Bait shops

Looking for somewhere to purchase bait in south Minneapolis area. Thanks!

Diamond Lake Hardware should cover you. Usually have fatheads, crappie minnows, and sucker minnows in the tanks. Worms and leeches in the fridge.

tangler wrote:

Diamond Lake Hardware should cover you. Usually have fatheads, crappie minnows, and sucker minnows in the tanks. Worms and leeches in the fridge.

I stopped in there for some hardware this past winter.

The minnow prices were astronomical. Like $35 for a dozen Medium suckers….. absolute joke

they are one of the last places left in the city to buy live bait so I’m not really complaining. Heck of a lot better than driving to the suburbs.

The minnow prices were astronomical. Like $35 for a dozen Medium suckers….. absolute joke
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Whoa whoa whoa. I thought a buck a piece was terrible when it comes to that time of the year.

B-man wrote:

I stopped in there for some hardware this past winter.

The minnow prices were astronomical. Like $35 for a dozen Medium suckers….. absolute joke

$20.99 actually. If you want to $hit on a local business pls have your numbers straight. Could turn away much needed business for them, and a much needed bait shop for us locals.

We are used to inflated minnow prices, so it is what it is. When i want minnows last minute and maybe going with the kiddos I’d pay $35 still.

Not southside but Bobby and Steve’s off Penn Ave North of 394 also carries minnows.

If I was cattin I’d much rather fish the boom island stretch of water this time of year than anything north of st.paul.

U can be my wingman any time.

Deuces wrote:

…a much needed bait shop for us locals.

Especially for river guys. Many of the lakes I’ll hit I can find bait on the way but for pool 2 there’s nothing close. 7 miles from Diamond Lake to Watergate is about as close as it gets around here.

I must take bait shops for granted. I have 5 all with in 15 to 20 mins from my house. 2 of them are about 10 minutes

You’re right, my brain took an average of Medium and Large suckers.

Still a complete rip off.

Damn near $50 for a dozen 7″ suckers.

It was high enough that I took pictures….

If I were you guys, I’d keep a tank at home and stock up from the shops to the north.

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B-man wrote:

Still a complete rip off

Is it? They only charge what they can get or need to keep them. As the locals here said, we pay it and thankful they’re still around.

Keep tank at home? And how much time and money to keep that maintained? Been there done that, not worth it.

Fwiw the average of those two would be around $22 dozen, $35 is simply an exaggeration. I get it, inflated to you, but I like small business and hate exaggeration.

$21+$48= $69/2= $34.50 dozen

Not sure how you’re getting your average, but I apologize for overestimating by .50 cents

For reference, we pay $8-$12 +/- a dozen for large suckers (40 minutes away from you), $48 seems crazy.

B-man wrote:

If I were you guys, I’d keep a tank at home and stock up from the shops to the north.

I don’t do enough live bait fishing to justify that at all. And I don’t think the average guy buying a scoop or a dozen suckers does either. The OP had a specific question about availability of bait in a given location so I answered.

All I know is I’m glad they’re there when I need them and I’d rather pay double the going rate a few times a year then deal with any of the alternatives.

I paid $4.50/gallon for fuel on the Gunflint Trail this year. There was 1 gas station. My other option was to drive back to Grand Marais. Sometimes you just gotta roll with supply & demand. I didn’t feel the need to say “what a rip-off” because I can recognize the situation for what it is. And I’m sure those who live or spend a lot of time on the trail are really grateful that gas station is there.

B-man wrote:

We pay $12 a dozen for large suckers (40 minutes away from you)

Congrats. The OP asked about bait in South Minneapolis. Do you have anything to add?

Sorry to strike such a nerve guys, didn’t mean too. I was just floored by the 300% markup over retail while being relatively close (15-35 miles) away from normal prices.

It’s not like Minneapolis is an isolated island or some remote destination.

It’s unfortunate they have you by the balls (no real close competition) and are taking excessive advantage of it.

I did not see the $50 dozen, I was going off $25 half.

My apologies for assuming you are a moron.

Deuces wrote:

I did not see the $50 dozen, I was going off $25 half.

My apologies for assuming you are a moron.

No worries

Not exactly South Minneapolis but the BP on Old Shakopee and Old Cedar off of 77 in Bloomington has a good selection with reasonable prices.

Puts an entirely different light on calculating the economic value of fish killed by a chemical spill or some such act.

Buffalo Fishhead

Holy chit you guys are getting screwed with bait prices… I can get a dozen hand picked shiners for 5.99/dzn and hand picked sucker for 4.99/dzn… I’d move if that’s what I had to pay for bait…

rjthehunter wrote:

Holy chit you guys are getting screwed with bait prices… I can get a dozen hand picked shiners for 5.99/dzn and hand picked sucker for 4.99/dzn… I’d move if that’s what I had to pay for bait…

NO SHAT! That’s flipping insane! Come on down to Bloomington and pay REAL WORLD prices. I’d have a hard time not laughing my arse off if I walked in and saw those prices. You could literally drive to Milaca and back towing a 35 foot cabin cruiser with a skid loader in the box up hill both directions and still come out a head…and even have a few dollars left for Fat Jacks…

ClownColor wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rjthehunter wrote:</div>
Holy chit you guys are getting screwed with bait prices… I can get a dozen hand picked shiners for 5.99/dzn and hand picked sucker for 4.99/dzn… I’d move if that’s what I had to pay for bait…

NO SHAT! That’s flipping insane! Come on down to Bloomington and pay REAL WORLD prices. I’d have a hard time not laughing my arse off if I walked in and saw those prices. You could literally drive to Milaca and back towing a 35 foot cabin cruiser with a skid loader in the box up hill both directions and still come out a head…and even have a few dollars left for Fat Jacks…

And no time to fish because i drove all day. Time is money. If I get off work at 5 and overpaying for a few minnows is what it takes to get me fishing before 6, I dunno, there are worse things in life.

I’ve also seen neighborhood kids buying Minnows there. Not sure a bike ride to Bloomington really works for them.

The entertaining aspect of this is that I’m probably one of the most frugal dudes around. But my time is more valuable to me than anything.

tangler wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bob clowncolor wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rjthehunter wrote:</div>
Holy chit you guys are getting screwed with bait prices… I can get a dozen hand picked shiners for 5.99/dzn and hand picked sucker for 4.99/dzn… I’d move if that’s what I had to pay for bait…

NO SHAT! That’s flipping insane! Come on down to Bloomington and pay REAL WORLD prices. I’d have a hard time not laughing my arse off if I walked in and saw those prices. You could literally drive to Milaca and back towing a 35 foot cabin cruiser with a skid loader in the box up hill both directions and still come out a head…and even have a few dollars left for Fat Jacks…

And no time to fish because i drove all day. Time is money. If I get off work at 5 and overpaying for a few minnows is what it takes to get me fishing before 6, I dunno, there are worse things in life.

I’ve also seen neighborhood kids buying Minnows there. Not sure a bike ride to Bloomington really works for them.

The entertaining aspect of this is that I’m probably one of the most frugal dudes around. But my time is more valuable to me than anything.

I live 5 blocks from this store. Yeah, the bait is a little overpriced but this store is a great local member of the community. I can walk in and talk to the owners and get advice on house fixes, obscure parts and pieces, and bait.

Before anyone decides to denigrate a local business understand they aren’t a bait shop. They are a hardware store that sells bait because there is a local need.

If you don’t like it, don’t go. Then I don’t have to worry about them being out next time I decide to go in and support the local business.

Trap minnows. Really is pretty easy and not to time consuming

I can fish for the weekend with about 50$ Spent on bait. This includes leeches, crawlers, and shiners. usually 3-4 dzn shiners, 3 to 4 dzn leeches, and a couple dozen crawlers.

I wouldn’t call those real-world prices. I’d call them inflated prices or just because we can prices. You guys are getting screwed big time. Even if they’re not a bait shop, they shouldn’t be marking their bait up that much then. Overpricing bait like that makes it harder for kids to afford fishing. I used to bike to the river when I was 12 and would stop by a gas station that sold leeches for 2$ a dzn because they weren’t in the bait business to make money. That’s beyond “supporting” local businesses. That’s local businesses taking serious advantage of you.

Would you buy gas from a small convenience store that sells it for 3x more per gallon than another gas station?

Bearcat89 wrote:

Trap minnows. Really is pretty easy and not to time consuming

I’m curious what the regulations are on this. I know there’s requirements for how often and when to check traps for crayfish, but I can’t find anything in the regs for minnows. How often do you check your traps?

rjthehunter wrote:

Would you buy gas from a small convenience store that sells it for 3x more per gallon than another gas station?

Is it the only gas station around? As stated above, if it’s the only way to get on the water without driving all evening and wasting precious fishing time, do what you gotta do. Again, this is a hardware store.

Rj, do you feel the smaller ma and Pa shop hardware stores are raking in the millions? Sitting in their yachts, sipping a mojito and scoffing at the lil people or what? Most those type stores are far and few between now. They sell stuff at a price which they need to make yet low enough for people to come into store. The rest of their merchandise is also higher compared to big box stores. It’s convenience, and business.

If you don’t get that than you have bigger fish to fry than this thread.

rjthehunter wrote:

I can get a dozen hand picked shiners for 5.99/dzn and hand picked sucker for 4.99/dzn

Where? That is way cheaper than anywhere I’ve seen the last few years including the up north places.

I paid $3.99 each for 30 7 to 12″ suckers a couple weekends ago.
Still beats what the one bait shop in Red Wing was charging a few years back.

I was happy paying $128.00 for two nights of bait…until I figured out how many 30 packs of Hamm’s that was!

Deuces wrote:

Rj, do you feel the smaller ma and Pa shop hardware stores are raking in the millions? Sitting in their yachts, sipping a mojito and scoffing at the lil people or what? Most those type stores are far and few between now. They sell stuff at a price which they need to make yet low enough for people to come into store. The rest of their merchandise is also higher compared to big box stores. It’s convenience, and business.

If you don’t get that than you have bigger fish to fry than this thread.

I think I have a pretty good idea of how small businesses run but thank you for explaining it to me. You might be a little dramatic with that statement. No they’re obviously not making millions. They get greedy with their pricing and that’s why there’s not many around. I’ve worked retail in the past. I know what kinds of markups they have on different items. There’s a fine line between convenience and outrageous prices. They see the ability to sell less product but with higher margins. That creates an inconvenience for the half of us that aren’t going to pay that much. But they make just as much money as they would selling more at a somewhat competitive price. 95% of them aren’t there to be convenient for you. They’re there to make money and profit from you.

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rjthehunter wrote:</div>
I can get a dozen hand picked shiners for 5.99/dzn and hand picked sucker for 4.99/dzn

Where? That is way cheaper than anywhere I’ve seen the last few years including the up north places.

Hawley, there’s a gas station on my way from Moorhead to Detroit Lakes that is self serve that has the best bait prices anywhere.