If it was me, I would eat the deposit and head out to Chamberlain, SD. I had reservations up at Rainy the next two weeks. I’m not confident it will open up in time for the last weekend of the season. Back up plans.
Nice show guys! I can’t wait to get out there next heat wave.
Jason Erlandson
18-24 feet has been best on Gull, but anglers have caught fish all of the way down to 45 feet. Mostly small fish. Shiners seem to be the best choice now. Good luck.
Jason Erlandson
Hi guys, I can help you guys out. I’ll be at Sportland Bait in Nisswa all day Thusday-Saturday. Feel free to stop in and ask questions. I can point in the direction of a few fish.
Jason Erlandson
Quantum EXO 15 or Smoke 15. I tried the Ci4 but I didn’t care for the handle. Liking the Quantum reels much more.
Jig/worm is tough to beat up here, but I love fishing the Rapala DT6-DT10. There is something about fishing crankbaits that I love. The DT series is as good as it gets. I also love fishing the lipless cranks from Kopper Live Target. I’d fish them a lot more if the pike weren’t so numerous.
Jason Erlandson
I run a 7′ St Croix medium heavy and a Shimano Curado E, 14 pound flouro, and the Outkast Swim Jigs with a fat grub. Love these jigs, best finish in the business. I can’t find any others out there that I like as well. It has become one of my go to techniques the last few years.
Jason Erlandson
Quantum Smoke 15 is an awesome reel. I have a couple of the 25 size but for that size rod I would go with the 15. But any of the quantum models are nice. Check the energy pti, smoke, or the EXO. Depending on your budget, I don’t think there are better reels on the market. But there are many nice reels out there.
Jason Erlandson
Most of the advice here is good. My family and I have run a shop for 35 years. Its a lot of work for the return. Sounds like you are aware. Advice for bait. Get a good supplier. Consistency is the key. Keep your tanks clean and run fresh water on them 24 hours a day. Makes a huge difference on the bait vs a recirculated system. Don’t give your bait away. You will never win the price war and in turn you won’t make any money. If you have the best bait your customers will want it. As far as tackle goes, it is getting harder and harder to make money on it. Expect about a 10-25% margin on everything. Our philosophy the last few years has been carry more options of the most popular product lines for our market. Example would be instead of having 6 each of 6 colors carry 3 each of 12 colors and just reorder more often. Plus the best place to make your money on tackle is the small impulse items such as bobbers, minnow dippers, terminal tackle, etc. My biggest advice is to keep your store clean and well lit. It has become a family sport and you need to appeal to the wife and kids too. If you have space add an aquarium with some fish, the kids love it. Good luck with everything!
Jason Erlandson
