How to Open a Bait Shop

Last Updated: October 3, 2019

A bait shop is a glorious thing. It is also the most indispensable place for all angler men and women. It will easily become a hub of local meetings to discuss fishing, the weather, the state of tourism, etc. If you're keen to run such a shop, this article provides a number of ideas to consider.

Steps

1
Locate a suitable place to set up shop. This should probably be custom built to fit your needs. It would be helpful to locate it near to good fishing areas.^{[1]
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2
Buy the equipment. This means you need at least two special refrigerators. By special, this means that they shouldn't exceed 4 feet (1.2 m) tall, and will need to have a glass or see-through door.^{[2]
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3
Help the neighborhood kids. Tell them that you are going to open a shop and they can have a bit of money for finding worms. You will later go through these and sort them by size and fairly label them with a price tag. Keep this offer going for as long as you are open.
4
Get a manufacturer's catalog. Buy at least 30 packages of each type and size. If a bait type comes in multiple colors, buy only the practical ones. That means yellow, glow-in-the-dark, silver, red and green. Don't worry about cost; ask a bank for a loan to cover just this.^{[3]
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5
Pricing, make sure you make double the profit. This means that if you buy a 50 packs of yellow rubber worms for 20 dollars, you need to make at least 50 dollars return.
6
Buy all other baits that you get requests for. This can be done before opening, using a survey. Hint: Most people will tell you what they like if you offer them a coupon.^{[4]
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7
Save money on shelving units by using baskets with small holes. Just put all your rubber flies, jigs and baits in their respective containers, with a label for each individual price.
8
Put your worms in the little Styrofoam boxes that you can buy from the catalog. Also, only buy specialty worms from the live bait section. Many people buy earthworms, only to have some kid ask if they can get paid for finding worms.
9
Buy nets, fly fishing rods and normal fishing rods to put in a special section of your store.^{[5]
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Community Q&A

Question

Who can help me start my bait shop?

Community Answer

Try asking another bait shop owner for help, they tend to be very helpful and could set you on your way. Also, ask friends and family for help.

Warnings

Always remember to lock your register, doors and windows to prevent thieves.

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Helpful 18 Not Helpful 3
Be sure to make friends with the head of police. You will get some fisherman down on his luck trying to steal some bait.

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Helpful 19 Not Helpful 7
Please make sure you pay back your loans.

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Helpful 16 Not Helpful 6
If you sell beer, only sell to people over 21. Ask for ID of anyone who looks under 25; let them know it's a compliment.

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Helpful 12 Not Helpful 9