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When it come to fishing gear, big box stores like BassPro and Walmart are hard to beat. They are convenient, yes. I myself try my best to support small business as much as possible. When out, I stop and visit local mom and pop shops like Wormies (the local pay lake/bait shop here but doesn’t sell online).

An upside of buying from smaller places, especially fishing stores, is that they usually have their own small batch brands. You can find some good hand-made lures!

This country is built on small business and though their prices may not be as good as big box stores, your helping the little guy. So today, I’m going to go over a few small online fishing shop you should check out before visiting the larger guys. Support small business!

JustForFishing.com

First up is probably my favorite online fishing store. The site is well made and easy on the eyes. It is easy to search for your favorite gear and set up in a way that is easy to browse looking for something to catch your eye.

JustForFishing.com carries a wide range of brand names. If it is made you will probably find it here. They have everything broke down into easy to choose sections.

Saltwater Fishig

Freshwater Fishing

Fly Fishing

Cast Nets (yes a whole sections on cast netting!)

Appeal

And even a “Bargain Cave”

Based out of Tampa Florida, you can be sure shipping is fast. They are good group to deal with and are very nice people.

They also have their own products listed below:

If you are looking for new gear or your favorite lure, I suggest checking them out before heading out to Walmart. It might surprise you how a small business can hang.

MarineWaze

Another of my favorite online stores to shop online is Marinewaze. More geared towards boating equipment, Marinewaze also carries many other things. Making it a good place to check out for any outdoor needs.

Her is what you will find at Marinewaze

Marine/Boat parts and electronics

Hunting Gear

Fishing equipment

Camping gear

Outdoor stuff like backpacks, coolers, etc

Water sport equipment like paddle boards, towables, trampolines, water skis, knee boards, water boards and inflatable kayaks.

Being that this Marinewaze is growing small business, that can hang better than the big box stores in price. I always check them out if I can’t find what I’m looking for before hitting a big corporate store.

Marine Supplies Store

1 800-201-1221

45 Bay 28TH street

Brooklyn, New York 11214

Fishing Frugal Lures

Nick from Fishng Frugal Lures offers custom made lures and jigs. Sure they may be a little more pricey than big box stores, but you can be sure they are hand made and can be customized the way you want.

He offers:

Crank Baits

Buzz Baits

Soft Plastics

Jigs

If your looking for custom made baits, check Nick out.

Speedy Worm

One thing the bog box stores can’t do nearly as good as smaller shops, is to sell good live bait. Have you ever bought live bait from Walmart? Dried up and junk!

Ever think of buying live bait online? Small companies like Speedy Worm does just that, and they do a good job at that. Sure, the website may be small, but they will give any other bait shop a run for their money.

When it comes to prices and shipping, they are hard to beat.

They offer in Bulk:

Wax Worms

Canadian Nightcrawler

Leeches

Meal Worms

European Nightcrawlers

Spikes

Butter Worms

Composting Worms

Crickets

If you are looking to buy live bait in bulk, check them out before buying from a bog box store.

PTL Craft Lures

If you are looking for Trout specific lures, PTL Craft is a good place to start looking. All of their lures are handmade and PTL is all about Trout. They love to fish them, and that’s all they do.

All lures are made from beginning to end by Guilaume and Christelle in their home. Based out of South of France so shipping times may be a little longer but it is worth the wait.

Just note that they are redoing their website and it will be up again soon.

Slater’s Jigs

If you’re a jig person, you know there are tons of options out there. Most are junk! Slater’s Jigs offers some handmade jigs that will make you want to bite at them!

From plastics to hair, these jigs will put the bite on. You will not find anything like them at a bog box store.

The Bottom Line

The point of this article is to open your eyes to choices other than big box stores. There are tons of small businesses out there that you could be supporting. You will find some real gems!

Why buy from a corporation when you have hard working people that are making/selling what they love? Buying from local mom and pop fishing stores and supporting the little guy on the net is a way to contribute to our hobby of choice.