The Bait Barn,
Catering to Tournament Anglers 24 Hours a Day
Date:
1/25/09
Location:
Waterford,
CA
Event Date:
1/03/09
Reviewer:
Team
TackleTour
Introduction: Since when have you heard
of a tackle shop that specializes in high end product for tournament anglers
that is open for 24 hours a day? We take a trip to get the story behind this
distinctive shop located in Waterford, California.
To view the video in high
quality click on the video and go to You Tube and click on
"watch in high quality"
Welcome to the Baitbarn, located
in Waterford, CA
The Bait Barn was taken
over by Manny Basi seven years ago, at which time the facility had been
transformed from an actual barn into a gas station and convenience store to
service the local lakes which include Don. Pedro and Lake McClure. Manny’s
parents worked in Silicon Valley for their entire lives and it was Manny who
decided it was time to make a change and with the support of his parents was
able to acquire the Bait Barn.
Street View
Left Side of the Store
Swimbait Aisle
Though the name implied a
heavy emphasis on “baits” when the store was initially purchased there was only
one small aisle of rather generic tackle in the store, the rest of the real
estate was dedicated to chips, soda, and beer. Interestingly Manny and his
brother Aman were not even big anglers at the time, and turned to a combination
of web resources and local pros for guidance on what tackle to bring in.
The Baitbarn carries a wide
assortment of premium tackle, just check out their Megabass wall
It didn’t take long for
Manny to get seriously bit by the fishing bug and as his interest in the sport
grew so did the amount of space dedicated to tackle within his store. Many local
pros started coming into the store asking for special products, and he quickly
learned about enthusiast grade products and decided to focus on a combination of
premium products and those specifically requested by tournament anglers.
Got Plastics?
In our ongoing coverage of
tackle shops and e-tailers we decided to pay a visit to the Bait Barn and see
just what they had to offer. The Bait Barn is located in Waterford on Yosemite
Boulevard, and just as the street name implies is situated on a major corridor
to Yosemite National Park from the San Francisco Bay Area.
At the Baitbarn you can fuel your
truck, boat, and stomach before you head out
When we visited the Bait
Barn we first observed a standalone gas station tackle shop combination on the
corner. The building does indeed resemble a small barn and outside there are a
series of gas pumps and an area dedicated to propane. We walked in and were
greeted by both Manny and his brother Aman who proceeded to give us the grand
tour.
The store is a fully stocked
convenience store, with limited real estate Manny needs to be selective of what
tackle to bring in (notice the swimbaits hanging above the aisles)
