Newport Baitshop Closes

No more bait in Newport. That leaves a major hole.

It is a sad fact that the local bait shops/ sporting goods stores are in serious trouble.With the mega-chains coming on so strong it is hard for the local guys to compete. I don’t think it’s so much product availability or pricing that causes the problem but the fact that sportsmen ae bombarded with the idea that Cabelas {and places like it} is the place to buy. Perception becomes more real than substance. The next time your looking at the bible {catolog} or making a pilgramage to mecca {Owatanna} remember that your local bait shop can probably get you the same item in 4 or 5 days. Support the people who are a part of your fishing experience. They will thank you for it.

the price is the issue here. it doesn’t matter what anybody says. When i am paying 10% higher on everything else that is local i will do it if i need it, but if i can plan ahead i will pick what i need up at a fleet farm, or a cabelas, or a bass pro shops, it is just common sense. If you are already there and it is cheaper , well then buy it.

In my area of hundreds of lakes, streams and rivers the local bait/sport shop has all but disappeared due to the aforementioned problem. Green Bay(Fleet Farm, GanderMt etc)is 110 miles South and Eagle River is 50 miles west.
I get stuff from the big places too….but I try to spend some $$$ at the local shop because its nice to have someone 10 minutes away when you need some red tailed chubs or leeches in a hurry for 3 AM the next day.!

The owner of the Newport bait shop indicated a 40 percent drop in business this year. He said the construction project on highway 61 is the probable cause of the decline. Whatever the reason, it is sad to lose another small bait store business.
Sandbar

Maybe its time baitshops made their money from just bait? If that’s all people are willing to buy then raise the prices. Personaly I think minnows, especially smaller ones, are rediculously cheap and I wonder how any profit could be made. Maybe its time we pay a premium for bait. This could help the baitshops survive and give individuals some incentive to occasionaly obtain their bait the old fashion way by catching it before they chase their favorite game fish?

Although, I do believe that the highway 61 project that is currently blocking access to many businesses in Newport is a factor, it is not the main reason for this business failing.

Schorns bait did absolutely zero advertising. The only way people found out about the place was word of mouth or an occasional post here on FTR. Heck, every time I stopped in I asked why he did not throw out some flyers at the 494 access or get a computer and follow FTR!! In my opinion, if you are going to have a bait shop by the river, you better have some exposure on the best Mississippi River site on the web! He missed out big time by not being here to post reports, answer questions about pool 2 or even buy a banner add.

But even with that said, I eventually made it a point to go elsewhere to get bait. A scoop of minnows priced at over three bucks should be more than a dozen fats! Schorns mom, (Bless her heart, great lady who often ran the shop on weekends) just did not know how to sling a good scoop of fats! And that is the real reason people like me stopped going there.

Jon J.

Local Baite shops can be good and bad… Great because you have the convienience of buying emergency supllies .. hooks, lead, baite, etc.. but They are a dying breed..
Take my area… Red Wing, Hager City, there were three small biate/tackle stores.. that I knew of and now there are two… !!! The problem with these baite stores is you have to make money on something besides minnows… Draw them in with the minnows and keep them coming back because of something else… Once someone has a bad experience at your store you will lose a customer for life…. and word travels…. Ya gotta have a good personality, hire a hot looking counter girl, have tackle that people want to actually buy.. and stand buy the stuff you sell… I would pay exra at a small time store for rods and reels if they stuck by them… already been burned by that once…
Also talk to your local tackle and biate store guy tell them what you would like to see in the store… maybe there should be a post that critiques the baite shops around the are.. so the word gets out there on what stores are really worth stopping at… and what stores need to change a little…. Put location down etc….

In any mode of business, there is something that must never be forgotten……………You’re either a lion or a gazelle. On any given day, the lion has to be faster than the slowest gazelle and the gazelle has to be faster than the fastest lion. Obviously, this represents personality traits that we trade back and forth within ourselves on a daily basis but it’s a good view when it comes to “survival of the fittest”.

When a market changes, you either take on the lion mode and pursue it and have dominance over it, or the “gazelle” will flee and you’ll go hungry. With the advent of the internet, distribution is still where the money is but the avenue is the “Information Age”. What Jon pointed out is a very valid point………….without the knowledge of presence, new customers are more difficult to come by.

As for just charging more money for bait…………….I’m afraid it’s just not that simple. Anyone here cut coupons? Go where there’s something on sale……….for just that purpose? The mentality of the general public is in savings. To simply raise prices, you will force your business into a very limited market…………IFFF you don’t do something extra to make it worth the extra. Even then, someone is going to call you a liar, a cheat, a rip off artist, and take the business somewhere else.

The small business guys……………are taking the biggest risk in all of business risks. They do deserve support but I hope they’ve done their homework before diving in. Lions and Gazelles……………….

I would easily pay an extra $1 or so for minnows. That’s a drop in the bucket especially when considering the only bait shops left in my are are about 12 miles apart.

That’s small change next to the ripoff non-resident launching fee I paid in Hudson last night. Kid-can I borrow your truck tonight so I can afford to go fishing?