bait

[seppi 19]

Any bait shops in town have jumbo leeches ? Thanks Seppi

[Foozer 194]

Larry’s in KB has some over the weekend.

Couple other places I tried were out.

 

 

[SILVER MINNOW BAIT SHOP 129]

Wiggleys and Silver Minnow have both had leeches all summer. Dont think anyone has had the jumbos this year tho.  Still selling by the lb for anyone looking also.

[James01 223]

Just went to Larry's (same shop under a new name), ordered medium-large and large minnows, and I got a bag full of minnows I would hardly call medium (many were what I deem medium-small). Very disappointed, likely won't go back ... 

 

I asked about the minnows in the bag and the guy said "yep, that's them." I had people in the truck waiting for me so I just paid for them and left.  

 

I will not go back.

[speckmaster 114]

Well that’s not good. Hopefully the small ones lured some fish in. 

[RatherBeFishin 86]

Meds definitly have gotten alot smaller over the years. I got some the other day and i was worried i was gonna split them in half when i put a hook through em....

[nunez 10]

They charge a lot these days. They should at least be the size u ask for. 

[James01 223]

18 hours ago, speckmaster said:

Well that’s not good. Hopefully the small ones lured some fish in. 

No, they did not. We were fishing for lake trout. We had some success but only on a couple of minnows that were the size we expected. 

 

I really should have said "I am not taking those" when I was in the bait shop. But like I said, I had people waiting in the truck, and I had a line up of people behind me waiting for their bait. So I paid and left, like an idiot.

[Feldwebel Wolfenstool 80]

I worked a bait shop out Arthur St. for a few months for some clowns....they wanted me to put the "large" sign on the "medium" tank when we ran out of the big ones...

[Bobber Down 921]

James01: The owners are members of this site. Fishbum and thefisher Easy to get in touch with for an explanation or just call their shop. I'm sure everyone has had a unhappy experience at a bait shop. I've had a few.

 

One tip I can give, and this is for everyone, if minnow size is important try not to order by small med large etc but by inches. This weeks large can be last weeks small if that's all they have at the time. Tell the shop they must be at least 4 or 5 or 6 etc inches long. If they can't take the time or don't have minnows in the size you want, shop elsewhere. Try to plan ahead.

 

It's unfortunate Snag??? took it upon himself to attack you and give his personal opinion on the status of your life.

 

I see the posts in question have been removed.

 

Forum guidelines are clear. "Personal Attacks. Criticize ideas, not people. Flaming will not be tolerated."

 

 https://fishingboard.thunderbayfishing.com/index.php?/guidelines/

 

[Snag??? 173]

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[Jayfishin 63]

I always ask to see the bait before I specific a size as it varies everywhere I go....almost like a large in one brand of clothing isn't the same as another.  Buying bait without looking would be like ordering a shirt on Amazon without being able to try it on first. My two cents worth of bait talk....just glad that cold weather is behind us now!

 

[Zackcorbin1401 542]

On 2/21/2021 at 6:02 PM, RatherBeFishin said:

Meds definitly have gotten alot smaller over the years. I got some the other day and i was worried i was gonna split them in half when i put a hook through em....

Having used to work at a bait ship for multiple years....Mediums should be an 18 in the graders, a lot of the times when stock is low that gets moved down which lets a lot of little ones mixed in with few mediums

[Bobber Down 921]

5 hours ago, Zackcorbin1401 said:

Having used to work at a bait ship for multiple years....Mediums should be an 18 in the graders, a lot of the times when stock is low that gets moved down which lets a lot of little ones mixed in with few mediums

 

Yup.....just like diluting coffee. When you sell a cup from the pot add a cup of water. Make more money from each pot. Works for the business because the price stays the same but after awhile when the customer notices the taste is off they go elsewhere.

 

I suppose though that this time of year it's tougher to get minnows. I don't know for sure. Is it?

 

Does the demand for minnows die down in the winter so much that it's not worth all the time, effort and expense to get out there and get them? I don't know for sure. Is it?

 

Do the minnow ponds, lakes and creeks get thinned out size wise? Too much harvesting from whatever bodies of water the bait is taken from in the spring and summer makes the available winter size smaller. I don't know for sure. Is that it?

 

There are at least 4 members here that have bait shops. Maybe they can shed some light on the topic instead of being the topic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[arvey 154]

I use to own a bait shop back in the nineties , so i can only speak from my experience back then . There was10 bait shops from TBay to Kakabeka and i don't think anyone was closed in the winter or shortened hours. I wasn't but i sold sporting goods and sharpened skates too . There was bait shops around town that stayed open all winter and that's pretty much what they sold . In those days if you didn't have a trapline then you had to rely on wholesalers , i used to get minnows from Ignace brought in by Greyhound or from Beardmore if nobody around town had bait. I know this i would never juggle prices but then again i didn't have to . I maybe wrong but the bait business it's what it use to be . just my 2 cents.

[Snag??? 173]

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[Dirty Sanchenz 58]

FYI, if you are heading out tomorrow Wiggleys has no minnows, employee told me maybe in a couple of days.

[Philip 6]

love!

[Philip 6]

🥺

[Blackfootbaits 53]

Morning everyone:  These are the grader sizes that we have been using since opening in 2002  Small are under 18/64ths,  medium 18 to 21/64ths, medium large 21 to 24/64ths and large and extra large are over 24.

The only thing that should make a difference in the size of your minnow is species ie. fat heads  are the shortest because of the thickness of the minnow, however pearl dace are thinner so that makes a longer medium.  As for asking for you bait in inches,  not every ones 4 inches are  the same.  

Just because we may be out of medium does not mean we use a different size grader.  

 

Hope that this helps a little

Bruce

 

 

[SILVER MINNOW BAIT SHOP 129]

I think Bruce already covered pretty much everything on how we grade minnows.  The main thing people should remember is that different species of minnow determine the size.  The same grader sizes are used for all minnows and minnows are mixed with all types when you trap them or buy them.  If your getting predominantly fatheads in a batch then your minnow is going to look smaller because they are shorter and thicker.  A pearl dace for example is long and skinny so your going to get a much bigger minnow going through the same grader sizes.  That being said you should always take a look at the bait before you buy it and if its not the size you were looking for ask for something smaller or bigger if its available.   We try our best to always have what your looking for when you come in but sometimes its impossible.  Trapping definitely is better in the fall and spring than it is in the middle of summer or winter.   Bait shops do a tonne of calling, driving and searching for bait in those tougher times trying to keep our tanks stocked with all sizes but as I said its not always possible.  

 

Hope everyone is getting out there to enjoy the last bit of hard water this season.  Before you know it we'll all be in boats for May Long!    

 

Stay Safe and Tight Lines

 

Josh

 

 

[Snag??? 173]

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[BenjisGrandpa 30]

Well, it’s that time of year again and it also just so happens that once again I went to Larry’s baits for bait due to the convenience of where I was at the time and yes I called to confirm they had little suckers for walleye. Once arriving at the lake I realized my 2 dozen suckers ($30) were not little eye candy suckers at all. They were all 8” or longer lol. And before we get the warriors telling me I should have checked the bag first, they were closing at noon and I had called and asked for them to be left outside as I wouldn’t be there until around 1230, and I shouldn’t have to confirm something that was made very clear on the phone. So here we are, same crap different day so to speak. 
 

so  once again I wasted $30 and crappy bait which means crappy fishing. what better way to do it than to tell a customer they have something, have them drive away from any other bait shops and corner the market.
im sure this will get blamed on the “young naive students” they hire and/or the price of gas 😂

 

cam on Churchill gets another point!! 

[Snag??? 173]

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[#One 41]

14 hours ago, Snag??? said:

I’m usually on ice with lines in water before bait shops lights are on. I usually have a few frozen minnows left over from ones I don’t use prior trips. Prefer to use artificial baits, the rippin shad or rap while still dark out makes for a larger target and rattles bring them in but the slab rap once it gets lighter out seems to work well. I only fished hour got 5 walleye missed one marked 3 others before returning home to drop off wife’s purse as she had appointments. We both forgot it was in back seat from previous day we were on lac at pine point. Once again slab rap was king, didn’t need bait there neither. Don’t need a flasher neither but is handy have.

What colour and length Slab rap do you recommend?