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 Keeping up with what's
happening
at Zeiner's Bass Shop
Updates from
Wichita's year 'round tackle store
Notes from
Jim Zeiner
Serving anglers since 1953
Saturday-June
30, 2007 - 4:19 am - I
hoped to sneak out to Chase
County State Lake
this morning, but it's still raining and I decided to work instead.
Maybe I can do it tomorrow evening. When is ever going to stop
raining? When I left the store yesterday evening it was pouring
down and it continued all the way home to Cottonwood Falls. Thanks
to all of you that visited our store in Wichita this week or
purchased from us over our shopping
cart. This June
beat last year's June. We appreciate your business and will continue
to work hard to earn your loyalty.
Friday-June
29, 2007 - 8:40 am - I
forgot to mention in my entry last night that the new Fly Fish
America came in yesterday. It's the sixth annual trout special
issue. Check
out the contents
and stop in and pick up a free copy if you're interested. Also,
remember we always have the latest issue of Bassmaster for sale.
If you have any old fishing mags you thinking about throwing
away, remember to bring them by to put on our rack so others
can enjoy them.
Thursday-June
28, 2007 - 8:39 pm - I'm
working late. That's common for Thursday nights. The rain sure
hasn't dampened the spirits of our customers. We've been really
busy this week helping anglers going after all types of fish.
Catfish continue to be cooperating with anglers. Sonny's blooded
and Wicked Sticky seem to be the ticket. We've just received
another shipment of Wicked Sticky and Junnies Catfish worms.
The recent walleye tournament at El Dorado was tough for some
of the anglers, but others caught a good number of fish. Marion
is the next stop for the Kansas Walleye Association. Milford
was last weekend.
Thursday-June
21, 2007 - 3:19 pm - Kiss
spring goodbye. Today's the first day of summer and with that
many anglers start thinking deep. We have a good supply of Bill
Norman DD22s and other deep running baits. We also have a good
supply of top water baits for fising those lakes and ponds with
moss that gives summer anglers problems. Come in and check it
out.
Sunday-June
17, 2007 - 10:45 am - Gas
prices continue to fall. That's good news. If you need a good
reel, you might want to check out the Team
Diawa Advantage 153HST
we have for auction on eBay this week. We had a customer trade
in a number of these reels on Johnny Morris Signature reels.
Most of the reels still had boxes and papers. They are being
checked, cleaned and lubed by Midwest Tackle service. We are
receiving one or two of them back each week. The reel sold for
$139.95. Here's a chance to save some money on a good quality
reel.
Anglers continue
to do well on catfish and bass fishing the Wichita area parks.
Cheney is still way up, if the rain holds off for a while, we
should see it get back down to normal levels.
 As most of our regular customers know, Deb and
I moved to Cottonwood Falls several years ago. I received an
email the other day suggesting that I encourage people to vote
for our courthouse in the "8
Wonders of Kansas"
competition. The Kansas Sampler Foundation selected 24 "wonders"
from around the state from a large list of nominations and is
encouraging people to vote for their favorites. Click on the
link above to see the 24 nominees and take a few minutes to vote.
Click on the photo to the right to see a larger image of our
courthouse. The interior is currently being restored so it's
closed to tours, but when it reopens you will want to come see
the inside. Also on the list of nominees is the Tallgrass National
Park just a few miles north of Cottonwood Falls. Sometime when
you want to take a day trip, head toward Chase County and check
out these two attractions.
Sunday-June
10, 2007 - 12:45 pm - Another
busy week at the Bass Shop and on our internet shopping
cart. Even if you
live in the area, you might want to check out our shopping cart.
Sometimes we have internet specials and closeouts. We will honor
those prices in the store if you print the page and bring it
in since our associates are not always aware of them.
Today is my
daughter's birthday. She will be in Cottonwood Falls and I'll
be seeing her after I close the store there.
Deb and I went
down to the dam behind the Millstream Motel last evening. Plenty
of people were there fishing. The Millstream is a neat place.
If you would like to get away for some fishing and relaxation,
you might want to consider staying there. They have some really
nice rooms or you can bring a camper or a tent and camp out.
You can fish the river on their property or head a couple miles
west to the Chase County State Fishing Lake. If you want to find
out more, call Sharon or Richard at 620-273-8114. They are great
people, tell them I told you about them.
Tuesday-June
5, 2007 - 12:06 pm - I
hope you had a chance to get out over the weekend and catch some
fish. Flathead continue to be caught and most spillways around
the state where the rains have brought a good flow of water.
We have a couple reels in an eBay auction right now. They are
Diawa Team Advantage reels we took in on trade from a customer
on Johnny Morris Signature series reels. We put them on eBay
since we don't normally sell used reels. They have been checked,
cleaned and lubed by Midwest Tackle service. Check them out
and bid on them if you're interested. You can pick them up at the store if you win
the bid and save the shipping charges.
Friday-June
1, 2007 - 9:37 am - We've
heard a number of good fishing reports this week. Most involve
catfishing, but not all. Some of the smaller lakes around the
state are producing well. Chase County Fishing Lake has been
good for several species and especially for saugeye. I talked
with someone that had gone to Yates Center and fished in a light
rain and caught almost everything. He said they caught and released
six good keeper size walleye, crappie up to 13" and some
smallmouth and white bass.
Thanks to all
of you that came in or ordered over the internet in May. It was
a great month and exceeded our projections.
Remember this
weeked is free fishing with no license required. Read more about
it by clicking
here.
Sunday-May
27, 2007 - 3:47 pm - Our
Wichita store is closed today, but I've been busy in the Cottonwood
Falls store today. I've seen several of our regular Wichita customers
in the Cottonwood Falls store yesterday and today. Some weekend
when you're looking for something to do, come by and see me at
the Cottonwood
Mercantile. If
you want to fish while you're here, the Chase
County State Fishing Lake
is only a couple miles west of town. I was talking with a customer
in Wichita on Friday that said he had fished the state lake recently
and done pretty well. Next weekend is the annual Free Fishing
Days in Kansas. No fishing license is needed June 2-3. Read more
about it by clicking
here. Have a safe
Memorial Day.
Friday-May
25, 2007 - 6:05 pm - Cross
your fingers for good weather this weekend. Plenty of anglers
have been gearing up all week for all types of fishing during
the three day weekend. We will be open from 9 until 5 tomorrow
and then closed Sunday and Monday. I hope you all have a safe
and fun weekend.
Wednesday-May
23, 2007 - 11:05 am - As
summer approaches and the kids are looking for something to do,
the state has an answer for them. A six-day camp is being offered
for youngsters to teach them outdoor skills and to just have
fun. It is set for Rock Springs June 10-15. I've been to Rock
Springs a number of times and it's a great place. You can find
out more by clicking
here.
The day before
the camp starts, Wichita's Great Plains Nature Center is having
its 23rd Annual "Walk With Wildlife" and adults as
well as kids should find that interesting. You can learn more
about that by clicking
here.
The state is
also offering a camp for women that runs June 8-10 at Scott Lake's
Camp Lakeside. The camp will help women develop outdoor skills.
You can learn more about that by clicking
here.
I hope you're
planning to get ome fishing in over Memorial Day weekend. As
usual, we will be closed on Memorial Day so all of us will have
a chance to get out and have some fun. We will be open this Saturday
our regular hours of 9-5 and closed on Sunday as we normally
are. Come by and see us.
Saturday-May
19, 2007 - 10:51 am - My
daughter tells me I need to update this page more often. I agree.
It seems like I have a hard time finding the time to do it. It
only takes a few minutes and that makes it easy to put off until
later. Then later never seems to get here until I get back to
Cottonwood Falls and am in our store there. My first customer
today was a couple from Wichita that saw the article a couple
weeks ago in the Eagle.
We had another
busy week at the Bass Shop. This month is well ahead of May 2006.
I think anglers are making up for the time they lost with all
the rain we had in April. Catfish anglers are hitting it hard
right now as they take advantage of the increased flow in the
streams. We received a photo of a young Haysville angler with
a big flathead he caught on a Zebco 202 and a piece of hot dog.
Check it out.
For those of
you that don't belong to BASS, we are now selling Bassmaster
magazine through a special arrangement with BASS. Come in and
pick up the latest issue. Also remember the rack of free publications
we have. It's full of magazines customers have brought in to
share with others. If you have any old fishing magazines you're
thinking about throwing away. Drop them by the store and let
someone else have a chance to read them. It doesn't make any
differene how hold they are. If someone hasn't read them yet,
it's still new to them.
Speaking of
old things, remember to check with us when you're looking for
something you used to use but can't find any more. We had a customer
a couple weeks ago that dug through some of the boxes of soft
pastics we have in the back room and found several things he
was looking for. We will also do our best to find things for
you, even if it's something that isn't made any more.
Saturday-May
12, 2007 - 9:43 am - Big
topic this week is the continued rise in gas prices and the effect
it will have on fishing. If you're thinking you will have to
fish less, think again. Start thinking about fishing closer to
home. Start discovering some of the fishing you've been driving
past when you head out somewhere several hours away. You might
be pleasantly surprised.
We're hearing
quite a few catfishing success stories as they move upstream
after the heavy rains. One customer yesterday reported an 80-pound
flathead yesterday from the Lincoln Street Dam. Also hearing
good reports on bass in farm ponds and Wichita city lakes.
We had a busy
week this week with customers and putting up merchandis including
a Yamamoto order and a big order of Bill Norman lures and more
fly tying supplies. As usual, we had a lot of merchandise to
put up to replace items we've sold. We aren't like many of the
big box stores that order once for the season and then move on
to something else. We maintain a good supply of what you need
year 'round. If we don't have what you're looking for, we will
do our best to get it. Just yesterday we had a customer looking
for a special item that our distributor (for that item) discontinued.
I got on line and found it for him at Cabela's. I called them
to be sure they had it and then put him on the phone so he could
order it from them.
Don't forget
Mother's day and to plan on fishing this weekend.
Saturday-May
5, 2007 - 6:38 am - What
a fun day in the store yesterday. Yesterday morning's Wichita
Eagle had a story about us in the business section. The phone
started ringing not long after I arrived. The first call was
from a customer asking me to change his mailing address for The
Kansas Angler. He said he was thought of it when he saw the article
in the paper. That was my first clue that the article was in
the paper. I was interviewed Monday, but didn't know when it
would run.
Not long after
that first call, I received a call from someone I hadn't seen
since the early 70s. It was the mother of a girl I dated when
I was in college. We had a nice visit. It's been over 40 years
since her daughter and I were dating. When has that time gone?
On the fishing
front, the rain may have kept a few anglers from fishing but
it's helping some lakes. I just posted a story from the state
on northwest
Kansas lakes starting to rise. They still have a long way to go, but there's
hope.
Friday-May
4, 2007 - 6:12 am - The
rain continues but I don't think you need to worry about building
an ark yet. It's hampering fishing a bit but we need it to help
fishing long term. People are telling us they are seeing many
of the farm ponds and watersheds filling back up. Many streams
are flowing better and lakes are on the rise. I crossed the Lincoln
Street bridge in Wichita Wednesday and saw quite a few anglers
braving the rain.
Plan on getting
out this weekend and trying your luck.
Saturday-April
28, 2007 - 5:10 pm - I'm
at the store in Cottonwood Falls today. I just finished talking
to Alex and they had another busy day at the Wichita store. As
a matter of fact, the entire week has been a busy one. This weather
has people in the fishing mood. Wipers and white bass seem to
be cooperation for many of the anglers at Marion and Clinton.
People are catching catfish also. Bass anglers are catching some
fish. I had a good report on bass at Barber County Lake. He said
bass were good, but the other species were not very good.
Our internet
sales have been strong this week. More out of town people are
using our shopping cart to buy gift certificates for local people.
Remember to give a hint about our gift certicates when people
ask you what you want for your birthday or other special event.
All someone has to do is go to zeiners.com and click on the online
sales link in the upper right of the screen. That will take them
to our shopping cart. Then all they need to do is click the gift
certificates link and choose the amount they would like to send
you. We take it from there. We will mail the certificate or it
can be picked up in the store. You can use the certificate for
anything in the store or order from the Bass Pro catalog.
We can also
apply the certificates to online purchases through our shopping
cart.
Hope you have
a chance to get out and do some fishing this weekend.
Tuesday-April
24, 2007 - 2:53 pm - It's
been a while since I've taken time to update this blog. Sorry
about that. Last week was a wild and busy week with in-store
customers and internet customers. We're doing what we can to
improve the national trade deficit. Our latest international
customer is from Germany. We are still getting new merchandise
in for spring. A customer at the end of last week showed me a
photo of a 27" wiper he caught at Cheney. He told me he
and two of his friends caught a total of five nice wipers. Two
other customers shared success stories of catchig channels at
Harvey County East late in the week. Fishing was really moving
into high gear last week after the cold weather and snows during
the week before. Hope you're having a chance to get out and give
it a try.
Several of our
customers made the trip to Milford last weekend for the BASS
Weekender Series. It was tough fishing to say the least. If you
would like to check out the results, click
here.
Friday-April
13, 2007 - 6:58 am - Can
you believe this weather? I'm hoping the forecast is wrong, but
it doesn't look as though it will be. I talked to Deb in Cottonwood
Falls earlier and it's snowing there big time. The weather didn't
seem to dampen too many anglers' spirits this week though. We've
been busy all week. Alex is taking a day off tomorrow so I'll
be in the Wichita store all day. Drop by and see me. You can
scratch that fishing itch a little by looking around. What a
better time than to do the final touches on getting ready for
the good weather (whenever that might be). Check out those crank
baits for hooks that need replaced. Maybe you have some spinner
baits or jigs that need new skirts. Whatever you need, we can
probably help you. We also just received a supply of the Wichita
Eagle's Spring Outdoor Guide. Stop by and pick one up. They are
free. Also remember our rack of free publications. If you have
any old publications you've been thinking about pitching, bring
them by and we'll put them on the rack so someone else can enjoy
them. Why fill up the landfill?
Sunday-April
8, 2007 - 11:48 am - Cold
weather didn't keep anglers from thinking about the fishing.
We had a busy day at the store yesterday and a number of calls
from around the county asking questions about products on our
shopping cart. Income tax deadline is just around the corner.
If you haven't filed yet, I wanted to remind you about the opportunity
to help wildlife here in Kansas. While it's not fishing related,
I thought it was worth reminding you about it. That's the Chickadee
Checkoff. You can
learn more about it by clicking on the previous link. There's
good news for procrastinators this year. The filing deadline
is April 17 instead of April 15.
Thursday-April
5, 2007 - 3:38 pm - Do
you believe this snow? I looked out the window a little while
ago and the snow was falling. Doesn't look as though it will
stick, but it's still snow. That's Kansas for you. We received
a ton of merchandise yesterday and we're still getting it out
and up. Several items are new. We've added the 550 yard spools
of Vicious Flurocarbon line in 15- and 20-pound test. We order
more sizes than that, but they were out. We should have more
weights available in a few weeks. The 15- and 20-pound test sells
for $16.99 for 550 yards. That's a really good value.
Another new
item we're excited about is five-gallon containers of the M-F
Liquid Plastic. If you pour your own plastic baits and go through
quite a lot of plastic, this will save you some money. The five
gallon container sells for $99.99 and it gets even better than
that. Save your container and we will refill it for $93.99. That's
a six dollar savings.
Sunday-April
1, 2007 - 2:42 pm - Former
Wichitan Penny Berryman placed seventh in the second event of
the Women's Bassmaster tournament series held on Lake Dardanelle
in Arkansas over the past few days. Another Kansan, Laura Heflin
is fishing the series. She is from Topeka and in the middle of
the pack in total points after the first two events. The new
series is driving my wife Deb nuts. She fished tournaments for
a years and got to know many of the women fishing the Bassmaster
circuit when she was fishing the Bassin' Gals tournaments. After
two knee replacements, she doesn't feel like she could do it
any more.
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