gander mountain, your thoughts?

[StormFront]

i went in to gander mountain in cicero at 5am to buy bait to fish oneida a few days ago.

1- found out they open at 6am.

2- found out that you need your own bucket for crabs or minnows. they do not provide plastic bags to "keep cost down"

3- crabs are $5 a dozen. not exactlly keeping cost down.

4- the cheapest bait bucket you can buy there is $5. it is a crappy, small, styrofomn thing that should cost $0.99.

i think overall that is the worst outdoors store i have ever been in (bass pro in auburn is 10000X better) and it has the worst customer service. there is never anyone around to help you, and when you do find someone, they ignore you until you hunt them down, and then they know nothing about their product.

is it just me, or do others feel similar? your thoughts please.

[GAMBLER]

The one in Henrietta 1. opens too late in the morning, 2. does not stocj there trolling stuff until the season is half over, 3. once the some thing sells out, they do not replace it until next years order. I have been supporting the local shops and shopping on-line when the local shops are sold out.

[caffeinatedsnail23]

The one in Henrietta 1. opens too late in the morning, 2. does not stocj there trolling stuff until the season is half over, 3. once the some thing sells out, they do not replace it until next years order. I have been supporting the local shops and shopping on-line when the local shops are sold out.

Gambler-

You nailed the Henrietta store. I just want mention another point that their customer service just, sucks.

CS23

[Landshark]

the one in cicero is awful. i just went tonight to the one in watertown and its trolling section is hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tommmmmmmm

[LTtroller]

Gander Mnt. thoughts :

-They are an outdoor store, not a bait shop. To be honest, I'm shocked to here that they are even open before 9:00am.

- Henrietta has been OKAY as far as having inventory on hand for me. You can't really expect to hear that fish are slaughtering the "purple puke passion plug", and expect them to have a bunch a few days later can you?

I was also in the Watertown Gander a couple weeks ago and they were just setting out box after box of trolling tackle - yes, huuuuuuuuuuge amounts of inventory. Plan ahead I guess.

- I have had good service at the fishing dept. counter, but I am sure that all depends on when you are there, and who is behind the counter.

I hate going to the malls, so Dick's is only a last resort and Bass Pro is 1.5 hrs. away. So I guess I am happy that we have a Gander Mnt. that is on our way up to the "big pond". It may not be the best or have everything, but it is still better than nothing. Just my 2 cents.

GOOD FISHING ALL!

LTtroller

Bob

[sqqy14]

I've been to a number of Gander Mountain stores in Wisconsin and they are much better than the one in Cicero. The loud music literally blasts me out of the store. Very limited selection of musky lures.

Someone needs to tell them this is trolling country for muskies.

Regards

Bob

[Girard]

For years, all we had in Binghamton was Dicks ......Gander Mtn is a huge move up.....

[Yankee Clipper]

it sucks - the stafs personality is on par with a "rock" but its near by and the only other real option is bass pro ... thats a long drive for me and gas beign what it is .. Dicks no loger is even in my thoughts .. the Gander in new hartford is better and the service is at least somewhat apparent. the a re couple of small bait shops in the area I do try first - Cookies and Mickeys

[johnnywalleye]

why would you stop @gander for bait??it is a big box store.of course their customer service sucks they make 7.50hr.dont get me wrong i like gander and bps but not for bait .go to mickeys or spankys or thousand island bait shop or handys or the joint in b-ville if you need bait.the big box store are there to catch fisherman not fish,and so long 4 now;john

[Bgroby]

Unfortunately travelling from Cleveland up I 81 to go to Cape Vincent it's convenient to stop on our way. Are there any other places to get Licenses and bait headin that way?

[StormFront]

there is a small store in constantia on 49 that sells bait. you probably drive right past it.

[troutman10]

Gander Mountain is a good store, no doubt about it. I'm glad they can cater to the needs of NY sportsman b/c otherwise all we would have is Dicks and local places. Dicks is ok, but doesn't have the selection and it seems as if local places are few and far between. I would rather spend my money at a local bait shop or sporting goods store, but they are going extinct for lack of a better word. Landshark, you speak of the selection in Watertown, I guess their selection makes up for their poor customer service. I'm not sure if that goes for every Gander though. The workers don't get paid much more than min. wage like johnnywalleye said. I'll take what I can get. I'm just happy to have a store with a decent selection and I'll do the rest as far as knowing what to buy and how to use it. My .02

[ray koziatek]

Any store that carries hunting and fishing stuff is OK by me if they all carried everything it would take away the whole shopping ambience.nuttin better tham walking into a store and getting caught by that must have new item. Maybe you should give up fishing and open your own store .

[NitroMusky]

I've been to a number of Gander Mountain stores in Wisconsin and they are much better than the one in Cicero. The loud music literally blasts me out of the store. Very limited selection of musky lures.

Someone needs to tell them this is trolling country for muskies.

Sqqy-

when was the last time you were in there looking? I was looking to stock up on toothy critter lures over the winter (closest thing to fishing I can do at that time of year!) and saw almost NOTHING at either Dicks or Gander. I was just in both stores in Henrietta and both had some semblance of a selection (but still not great). Keep in mind that this is not muskie country like WI is. case in point: there are Muskies Inc chapters in just about every town up there. theres not a single chapter in NYS .

the big boxes cater to the masses, not the 1-offs like us, so trout/bass lures keep their lights on around these parts. I cant fault them, they're in it to make $$ and we're not their prime prospect. At least we have the internet to order from now. So the big boxes need not get any of our $$ if we so choose.

[sqqy14]

NitroMusky,

I suppose you're right. This is a pretty small market when it come to musky anglers. One plus for Gander Mountain is their Guide Series rods. For the money I think they are a quality item.

Regards

Bob

[muskybob]

I hope all you guys that are dissatisfied with it have spoken to the manager, not the clerk, about your displeasures. He doesn't know there's a problem if no one tells him. If you don't get satisfaction from him, then go above his head to District sales. "A squeaky wheel gets the grease".