Does anyone sell fish bait?

steve-in-kville · #1 04/25/08, 08:09 PM

My boys and I are starting a new venture next week. I ordered a batch of red worms that we hope to raise in our compost bins. We do a lot of fishing ourselves but we hope to harvest worms for sale (we live near a small lake).

Has anyone sold fish bait? Was it more hassle than it was worth?

Quint · #2 04/26/08, 02:36 AM

I did when I was a kid. I sold my own nightcrawlers as well as selling to bait shops. It was a lot of work. I had to go out every night and get nghtcrawlers, keep the ones I had in the boxes alive, plus package up the ones I sold and make deliveries to the other bait shops.

At the time I was selling them for 1.50 a dozen and I sold them for 75 cents a dozen to the bait shops.

I also got into a sideline of making fishing sinkers. I'd scavenge lead wheel weights from tire shops or buy a bucket of lead from the scrap dealer and make sinkers with it. I had a bunch of sinker molds of various types. I got several from yard sales and ordered a few. Used a torch or even a simple fire to melt the lead at first but then I bought an electric lead melting ladle that held a pound or so of lead. Enough for a couple of molds. Even got into making jig heads and spinner baits. I sold the tackle and bait out of a shed. Had me a neat little store going. sold the sinkers and jigs to one bait shop but the owner of the other one made his own to sell so didn't buy from me.

I tried the red wrigglers one summer but they just didn't sell for me. Waxworms sold pretty well during ice fishing season. I tried crickets but they never sold well enough to make it worth the effort. Also tried crawdads but trying to run around and check traps was too much work for not enough reward. I made the best money on nightcrawlers and sinkers.

Is it worth the effort? Depends. You won't get rich at it but you might earn a little spending money. I made some good money at it but I worked my tail off doing it. I think it would be an excellent for kids. I learned a lot from it. I made some money, learned responsibility and took great pride in my enterprise. It simply felt good to have my own little "store" where adults would come to buy what I was selling.

MELOC · #3 04/26/08, 07:19 AM

i have a problem with our great commonwealth of PA requiring a person to have a permit to sell fishing bait. if not for that, i would probably sell nightcrawlers every spring. i just don't need tha hassle and a commonwealth picking my pocket over worms, lol. i thought about sellingand advertising them for "garden use only", but i doubt the idea would fly, lol.

Charleen · #4 04/26/08, 07:43 AM

As Quint posted, I also sold worms when I was a kid. A really little kid. I'd spend time watering gardens, going out at night to collect. Dad helped me construct some bins that we kept under the evergreen trees. Always feeding the boxes, packaging up worms. I don't think they were even 50¢ for a dozen and most of the fisherman that came were retired men in the neighborhood that gave me $1 tip.

Now I see live bait vending machines.
I'm sure NYS has regs up the wazoo now for even a little kid selling worms to make candy money. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

steve-in-kville · #5 04/26/08, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MELOC

i have a problem with our great commonwealth of PA requiring a person to have a permit to sell fishing bait. if not for that, i would probably sell nightcrawlers every spring. i just don't need tha hassle and a commonwealth picking my pocket over worms, lol. i thought about sellingand advertising them for "garden use only", but i doubt the idea would fly, lol.

I was not aware of this. How does one get a permit and is it costly?

MELOC · #6 04/26/08, 08:59 AM

i am pretty sure it is still regulated as such. you should be able to find out from the fish commision itself. maybe there is info on the pa website.

MELOC · #7 04/26/08, 09:07 AM

i am looking here http://www.fish.state.pa.us/mpag1.htm and i don't see any info about worms. maybe i was wrong?

steve-in-kville · #8 04/26/08, 12:35 PM

I talked with someoen else todat that sells minnows and worms and he never had a permit, much less heard of needing one.

Longin2LiveFree · #9 04/27/08, 04:46 PM

I just started to compost with worms and if you have a healthy compost you can easily make more worms. Law abiding, I can't see a problem with a little stand with a dorm fridge and paying on honor?