We all buy fishing stuff. We probably spend more on fishing stuff in a year than we do on anything else. I know places like Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, Gander Mt, Wal-Mart, etc get a lot of our money. But what about the mom and pop shops around the area?
I am guilty of spending most of my money at BPS and Gander Mt. It makes sense tho, you can go to one place and get 98% of what you need.
I really like KD Outdoors in Waterford. They carry a lot of stuff that i use, and the prices are still pretty good.
What little shops do you guys go to?
PoorBoy himself :-\'
I am from West Michigan and well I do some shopping at Al and Bobs in Grand Rapids. They are a little expensive but have a lot of good stuff. Also another great place to get some Goodies are these two bait shops on Houghton lake. I forget the names of them but they had a lot of stuff.
the problem is the mom & pop shops are almost a thing of the past due to places like Gander, BPS, Cabelas...but such is life...i try to shop at Franks Great Outdoors in Linwood and Jay's in Clare, but the Gander Mountain here in Saginaw has really kicked the bass fishing products in high gear...they are hard to beat for last minute things that you need now! helps that the fishing manager and store managers are both bass fishermen, most of the other shops up here in Saginaw are bursting with walleye guys...
For last minute items and all of my tubes i shop at South Street Bait & Tackle in bellville. Seth carries a Huge line of tubes from schuberts and cross creek and has an excellent selection of tube jigs and spinner baits. His prices are right on with the large end stores and usually he has what I need. When I plan ahead i buy of the net at landbigfish.com They have everything there and it usually ships the next day. Plus if you sign up for a membership you get a 1.5% discount on your purchase.
I like K&D when I can get out there. I try to hit them whenever I fish Pontiac Lake. Living on the East side, the only mom and pop type store is Lakeside Tackle on Jefferson unless I want to head up to Hall Road. They have a decent selection of tubes, jigs, and hooks. Not too bad for last minute stuff although they mostly seem to cater to Walleye and Musky fishermen. I'd love to see them carry more soft plastics and a bigger selection of hard baits.
I get most of my stuff now at BPS or Gander Mtn.
A good friend of mine opened his own store at Grand River and Milford Rd. in New Hudson in 1998. It was called CCW Lures.He was in business until 2004, when Wal-Mart opened a store right around the corner.
While he was in business I bought everything I could from him. He gave me 20% off on everything except Yamamoto and Lucky Craft. He sold them to me at cost in exchange for me wearing his logo on my shirts. That was a great deal.
I also buy some stuff at Dick's Sports Center in Howell. I used to work there so depending who is working I sometimes get a discount there. Also, I bought all of my Stradic 2500 MgF spinning reels there. They were selling them for $139.99, about $20 less than anywhere else. I think they are selling them now for $159.99, which is about $30 less than anywhere else.
I will be going there this weekend so I will post the current price.
I also buy a few things at a little store in Gregory. I've only been there a few times, I don't even know the name. They have a pretty good selection, including Yamamoto, but the prices are about 50 cents more a bag. I think they carry Poor Boys plastics also.
living in canton, if i need anything w/o driving a zillion miles, i'll always check a meijers or wal-marts. yes i'll admit to that....some of there selections have gotten better guys. if they don't have i'll run over to dick's sporting goods in westland. pretty much covers the necessities.
otherwise off to gander mtn in novi.
I too, am a west sider and the names from the east side are all Greek to me. In the Grand Rapids area the best pop store, no moms in there often, (If mama is around a sensor goes off so all the guys can hurry out the back door with their sacks of baits.) is the Outdoorsman on Baldwin in Jenison. They are very knowledgeable ourdoorsman and have whatever you need in hunting and fishing supplies in a small shop. They specialize in electronics and usually match any price from the big retailers. Al and Bobs on Division just doesn't seem to be carrying much, but I do stop in there every once in a while. When I'm north, Jays in Clare of course is a biggy, but if you want some bass baits, don't miss Pilgrim's Village on Lake Mitchell in Cadillac. They have an MC and a Dunhams in Cadillac but the little hole in the wall shop at Pilgrim's Village outdoes both of them, no contest. Then for those of you on the sunset coast who fish the BBT you already know about Borculo Bait and Tackle. Now this is a hole in the wall. In the middle of no place and no where, but they carry what a serious bass angler is looking for. Borculo doesn't even have a blinker light. It's west of Grand Rapids, a little more than halfway from GR to the lakeshore on Port Sheldon. Port Sheldon in Ottawa County is 44th St. in Kent.
Only 50 min. from GR is D&R Sports. A must stop if your in the area and this weekend is there big Spring Thing with a number of big, Big, BIG names and reps. Starts Friday and goes through Saturday. D&R isn't open on Sunday's.
And 45 minutes south of D&R is Lunker's. Way beyond any Gander Mountain I've ever been in, must rank right up there with BPS.
I know it sounds like a shameless plug but I also know you'ld be impressed.
Nowadays, it's Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, Barlow's (I make most of my own jigheads and spinnerbaits), and Xtreme Bass Tackle for all of my soft baits.
The two really good mom and pop tackle shops (Four Seasons Bait and Tackle, and Sportsman's Tackle), here in the Lansing area, are no longer in business. Stores like Walmart, Kmart, and Meijer's, then Gander, and Dick's Sporting Goods made it tough for them to survive.
I frequented both of these independents right up until they closed the doors. You could always find the things that no one else carried. And, if you had that "special" lure that always worked, they would be happy to order it for you.
We don't have any choice locally in Lansing unfortunately.
Dan, isn't D&R still open on Sundays from 10AM to 4PM? Randy had been doing that for a while now.
I make some purchases at BPS but most of my purchases are made online....I have a few favorites!!!
I still buy all of my tubes from Wayne Carpenter at Xtreme Bass Tackle. He has a store on Ebay.
Mom & Pop places... there's Knutson's.. I think it's in Britain, but I'm not sure of the town, only how to get there.
Other than that, it's Cabelas, Bass Pro, and gander mountain.
I try to go to Cabelas or Bass pro and get what I know Seth at South Street doesn't have. Gander and Dick's in Novi are also n the short list. South street carries a very imbresive amount of plastics and I go there atleast once a weekend through the summer. Seth is a great guy.
NExt time you see Seth, will you do me a favor and remind him to call me. I have left him a few messages but he hasnt got back with me yet. Tell him to call Brian McCarter, the Airrus Rods guy!
He is harder to get ahold of than the president.
PoorBoy himself :-\'
As if these rods didnt sound great enough and I was going to order atleast 2 of them. I go to the ABA site and login as member immediately I see member discounts and pop that down only to find that I get $20.00 off the Co-Matrix rods I want.
I'll give you hugs later Poorboy!
I'm from the South Bend, IN area so these places might not help at all but if you're in the area:
Stanley Marine in Koontz Lake, IN
Ye Olde Tackle Shope in Webster, IN
Lunker's in Edwardsburg is just as good as BPS in Guerney Mills
D & R Sportscenter in Kalamazoo is a stretch for me, but I love it
These are all great places although BPS gets a load of my money.
Duke