... start you up a meth lab Swamp... it’d be more profitable and you could idle it during hunting and trapping season lol

So you would be one of those grumpy ol men who hangs around a bait shop or fur buyers shop?

When I was young I learned Stop of a lot from those gumpy ol men

Make sure you have a room in back where the good old boys can get together to bs and have a few cold ones.
That way you'll have plenty of help.

Does your boy realize you're a game warden and everyone who hunts, traps, or fishes hates you?

Had an archery shop for awhile back in the 90's

You'll need racks , shelving, glass display cases , counters , signage ,cabinets , decor , security system , credit card equipment , computer.... bla bla bla $$$$$

Anything less than 100 grand in inventory will make you look like a broke joke

You'll need a physical store front with a sign or an operating www store before most suppliers will consider you real


Maybe just go fishing

Long hours and everyone will be fishing but you maybe I’d give it some thought it a big commitment.

Don't forget a small deli counter stocked with hoop cheese, souse, crackers, sardines, moon pies, rc, rag bologna. That lunch crowd gets hungry.

knew a woman that ran a bait shop and sold supplies to the rest in the area. She would do a monthly run to Canada to bring back worms to resell. Be ready to be up by and have the shop open by 5 AM EVERY day. No days off in the bait business like farming livestock or milking cows. Most likely will take several years to build up a customer base.

There is a baitshop a few miles from us on a state highway beside Lake Enid. It has changed hands at least 3 times in the last 6 years. Hard to compete with all the gas stations around selling bait and tackle. Insurance for the hanging meat might be pretty pricey as well.

Seek out suppliers that manage their own inventory vs you purchasing all of it and managing it yourself.

I had fly fishing stores for twenty years and a fly fishing/hunting shop for 8.

I agree with most above thoughts. Sizeable investment for fixtures and inventory, lots of hours, employees are not cheap and often steal.

We were lucky in our business because the best brands did not allow discounting and margins were much higher than general tackle or hunting stuff. Almost everything in our stores was at a 50% margin. You'll never see that in conventional tackle or hunting. Once the internet and Amazon came along it was pretty much finished unless you had a guide service. For young people, service and knowledge didn't matter much... only price... and nobody can match the width of selection they find on the internet.

You might talk to a rep from one of the big distributors in your area. I bought alot from Acusport, but remember Zander's in Illinois and some big ones in your part of the country. Most good reps will be honest about supply and realities of the business.

I wish you luck, but your hunting and fishing time will change.

Pete

I am aware.

are you aware that people are going back to work?

People only hate me on Tman. Down here the word "respect" is used more.

We have several unattended 24hr bait shops and stations in Wisconsin, there's an obvious risk based on your demographic but every owner I talked to says that people are appreciative and honest. I just fished with the owner of one and he said most people round up and he hasn't had any issues after 10 years or operation, I always throw in a couple extra bucks for the people that are aggressive minnow scoopers. Not sure what type of bait your selling but this could help augment your hours on having a self-serve strategy in addition to your full-service. Pretty easy to have a dorm fridge and bait wells accessible from outside the building, usually there 's a steel plate with a slot, money drops into the building, a security camera (probably a prop) and a price list clearly posted.

I sure wouldn’t be skinning for them.I’ve owned a few game processing business over the years one when I was fresh out of the army in Shreveport ,la. Nothing like having them drop half gutted deer at 5 pm and looking at a pile of 20 to skin and hose down after the drop off rush.I was processing here in wa for about 5 years after I bought my house ,the best way to get most deer picked up is require a 100.00 deposit and subtract the daily charges.No matter what tell them if they don’t pick up you’ll have no choice but to call the game warden and turn them in for wasting wildlife .I made all my storage customers sign a declaration that all deer could only be stored 10 days,If you go longer than that you will run into some deer that will be starting to taint as they were probably shot early and were in the heat all day.Oh and hunting and trapping will be done for you ,when you got game hanging even a day off requires checking those coolers every 4 hours and it’s not if the refrigeration is going to break down it’s when and it most certainly will .

Id order from ya ifit was ata good price

Set it up in an old RV and you can cook right through the seasons. Maybe film a Netflix series at the same time.

The best side gigs in retirement is to be able to work when you want and for who you want. Who you want is especially important if you're retiring from law enforcement after spending a career not having a choice in who you deal with many not appreciating your service. Good luck if you go for it Swampy but I wouldn't want the commitment. Every morning I ask myself, "should I work or should I play today". It's nice to have the option especially if you've set yourself up so that there's not much difference between the two. That's my retirement philosophy anyway, for what it's worth.

Oh, now don't feel bad, I'm sure plenty of them down there hate you too. lol

Apply for a US FWS Customs officer and get a Canadian airport as your base, then you can hunt and trap in Canada, know several that do that.
But with nobody flying they are boarded looking down the ice holes and pulling up 32 inch walleye, waiting for the phone to ring.