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https://www.mysticparts.com
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May 18th, 1985 Scott's Bait and Tackle's birthday! May 18th 2020 Scott retires? I think so. It's been an amazing 35 years. The kids that were working for me in the early days now have kids of their own! Seniors, quite a few of them have passed on and are still remembered; everyone a good friend.
Four years ago, I tried to step away again and failed. Since then it has been a good run, but there is less and less business each year as the regulations and season closures are choking the life out of the retail bait and tackle business. In the year 2000, there were nine employees working here on a Saturday; last year, only two or three handled the customer flow efficiently. That is a pretty extreme change. In the late 1990's there was a 4th of July weekend where Russ told Danny Giberson that we needed 110 gallons of minnows for the weekend and Danny later told us he was thinking "Yeah, Right" and it turned out I think the final count was 114 gallons. Fluke fishing isn't like that anymore!
In the years 1999-2000 we would sell 3000 shedder crabs a week, except for the random dozen crabs someone dropped off now and again, I haven't stocked shedders in over ten years. Again, a really big difference in sales when your weakfish are scarce and the bag limit is one. Around 2010, when the Striped Bass fishing in Little Egg Inlet was EPIC, we had back to back weeks where we sold 165 bushels of clams. In 2019, we were lucky if we were even able buy 165 bushels for the entire season, due to the lack of clams being harvested as well as no need for that volume of bait anymore since the big bass just have not returned to the Little Egg Inlet in the fall, possibly due to the change in the inlet structure. Back then, a quality shop like Fisherman's Headquarters would weigh in more stripers for the LBI surf derby on LBI on a Friday afternoon then the entire derby weighs in for the whole fall tournament last fall season.
I suppose my point is, fishing in south New Jersey has really changed.
If you have a question that is not answered below, you can contact us at support@scottsbt.com and Mo will do her best to answer.
Q: I have a gift certificate; what now?
All gift certificates will be honored. Some may choose to redeem them for the cash value, maybe needing the money now for food or other serious expenses. I can exchange them now, please call the shop 609-296-1300 and we can trade them in a no contact transaction.
2021 Special Entry Sale Day
Folks willing to wait to use them will get a golden ticket shopping spree appointment where they can purchase most anything in the store at an additional 25% discount. This will not happen for maybe a year? I am not opening the shop until the pandemic has stabilized as we all know it just isn't going to go away.
Q: What about my rods/reels I have there that I left over the winter for service, how can I get them?
Give us a phone call at 609-296-1300, we have taken payments over the phone using a credit card for other customers already; it takes about five minutes or so to create the order. No cash payments please, as I just do not want to come in contact with the currency. The exchange is easy done with a phone call; "I am coming over in five minutes, can you leave my rod/reel out front?"
Q: Will you still be doing reel repair?
Later this year or 2021, depending how things go. Once Covid19 restrictions are lifted, yes, we will still be repairing fishing reels and doing Penn reel warranty work under Mystic Reel Parts dept. We expect when we do so to keep preventative health measures and social distancing in place for the foreseable future.
Q: Why are you not letting people in you store one at a time like other shops do?
It's just not safe. It's numbers game. Sooner or later someone who doesn't even know they are infected will be the next customer. It is really important for me to know the shop is clean as we continue to work here every day in the back rooms of the bait shop running the Mystic Reel Parts online business. If I do get sick, then I risk that business too. Not to mention several immune-compromised members of our household/staff and one very, very frail senior that we could end up bringing this home to.
Q: Is the bait shop for sale and are you going to have a going out of business sale?
No. The building serves as the home office and packing department for Mystic Reel Parts. We will still have some reels, rods and misc tackle for sale related to the parts business.
Also, it is my back up plan insurance policy against the collapse of my parts business. There are no guarantees that the company that owns Penn and makes and supplies parts to us will financially survive the pandemic.
Our closest neighbor with a nice selection of bait annd tackle is Great Bay Marina, a little pearl of a bait and tackle shop and restaurant on the South end of Radio Road on the Great Bay.
Q: Aren't you using the Covid19 pandemic as an excuse for closing?
This question is hurtful, but I guess the honest answer is probably yes. This is not first time I have tried to run away. My first breakdown was back in the year 2000, when I physically and mentally hit my breaking point. Wayne Schwarts of Great Bay Products and I would tease each other on who broke working 100 hours that week. Too many times we both did. My Father and brother had an intervention with me and talked me off a ledge and we reorganized my schedule to start being closed on Tuesdays. I actually went to lunch on that first Tuesday off with my wife and we had already been married over ten years. I was never out of the shop in the middle of a day before.
Tuesdays off lasted for a little while, but somehow I was still working, maybe doing repairs or catching bait; workaholic catching up, but that was ok as I was out of the four walls and not stuck to time schedule. It still helped a lot, because I could stay up late on a Monday night and not worry about getting up at 5:00am the following morning.
Q: Don't you feel like your betraying your customers?
Yes, without a doubt, my selfish decision will affect many people. Not only my customers will be affected, my vendors, my bait catchers, my employees including future up and coming first job employees and well as many clubs and organizations will miss my participation in their events. My only defense is to implore you to think about of the 35 years that I have worked hard every day, seven days a week to make it all work and be appreciative of those past accomplishments.
Q: Is Scott's Bait and Tackle permanently closed?
The world is in flux; there isn't a 100% decision at this point. If I think I can open next March 1st with less hours of involvement in the shop, or come up with a more manageable schedule for myself, and bring in a staff of a few folks that I am sure will not get sick, then there is a possibility.
Friends: Who knows, this retirement thing might work for me and I can finally cash in all those fishing trips that I have been invited on all these years! I am fully confident that I will not open in 2020. Even now, there are already talks of cancelled concerts and no public school for the fall of 2020.
Q: What will I miss the most? This question took a few minutes to mull over.
Hands down, it's parents with their kids coming through the shop with the kids as excited as a Christmas morning gripping a couple of bucks and asking to get bait, asking to feed the bird, play in the minnow tank or hoping to pick out a special lure that usually turned out to be some kind of plastic worm. It was the sheer innocent happiness that would melt your heart.
One job! Well, that and maybe live a little. Mystic Reel Parts is a full time job in itself. I am a workaholic by nature; so not much is going to change there. (Mo says it would be nice if I just had a 40hr work week and real days off)
You have been so great to us for all of these years and we cannot tell you all how much it means to us all.
There are too many people to even beginning naming and that just amazes us to the point of tears.
Thank you! Scott, Maureen, Family & Crew