# Manda's Bait Shop at Portage Lakes open again



## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Manda's bait shop, a stalwart shop for over 50 years has opened again under new ownership. New owner, Phil Perretta, is extremely positive about the future and has plans to add value and promotions to the ole store. I stopped in last night and he showed me his newest shipment of pin-mins. Without a doubt, its the most fabulous selection I've seen in the area... and that includes the inventory of the big boys including Dicks, Gander Mtn and Kames. Needless to say, my wallet was a little lighter when I left, but those new pin-mins really look hot. Cant wait till hard water arrives again!


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## bassjerk (Apr 13, 2004)

Hey John u shouldn't unpack those pin-mins. The weather dosen't look good for a long time. Guess u can afford them because your not buying any bait. LOL


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## ARGEE (Apr 5, 2004)

whats his hours there?


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

agree...you makin a break for it? I'll call and tell the nurses to strap you down if i have too!


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## legendaryyaj (Nov 1, 2005)

Where is this bait shop at?

The only shop's I know is Eddies, the one on S.Main after the merge going towards Nimisila, and the Tobacco shop.


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

this is on portage lakes drive across from the div. 3 headquarters


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## ARGEE (Apr 5, 2004)

johnboy,no break yet...im getting a cat scan today..guess they ran out of dogs


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

what time's happy hour up there? might have to stop by for a drink...


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## rmw814 (Oct 9, 2005)

ARGEE said:


> whats his hours there?


I believe he is open every day from roughly 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM, except for Tuesdays. His hours are pretty flexible. If people are walking in at 6:00, he won't shut down, he'll stay open until midnight if he has to. He has actually been in there on Tuesdays lately getting the store put together and he had the new minnow tank dropped off a few weeks ago. He definitely has some nice stuff in there.


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## rmw814 (Oct 9, 2005)

legendaryyaj said:


> Where is this bait shop at?
> 
> The only shop's I know is Eddies, the one on S.Main after the merge going towards Nimisila, and the Tobacco shop.


If you take S Main turn onto Portage Lakes Drive and you will pass the Coventry Fire station and head towards the clock tower. You will drive around that bend and he is about 1 mile up on the right hand side. It is a blue building.

If you take Manchester Rd, turn onto Portage Lakes Drive and he will be on the Left hand side about 1/2 mile.


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## ARGEE (Apr 5, 2004)

johnboy111711 said:


> what time's happy hour up there? might have to stop by for a drink...



ITS WHEN THE DEMERALL ARRIVES...OR WHEN THE BOSS HEAD NURSE ARRIVES


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## Nipididdee (Apr 19, 2004)

I heard something about he had bought a large inventory of lucky craft baits from an escaping vendor/distributor- any insights???

Nip
www.dobass.com


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

Nip, i'll stop by sometime this week


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

Who's running the shop now that Jack is gone and the place went out of business? Are they going to sell fishing licenses there now?


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

> New owner, Phil Perretta


I'd say he's running the place


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## rmw814 (Oct 9, 2005)

Phil did buy a large supply of Luckycraft. Boxes full of them. He is selling them at a good price since he got a good deal on them. I have seen some Luckycraft that he has that are going close to 40% off of regular pricing.

He will not be selling any fishing license. There was a cost on using the machine or something like that and some type of charge for selling the fishing license. (which I heard is the same reason that Jack, Betty, and Joy didn't sell them) When you stop in, ask him about it and he will give you all of the details why he won't be selling them.

He has alot of ice fishing stuff out right now. (that will hopefully be needed soon) He has a good selection of pin-man, he got in all colors and sizes of the Vibee's, boxes full of Rapala's, and tons more. It's worth a stop in just to see what he has. He has the old Uni-spins hanging up on the wall that Jack used to sell to anyone who walked through the door. These things are in mint condition.


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Thanks for the info. If I have time, I may stop in there tomorrow to say HELLO...


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## bassmastermjb (Apr 8, 2004)

Mark's Live Bait And Tackle in Ravenna 330-221-5213

Regarding the sale of fishing licenses.I too do not sell them due to a couple BIG reasons.The ODNR charges $600.00 for the machine, you need to have a seperate phone line run for the machine and seperate bank account just for the license fees so the ODNR can withdraw their money anytime they want without your knowing. The tackle shop or dealer then gets 50 cents for every license sold.You would need to sell 1200 licenses just to break even on the machine.You would think they would make it easier for us to sell their licenses so we can promote the outdoors for them.............Mark


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

The ODNR District 3 office is right across the street from Manda's. They sell licenses there if you need to get one.

Mark, I know you have great deals on all your stuff out at your place too, any "can't pass this up" type deals going on now or in the near future??? Let us know, man!!!


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

It appears the ODNR is trying to sqweeze the lil' guy out from selling hunting & fishing licenses altogether. With ODNR's current "marketing format", Mark is right is saying only the "Big Retailers" can afford sell them. One would think the opposite should be taking place since the ODNR is putting so much into their annual "advertising budget" to promote fishing & hunting to the masses. It doensn't make sense to me.


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

The Uni Spins can stay on the wall as far as I'm concerned!


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## Master Angler (May 26, 2004)

Bah..T's for me...still can't believe someone opened up a shop 200' from another one. Per liscenses you guys are looking at it wrong. To me selling the liscense isn't about the shop making money on it but is about providing a service to a customer that will probably buy other items. I have left places before that do not sell liscenses and end up buying other necessities from the liscense seller while I am there.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

I think ole MA has a bent hook in his ODNR license selling thinking. I'm certain, virtually all small tackle shops & hunting gear retailers would gladly sell them if they had expectations of nearing a break-even point., but from the info Mark has stated, it seems highly doubtful most small guys would come even close to breaking even. They'd be losing money throughtout the entire process. From my perspective, it seems the ONDR has all the leverage in the current scenario. It appears not to be good public relations on the ONDR's part..... Whether a retailer decides to sell them or not does not influence my purchasing decisions whatsoever. It's their inventory, the stores personnel and lastly the price.


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

MA. mandas has been there much longer than T's, you of all people should know that. other small shops, like the many at PYMY can't afford licenses either. sounds like manda's will be a great place, he is already carry more than many of the other bait stores in the general area. and seems very customer oriented.


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## ARGEE (Apr 5, 2004)

600 Bucks Is Absurd


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## Bob Why (Jul 16, 2004)

Phil has a lot of work ahead of him. And yes the ODNR should not make them pay for the machine to print their licenses. $600 plus an additional phone line, that costs $100 to have installed and then the monthly fee on that. And because he can't buy the volume that Dick's and GM do, he has to pay more for some things than they sell them for. I think most of the people around here get their license from Wal-Mart, Dick's and GM anyway. Or at one of the Sports shows. Stop in and check out his pin mins. Best selection I've ever seen. Give him a call at 330-644-6774 to make sure he's there. You may even find me working there once in awhile.

Bob Y.


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

i stopped in this afternoon and saw the 2006 line of berkley products...they are very nice. It looks as if he will be catering to both the tournament angler and the weekend warrior. He has a box full of luckycraft baits...all marked at 12.99, I know they will go fast. I bought 4 and averaged $10 a minute while in there!!! Phil mentioned plans to set up a tackel shop on wheels...very intriguing. Bob, i'll have to stop by and say hey when you are working.


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

I have shopped at Mandas for years. It was hard to get out of there when Jack was running the place. His jaw muscles must be twice the size of an ordinary humans. Those that knew him know what I'm talking about. Joy probably forgot more about fishing electronics than most of us put together know about them. I was sad to hear she shut the doors, but happy to know that someone took over. I'll continue to spend my money there, whether or not he sells licenses. Mandas had the best selection of Stinger spoons, as well as the best prices on them, hands down. I hope Phil keeps stocking them.


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

he seemed like he'd be happy to order what ever you want...


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## njoyfishin (Jan 10, 2006)

Phil is really trying hard at Manda's. Saw that he went to the Tackle Wholesalers show and is already ordering things from Mustad, Power Pro, Bandit, RealGrip, Lucky Craft, Minn Kota, and many other top manufacturers. Good Luck Phil.


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## chuckie (Nov 12, 2004)

he'd talk your leg off, drive you nutz, then try to talk you into an upgrade!
i personnally didn't buy anything a couple times i went there to get a partcular item due to that- -all in all, a great guy! I miss Jack Manda!!RIP!


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## Erterbass (Jul 4, 2005)

Stopped on last Saturday during the warm sunny afternoon to check out the Lucky Crafts johnboy mentioned - and bought a few myself.

Didn't know Jack, Joy or the rest but I talked to Phil for quite a while and feel that he is really looking forward to serving the fishing community around here. I'm all about supporting our local small businesses and can guarantee that I'll be back to Manda's to get the latest on the PL bite and pick up new stuff that the 'bait monkey' thinks I should buy  

I hope to meet a few of you from this board when I'm in there.

Go get em, Phil...

Bob


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Just to let you all know, Mandas is now an OGF sponsor. Stop in and thank Phil for his support. 

I picked up 5 of the Lucky Craft's in the past couple weeks...  

Also, he has that "hot" color Vibe-E for Mosquito as well....


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## chuckie (Nov 12, 2004)

come on, bd, what's the hot color?


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

OK, OK, I'll tell ya, but you have to buy them from our sponsors!!! LOL!

The hot color at Mosquitio is.... Green/Gold. Sort of looks like a motoroil color. Also, the new "clown" color scheme works well too.

Now, go visit Mandas, Falls Outdoor Sports, Causeway Sporting Goods, Dave's Bait, or Cripple Creek And load up. I've always had best results with the 1/4 oz size...


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## ncraft150 (Apr 5, 2004)

Mmmmm Lucky Craft. I allways go to T's because he is so good to my boys. I might have to check out those Lucky Crafts this weekend though.


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Tim and Tina at T's Long Lake are great folks too and I'll still go there as well. GREAT waxworms, maggots and an AWESOME minnow count. Tim has always clued me in on where the fish are in Long and what they're hitting on, which is a big plus when I take the kids there. Puts on some fun tournaments too..


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## ncraft150 (Apr 5, 2004)

Stopped in tonight. Phil is a real nice guy. Had a great conversation with him and then purchase about $90 worth of Lucky Craft baits and Terminator Spinnerbaits for only $52. 

He is definatly headed in the right direction. I think he might out grow that little building quickly though.


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## njoyfishin (Jan 10, 2006)

Hey, nice tackle box raffle going on at Manda's bait & tackle. About $500 worth of good quality lures inc. Lucky Craft, Barney Spoons Bandit etc. for only $1 per try or 10 for $5. Nice job Phil.


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## sliderville (Apr 21, 2004)

I stopped in at manda's today and bought some raffle tickets. Phil said to tell everyone that there would be either a Loomis rod or a fish locator added to the jack pot.


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Yep. Lots of stuff in the raffle there! I'll be stopping back this weekend to buy the winning ticket. LOL


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

when ever i was in last phil had a real nice lowrance unti marked down, anyone in the market should stop by and take a look at it.


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## ncraft150 (Apr 5, 2004)

Does he sell G-Loomis rods. I've been thinking about buying my first after using a buddies last year.


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## fishin'cpl (Jan 10, 2006)

I've been alot a bait shops and phil is one of the nices guys I've got to know If he doesn't have I bet he could find it was nice to me you phil talk to you soon--Chuck


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## sliderville (Apr 21, 2004)

Phil will have a Loomis rep. in this week by Friday.


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## njoyfishin (Jan 10, 2006)

Stopped in again to Mandas and bought a couple more raffle tickets. He has added a Loomis Rod and a reel to the LOADED Tackle box and the box has ALL TOP QUALITY equipment. It is going to be raffled off at his new fall show. It is going to be called something like the MANDAS-Portage Lakes Labor Day Fishing Festival & Rib Burn-Off. He plans to have manufacturers reps on hand from many top quality companies, sponsor a catfish tourney, a panfish tourney for kis, a carp tourney and a small trout pond type tournament for kids under 10. Food all weekend available, pop & beer, and the rib-burn off on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Only $1.00 to attend for all weekend & the money pays for the tournament trophies. Oh Yeah! There is also going to be a bass tournament between Coventry and Norton High School - neat idea Phil. I'll be their!!!


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## ncraft150 (Apr 5, 2004)

When we do the Jr. Bassmasters we donate our time and boats. If this is needed for the High School tourny Id be more than willing to helpout. I'll probably stop up there this morning.


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

Last I heard, Mandas made a big order with Michigan Stinger spoons, and was to have a big selection of them, as Joy did.

I stopped by this morning with a pocketful of money ready to buy a bunch of 'em, and couldn't find a one in the store.

Any word if they will be having them? Mandas used to be a great place close to home to buy all of my Erie trolling tackle.

I know there probably isn't a big demand for that kind of stuff this far south of the big lake, but I wonder if he/they have any intentions of stocking things like Dypsies, Jets, and Stinger spoons in the near future.


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## sliderville (Apr 21, 2004)

I just talked to phil and he said to post that he will have those items in the next 30 days. He also said that if you want something specific he will order it for people, just ask.


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