nothing "down the block". Our town has a fly fishing shop already, and a hunting store, and they both seem to be making out ok. So, for the owners, do you think this area sounds good enough to support it? What would you reccomend to keep it going, earn the extra money, and earn in the cold months. As for the customers, what do/would YOU like to see in your local shop. Whether it be brands, variety, prices, live bait, goods, services, and even those goods/services not related to fishing.