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| What's your favorite place to purchase musky stuff and why? |
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Posts: 897
| MTO because I like to save money. Best prices and fast shipping, can't beat that! |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Mine would be Musky Tackle Online. http://www.muskytackleonline.com/ Short story but when I started fishing musky I found MTO and I thought for sure he had all of his prices screwed up. Got my first order and put another order in before he fixed his prices!  8 years later and he still has not "fixed" his prices. On average he is 10%+ (or more) less than MSRP.
I will not name the musky shops that do this but a few sell above retail in the list above. Just make sure you price check before you buy IMO. I think you will find fairly decent price differences for the same musky/pike lures from musky shop to musky shop plus most do not have free shipping offers, (MTO does).
Also, Cabelas, Dick's and Bass Pro are nice to visit the stores in person because they do have bargain caves and specials you will not see online. They both keep close eyes on retail prices too and they will have musky lures at or below MSRP many times too. Bass Pro is getting a lot more musky lure selection in their stores and online. Last time I was at the Iowa BP they had a full isle of musky /pike lures. I was impressed by the increase in larger lures there. Dicks also has a decent amount of musky and pike lures on the shelves and they have good prices. Worth a stop if you are near these stores too.
JMO from my lure buying experiences,
James
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| If I’m placing a larger order or getting rods and reels and stuff I’ll order from the tackle shops like Rollies , Thornes, or other local tackle shops. I like to be able to go to their store front and support these “Ma and Pa” operations. If there is just one lure I’m interested in getting I like going directly to the baitmaker, I think it’s cool to have the personal interaction with the guys making the stuff.
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Posts: 547
Location: Oshkosh | Mine is The Sportsman in Appleton!
Peter |
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Posts: 572
| Musky Tackle Online - great customer service, prices, fast shipping, etc. Thanks to Aaron. |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | If it's just baits we're talking about, I shop with Aaron at Musky Tackle Online. Free shipping on all orders $75 or more + no local sales tax means in today's economy, you can really save a lot of cash by shopping with Aaron.
If it's something really obscure or hard to find, then I check locally with The Sportsman in Appleton and then Big Wood Musky Lures! If I still can't find it (and depending upon how much I want it) - then chances are, I can order it online with Rollie & Helen's but then I get dinged for shipping costs (very high, IMO) & local sales tax. |
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| whynot - 4/28/2011 10:12 AM
MTO because I like to save money. Best prices and fast shipping, can't beat that!
+1 and i would add aaron is a great guy to deal whit |
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| Thank you to all that voted and/or responded. Your input it appreciated. |
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| bigwoodmuskylures.com.
all the name brand stuff and a bunch of exclusive baits that you cant find anywhere else. some of the lowest prices and extremely fast shipping. |
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Location: Oswego, IL | whynot - 4/28/2011 9:12 AM
MTO because I like to save money. Best prices and fast shipping, can't beat that!
Ditto! |
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Posts: 2068
Location: Appleton,WI | two thumbs up for bigwood! |
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Posts: 458
| MTO has great prices, delivery and most important service! |
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Location: Illinois | Pastikas. Oldest bait shop, great selection, helpful staff. Source of my childhood wonderment- so many fancy and colorful lures! They're good to order online from as well. Prompt delivery. I don't mind paying a couple bucks more that I might save elsewhere to support my favorite baitshop. I could depend on Patiskas for 30 years, so that counts for something in my book!
MTO is really good, I do business there too, it's just not a baitshop by my definition. If you don't sell night crawlers, you ain't one! |
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Posts: 727
| The sportsman in Appleton, the owner is very nice and they have great prices. |
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Posts: 415
Location: madison wisconsin | Dorn's in Madison. |
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Posts: 107
Location: central illinois | MTO. I can place an order and get the colors I want because he keeps his color chart updated. The place I used to buy from would call me 4 days after I placed my order to tell me they were out of more than 50% of the colors I wanted for just about every order! Free shipping over $75, delivery in two days, color charts updated...MTO is the way to go! Hopefully, lure manufacturers will start to notice MTO's popularity, so he can increase his product line(SS Shads) and I won't have to order from anyone else. |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | dway - 4/28/2011 5:01 PM MTO. I can place an order and get the colors I want because he keeps his color chart updated. The place I used to buy from would call me 4 days after I placed my order to tell me they were out of more than 50% of the colors I wanted for just about every order! Free shipping over $75, delivery in two days, color charts updated...MTO is the way to go! Hopefully, lure manufacturers will start to notice MTO's popularity, so he can increase his product line(SS Shads) and I won't have to order from anyone else. Thanks for mentioning this... this is another reason why I love ordering from MTO. I know what's in stock and I know what a certain lure color looks like. Do any of you know what color "mocha brown coconut frappuccino extravaganza" looks like? ...neither do I. I really like the selection of some of the other online websites, but their website isn't updated regularly and they don't have photographs of the various color patterns. I'm certainly not going to call the business and ask them to explain to me over the telephone what a particular color looks like... MTO is awesome about this. |
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Posts: 208
| Thornbrothers
Service
Variety
Experienced Staff
Service
Knowledgeable Staff |
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Posts: 40
Location: Baxter, MN | MTO....
Great selection, prices, free shipping, and exceptional customer service.
Aaron is always willing to offer advice and answer questions too. |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | From a manufacturing point of view I love dealing with Aaron at Musky Tackle Online, he pays his bills fast, he is the only retailer who carries all 1000+ of my products and he is easy to work with. A+++ all the way from a manufacturers point of view. He has had a lot of great input on lures I have built and have coming out soon too from colors to lure designs. Now he just need a bigger building so I can make more stuff for him to sell! LOL And I thought I had a storage problem...... |
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Posts: 709
Location: sun prairie,wi | i heard though the grape vine that he was getting a bigger place.....
tyler |
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| Can't say enough about Aaron at M.T.O. Great prices,Great customer service and Great shipping costs.
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Posts: 41
| muskellunged - 4/28/2011 2:26 PM
I don't mind paying a couple bucks more that I might save elsewhere to support my favorite baitshop.
I agree ,thats why I go to the sportsman. got to keep Pete in business. Plus he lets use his shop for meetings |
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| Never had much luck finding what I needed at the Sportsman so I order from Thorne Bros. and I always got fast shipping and they seemed eager to do business with me.
Musky1
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Posts: 305
| Favorite is Buy/Sell here at M1! But agree that Aaron at MTO is great. I do enjoy exploring an actual bait shop...a little crawler/sucker juice on its floor is a plus. |
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Posts: 203
Location: Minnesota | MTO... already left a testimonial on MTO website so no need to repeat myself here!!! LOL
On serious note, Aaron has such an excellent customer service and customer rapport... He will try his hardest to get what you are looking for... and for me, he hasnt failed... yet still offered me the lowest price anywhere...
Just cant beat Musky Tackle Online hands down!!! He also offers far more custom colored baits... thats another positive mark... |
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Posts: 112
Location: Nielsen's Fly-In Lodge, on Rowan Lake | REEDS SPORTING GOODS |
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Location: Hartford Wi | MTO is not a (shop). It can be cheap becuase it has way less overhead to survive.
I love Smokey's Many of reasons but john is the #*#*! Rollies and Pastikas are both great seconds. I have lots of memories in both of those growning up. Those are shops!
just my 2cents |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | John really does a great job making sure your trip to the ol' Musky Shop is far from just running another errand - he makes it fun and welcomes everyone genuinly. Smokey's is a great shop with great people, although I'm sure that can be said about all of the above listed places. |
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I'll second Reed's in Walker.
They give a 10% discount to all Muskie Inc. members and have supported the Fargo/Moorhead chapter for 20 years.
Doesn't hurt they have the best prices on rods/reels around, and a great selection of lures.
JS |
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Posts: 200
Location: Minnesota | I prefer to walk in and buy stuff. I don't mind buying online if I absolutely have to, but I'd rather do it in person. Call me old fashioned.
Because of that, I prefer either Thorne Bros because they're fairly close (45 min) or Blue Ribbon Bait in Oakdale, MN because they're close to me, have a decent selection, and good conversation. Joe's also has a really good selection.
I'd probably pass out if I ever walked into Rollie and Helen's. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | I'm with the local tackle shop guys. And if I do buy off the web I make sure they have a store front and aren't just some dude and his computer typing in drop ship orders. |
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| no offense. but i think some of you guys have some real misconceptions about the online stores. they have just as much tackle and inventory on hand as any store. its not just take your order and call musky innovations or whatever tackle maker and tell them to mail you three bulldawgs or whatever. just because they dont have an actual store front Aaron and Kyle work just as hard if not harder than an actual store. it takes rediculous amounts of time to design, maintain, add new baits and update inventory. not saying your wrong to support a local shop but to say you support your local shop because you dont want to give your money to some joe working out of his basement trying to make some easy money . is kinda shortsided. thumbs up to bigwood and mto. |
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| I agree with commens about differences between a "Musky Shop" and an online vendor. This is not to speak negatively about an online vendor ... they are great alternatives and provide needed competition. However I dont see them as a musky shop where you can speak to individuals in person, handle lures and enjoy the full experience of being there in person. Both options are great to have and meet a need for musky hunters. |
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Posts: 999
| Sportsman in Appleton hands down! Pete and Kevin will get you what you want! |
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Posts: 25
| Kurt's Island, no one come close to their custom baits. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | While it may not be what some of you are calling a tackle shop, I get nearly all of my tackle from Musky Tackle Online. The prices and service are second to none, and like the old Farm & Fleet commercial - "If he doesn't have it, I don't need it."
Quick example of the type of guy Aaron is. A month or so ago I had my email get hacked into. Somebody was sending emails from my account to advertise. Aaron at MTO was the FIRST person to let me know what was happening. Pretty amazing that "the guy I order baits from" was willing to take the time to help me out. It certainly wasn't going to make him any money in the short term, but that's the kind of guy that will get my business in the long term.
For the most part, I buy my baits at the MN musky show I attend each year and MTO.
Tucker |
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Posts: 129
Location: Glenmoore PA | MTO, best prices and ships fast! |
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Posts: 221
| Figure 8 Baits in Kenora!
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I hate all tackle shops whenever I go in one my money disappears |
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Posts: 299
| MTO and Big Wood. You got to remember not every state is like Mn or Wis. Here in SE Michigan we don't have any Muskie Shops. Zero! We have Bass Pro and Cabelas but the bait selection is weak. We have baits shops near LSC that carry some baits but a lot for trolling applications. When I need baits I have no choice to order online. I don't have the luxury of "stopping on the way" to the lake to pick up what I need. Heck, we can't even get suckers for livebait fishing. I've yet to see a bait shop near LSC carry suckers big enough to fish. I wish we could get our hands on some large suckers......It would be nice to have tackle shops dedicated to Muskies here in Michigan.
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Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | detroithardcore - You may have one coming soon. |
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Posts: 133
Location: WV | im for musky tackle online, i ordered some things he didnt carry from other shops last week and found out why i dont order from them if i help it. MTO was great,, fast and they didnt rip me a new one on shipping like the others. I got my MTO before the others even shipped because of numerous phone calls back and forth about the order. (stuff they didnt have and wandering if i did want some things on the order when i called it in!! MTO for me. |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Brutal results in the poll though. MTO is getting killed. This is like golf right??? |
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Posts: 127
| I just wanted to throw a thumbs up for a recent transaction I had with MTO. I ordered a couple of Shadzillas, and when they arrived on Friday, I found that one of them was just a replacement body, not the full lure. I shot an email over, and received an email the next day (Saturday!) apologizing and saying the full lure was on its way and to keep the replacement body. Monday after work, I had the lure in hand. Great (and not to mention quick) service! |
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Posts: 299
| Roger, you just got me really excited!!!! By the way, your hardheads are#$%% ^&**!! I picked some up and a show and love them! Great paint and awesome action!!
I'd love to see a dedicated Muskie retail store in Michigan!! |
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Posts: 50
| Sportsmans of Appleton! Have to support our local guys in this ecconomy. |
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Location: Windy City | MTO. Top notch service |
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Posts: 337
Location: Central WI | MTO is great. Also like ordering from Tackle Industries...both have really quick shipping and great customer service. |
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Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | detroithardcore - Glad you like the HardHeads. The muskie shop is more than you might have one, they are starting to order stuff now. It will be called the Michigan Muskie Shop. |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | h2os2t - 5/18/2011 10:12 PM detroithardcore - Glad you like the HardHeads. The muskie shop is more than you might have one, they are starting to order stuff now. It will be called the Michigan Muskie Shop. That's good to hear. Can you give us any more info? US or Canada side? Opening date? |
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Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | Not sure on opening date but it is on the US side. |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about. |
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Posts: 613
Location: big cove tannery pa | MTO all the way!!! Super fast shipping! Had my order last week in less than 24 hrs. |
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Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | esoxfly - Talked to him today and he knows you and is going to call you. |
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Posts: 613
Location: Michigan | h2os2t - 5/18/2011 10:12 PM
The muskie shop is more than you might have one, they are starting to order stuff now. It will be called the Michigan Muskie Shop.
That is awesome! If it is near LSC it will be 3 hours from me, but still good to have a good musky shop in Michigan. |
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Posts: 183
Location: Grand Forks ND | I think the poll numbers speak for themselves. About time MTO gets some recognition on this website. Here in Grand Forks I can order in the morning and get my stuff the next day. I still shop at the local Scheel's and Cabela's in town, but if they don't have what I'm looking for I go to MTO. |
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Posts: 229
| I used to order my on line and over the phone stuff through Rollie and Helens. But the last couple times I have tried, they did not have what I needed and there was going to be a wait... I don't call them anymore. I've used Thorne's and they seem OK. The last two orders I placed through Musky Tackle Online and they got me what I needed fast!
Dorn on Midvale in Madison is really good as far as selection goes. The Sportsman has a decent selection but it is not always exactly what I am looking for, however they are always very helpful as far as information regarding lakes in the area. Good guys too!
Moore's lures is a great place for components if thats your need.
John |
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Posts: 299
| Love it! Us Michiganders need a shop dedicated to Muskies! |
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Posts: 253
Location: On the water | Musky Tackle Online is the best. Thanks Aaron. |
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Posts: 143
Location: Lake of The Woods | Im kinda biased on this.
Time will tell..... |
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Favorite Tackle Shop