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The start of Hayward Bait & Tackle actually begins with Eddies Bait Shop.
Going back to 1949 when Donnie's stepfather, Eddie Polo, started
Eddie's Bait Shop in Moose Lake, 28 miles east of Hayward. He
trapped his own minnows in area creeks, sorted them by hand, and sold them
to area resorts. In 1959, Donnie went into business partnering
with his mother Thelma and Eddie Polo at the age of 22. Dorothy
joined Donnie when they were married on June 4th, 1960. They
bought the first route in 1965 and started expanding the territory. We
now supply almost all of Northern Wisconsin, from Eau Claire to
Washburn, St. Croix to Presque Isle. We have 4 delivery trucks
and buy bait from large dealers. This allows us to have a great supply
of live bait all year round. We carry crappie, fatheads and sucker
minnows, leeches, night crawlers, leaf worms, and waxies. Golden shiners
are a big demand for ice fisherman. We have just recently
expanded into wholesale tackle and provide delivery to smaller shops.
The retail store has been extensively remodeled over the years. We carry just about everything the fisherman would need to catch his dream fish. Along with bait and tackle, we also repair reels, spool on line, relube tip-ups and sharpen auger blades for the ice fisherman. The staff goes out of its way by finding obsolete parts or hard to find baits. Recently we added a complete line of Dock Rite Docks and parts. Installation is also available. We are also the headquarters for the annual Muskie Inc. tournament in the fall. It is held the first full week-end in October. A new state-of-the-art building is currently under construction opening in the spring of 2004. This 60,000 s.f. facility will become home to Hayward Bait Wholesale and the retail store will be expanded in its current location. |
The original Eddie's Baitshop, 1949 - Moose Lake WI.
Stop in and see the new Bottle Shop.
