What towns in Alberta do you think are in need of a fishing store

[J D]

I am working on relocating back to Alberta and I am debating on opening a fishing store.

What towns in Alberta do you guys believe are in the need of a fishing store?

[Rikkles Fisher]

There is only one fishing store in Rocky Mountain House and it is not even on the main road, Rocky is starting grounds for lots of people's fishing trips.

[hacman]

What towns in Alberta do you guys believe are in the need of a fishing store?[/QUOTE]

Safe to say, all of them! But, we could use another option down south that actually has stock. Come and give WSS some competition.

[WayneChristie]

Medicine Hat. definitely.

[lippy]

X2 Medicine Hat is seriously lacking a fishing store!

[sheepguide]

Rocky needs one bad. Dont really have anything other than Crappy Tire!!

[slough shark]

Cold Lake seems to have a lack of fishing/hunting supplies, whenever I go there to visit the in-laws the canadian tire is the only shop in town I believe.

[saskpikeman]

There is an exsile in cold lake now.

[MoFugger21]

For my own selfish reasons, I'd say Vulcan. :) Other than the gas stations and Home Hardware, it's a trip to the city to pick up supplies. And I always thought a fishing/hunting/camping/outdoors store would do well in Vulcan.

[Rikkles Fisher]

Rocky needs one bad. Dont really have anything other than Crappy Tire!!

They do have one outdoor store there but it is difficult to find and seems to be a little more hunting based than fishing.

[sheepguide]

They do have one outdoor store there but it is difficult to find and seems to be a little more hunting based than fishing.

Timber Creek closed its doors. Unless a new one opened this year they dont have a hunting or fishing store.

[mattpreat]

They do have one outdoor store there but it is difficult to find and seems to be a little more hunting based than fishing.

Where at? Timber Creek Outdoors closed down last year I believe. One day they had a piece of paper stuck to the door saying closed and they never did come back up.

Edit: Sheepguide beat me to it

[npauls]

What towns in Alberta do you guys believe are in the need of a fishing store?

Safe to say, all of them! But, we could use another option down south that actually has stock. Come and give WSS some competition.[/QUOTE]

X2.

We live right off of the Oldman river and have tons of rivers and reservoirs within an hours drive and Wholesale can't seem to keep a solid inventory of the stuff that is needed to fish around here.

[Rikkles Fisher]

Good to know you guys, I was there not this summer but last and it was open, it doesn't surprise me though. There used to be that one on Main Street and it was a great great store it closed down at least 3 or 4 years ago though.

[huntsfurfish]

Safe to say, all of them! But, we could use another option down south that actually has stock. Come and give WSS some competition.

X2.

We live right off of the Oldman river and have tons of rivers and reservoirs within an hours drive and Wholesale can't seem to keep a solid inventory of the stuff that is needed to fish around here.[/QUOTE]

agree x2+1

[pinelakeperch]

I'd say Brooks. We don't have anything other than CT, Wal-Mart, and gas stations. Lots of good lakes close to town and a ton of fishermen.

[jacenbeers]

Milo, AB

[EZM]

Problem is - the revenue $ needed to support the costs of operating a store and carrying the inventory to make it a worthwhile place to shop.

Some of the bigger towns like Cold Lake, Lloydminster, Med Hat etc... can barely support a smaller store. A big box store would go broke quickly.

[npauls]

If someone opened a well stocked fishing shop here in Lethbridge and kept their inventory up they would have a gold mine. It may take some money to get it going but it wouldn't be long before the word got out and everyone would flock to that shop.

As it is now most of the guys I know are either ordering most of their gear online or heading up to Calgary to The fishin hole or Bass pro.

[huntsfurfish]

If someone opened a well stocked fishing shop here in Lethbridge and kept their inventory up they would have a gold mine. It may take some money to get it going but it wouldn't be long before the word got out and everyone would flock to that shop.

As it is now most of the guys I know are either ordering most of their gear online or heading up to Calgary to The fishin hole or Bass pro.

True.
A Fishin Hole here should do very well, if they would come.

[pinelakeperch]

Milo, AB

For all 4 residents :sHa_sarcasticlol:

[J D]

Not into big cities so a town is more my style. Not talking about a big box store more of a respectable shop that trys to meet the fishermen's needs.

As a fishermen I completely understand the frustration of not being able to find the basics you need for your days out on the water. For years I have found my self hitting up multiple stores just to find my fly tying supplies and tackle.

This is not something that I will just jump into as it will involve a lot of research to do things successfully. This is something that will defiantly take time.

Thanks for your input because it is important to hear the opinions of Alberta fishermen if this is something I want to do successfully. When I am further along in this process I will defiantly be looking for more input.

[Wild&Free]

High Prairie or Slave Lake would be my vote. HP has the hardware store and SL has a CT but quality and quantity are lacking. Lots of place within a reasonable drive to fish here but gear has to come from GP or Edmonton unless it's basic stuff. Thee WSS in GP really isn't that great, low stock, lack or certain proven lures, last year none of the staff knew what a wetaskawin was.

[lannie]

High Prairie or Slave Lake would be my vote. HP has the hardware store and SL has a CT but quality and quantity are lacking. Lots of place within a reasonable drive to fish here but gear has to come from GP or Edmonton unless it's basic stuff. Thee WSS in GP really isn't that great, low stock, lack or certain proven lures, last year none of the staff knew what a wetaskawin was.

What the heck is a Wetaskiwin?

[Lefty-Canuck]

What the heck is a Wetaskiwin?

Wetaskiwin Special of course:)

https://www.thefishinhole.com/index.cfm?action=products.search

LC

[J D]

Wetaskiwin Special of course:)

https://www.thefishinhole.com/index.cfm?action=products.search

LC

Good lure for ling ;)

[kevinhits]

Milo, AB

x2....HAHA

Have run out of smelts a couple of times at mcgregor:)

[bobalong]

Not into big cities so a town is more my style. Not talking about a big box store more of a respectable shop that trys to meet the fishermen's needs.

As a fishermen I completely understand the frustration of not being able to find the basics you need for your days out on the water. For years I have found my self hitting up multiple stores just to find my fly tying supplies and tackle.

This is not something that I will just jump into as it will involve a lot of research to do things successfully. This is something that will defiantly take time.

Thanks for your input because it is important to hear the opinions of Alberta fishermen if this is something I want to do successfully. When I am further along in this process I will defiantly be looking for more input.

I was in fishing retail for about 10 years, 7 as a store manager and 3 as a buyer. Owning a fishing store in a smaller city will be a challenge, to say the least. With the information available online, you will have some customers wanting everything they read about, and they want it fairly quickly.

Something new comes out, customers want it........for a month or two and then something else comes out. This is especially true with fly tying material. If you are in the southern part of the province, this may work, but in the North part of the province, pike, walleye, and perch are king, and the fly sales were far, far less.

I purchased all the fly fishing materials that our stores carried. Fly fishing which included flies, lines, leaders, rods, reels, pontoon boats, vests, etc, accounted for about 20% of the inventory and about 5% of the sales in the northern part of the province. The southern part sales were higher, even with a lot more competition for fly tying. A lot of the fly shops in Calgary also employ guides which brings a lot of business in as well. You do not have the competition in the north, with no dedicated fly shops, but you do not have near the fly fishing opportunities (especially year round) like you have in the south.

Fishing is my passion and I enjoyed the work. I was not an owner, but as an owner expect to work at least 16hrs/day for at least the first year. Cash flow is your lifeline, whatever you plan on for inventory and cash flow, double it, and you will be about right.

IMO in a smaller city, an all around hunting and fishing shop would do much better, but whatever you choose, Good Luck, everyone always likes a new fishing store, and I wish you all the best!

[BGSH]

Alberta beach

[pikergolf]

I considered running a mail order fly tying shop out of my home. I ended up in Calgary WSS and had a quick look at the fly tying materials they had. I quickly realized that I couldn't begin to afford to carry proper stocks of even fly materials, and I thought they were poorly stocked. In the age of mail order I just can't see a small shop making it anymore unless you are in a big centre. Because I buy my stuff mail order I am only interested in buying from someone that carries everything because ordering from a few different places carries some hefty postage charges, best to get everything in one place.

[Redfrog]

Tough business to make a good living from. You need a lot of volume out the door and I doubt it is reasonable to do in small town Alberta, r it would be happening now. Many open and struggle for a couple of years and then close up shop.
I'm not saying it can't be done, just that I've yet to see it.

BTW we have no shops in Bodo, me and the other guy will beat the drum if you want to set up here.:)

[J D]

I was in fishing retail for about 10 years, 7 as a store manager and 3 as a buyer. Owning a fishing store in a smaller city will be a challenge, to say the least. With the information available online, you will have some customers wanting everything they read about, and they want it fairly quickly.

Something new comes out, customers want it........for a month or two and then something else comes out. This is especially true with fly tying material. If you are in the southern part of the province, this may work, but in the North part of the province, pike, walleye, and perch are king, and the fly sales were far, far less.

I purchased all the fly fishing materials that our stores carried. Fly fishing which included flies, lines, leaders, rods, reels, pontoon boats, vests, etc, accounted for about 20% of the inventory and about 5% of the sales in the northern part of the province. The southern part sales were higher, even with a lot more competition for fly tying. A lot of the fly shops in Calgary also employ guides which brings a lot of business in as well. You do not have the competition in the north, with no dedicated fly shops, but you do not have near the fly fishing opportunities (especially year round) like you have in the south.

Fishing is my passion and I enjoyed the work. I was not an owner, but as an owner expect to work at least 16hrs/day for at least the first year. Cash flow is your lifeline, whatever you plan on for inventory and cash flow, double it, and you will be about right.

IMO in a smaller city, an all around hunting and fishing shop would do much better, but whatever you choose, Good Luck, everyone always likes a new fishing store, and I wish you all the best!


Been self employed for the last 12 years and completely understand how it can command long hours. I will agree 100% that most under estimate the expenses involved and this is were most fail in business.

You are defiantly correct on location will dictate what is in demand. A hunting/fishing store is something I have considered depending on the market for the area. Reading the market wrong is a death sentence for a business.

I am not one to rush things and like analyse everything before I jump into it. This is only the early stages and will involve a lot more time and research.

In the end if it does not look like I can do this successfully in an area I am comfortable living in I will look at other options. At this time I need to decide if this is something I can do or should it be left a dream.

[Fishfinder]

Medicine Hat. definitely.

I heard we are getting one. Dunno name. It will also be hunting/camping. I think it's 1 of 3 stores going in old Canada Tire building. Hope so!!


-btw, congrats on the 2 hun bud. Very impressive and well deserved.:)

[JReed]

Cochrane needs a fishing store

[Feddy]

Hinton!!!!!!! Please the one store is more for hunting and you have jasper grande cache in the area! Lots of good fishing here with no where to buy gear. Oh ya let's not forget about all the great hunting for elk bighorn moose etc. in the areas as well

[huntsfurfish]

I heard we are getting one. Dunno name. It will also be hunting/camping. I think it's 1 of 3 stores going in old Canada Tire building. Hope so!!


-btw, congrats on the 2 hun bud. Very impressive and well deserved.:)

Good Medicine Hat could use one badly.