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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
Archive for
July - September 2006 - Back
to Current Blog
Wednesday-September
27, 2006 - 5:23 pm - We
received our order of all seven Kick'n Bass scents. With trout season just around the corner,
you might want to stop by and get some of the trout scent before
it's all gone.
Saturday-September
23, 2006 - 3.47 pm - Enjoyed
chatting with people at the Great Plains Nature Center this morning
for the 5th Anniversary celebration for National Hunting and
Fishing Day. If you didn't have a chance to make it out, put
it on your calendar for the third Saturday of September next
year and plan on attending.
Saturday-September
23, 2006 - 5:04 am - I'm
up early, but not going fishing. I'll be doing the next best
however. I'm headed to the Great Plains Nature Center this morning
to do the next best thing to fishing, that's to talk about it.
I'll be there along with other people in the outdoors business
and organizations from 9:00 until 1:00. It's part of the 35th
Anniversary celebration for National Hunting and Fishing Day.
Here is some more information. If you have the time, come on
out.
National
Hunting and Fishing Day
September 23, 2006 - 9 AM to 1 PM
Co-sponsored by the Kansas Wildlife Federation, the Great Plains
Nature Center and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
Event will be held at the Great Plains Nature Center and Chisholm
Creek Park at 6232 E. 29th St. North in Wichita, KS.
Participating
conservation organizations, businesses and governmental agencies
will have display booths and present programs and demonstrations
to impart knowledge about various aspects of hunting and fishing.
Retriever training demonstrations. Door prizes.
Thursday-September
21, 2006 - 4:45 pm - What
about that weather today? We were starting to wish we had a basement
when the sirens went off. The storm passed through quickly and
we didn't have to run for cover thank goodness. Just talked with
Kick'n Bass and our new order of all seven scents is on the way.
We should have it here by Tuesday or Wednesday. We've been out
for a while, but won't be for long. This is probably the best
selling and producing scent we've had since we first started
selling it.
While I was
talking with them, I asked about using the saltwater formula
for stripers. They said it would work, but then shared a story
about a Texas angler that told them about placing second in a
striper tournament using the trout formula after running out
of the garlic scent which produces stripers.
Friday-September
15, 2006 - 11:51 am - I
got to spend the day in the store yesterday and do some ordering
and talk with a number of our regular customers. Deb, my wife,
has graduated to just using a can after her knee replacement.
Thanks to all of you that have asked about her. I also go to
swap notes with some customers building their own lures. Seems
like we are moving into that time of the year. Remember to check
out our eBay
auction items if
you are interested in Do-It molds. We have about two dozen listed
right now. We have about the same number we will be putting up
over the next couple weeks. Check each Monday for new listings.
These molds are new, but some have been discontinued and others
are overstocks. Don' t worry though, we still have around 200
on stock and will be adding more as we free up space from the
discontinued models. Also remember to check with us when you're
looking for those hard-to-find lures. Have a good weekend and
catch one for me.
Monday-September
11, 2006 - 9:44 am - Those
of you that pour your own weights and lead lures might be interested
in checking out our eBay
auction items.
We have a couple dozen new Do-It molds up for auction. These
molds are all new and include a number of different styles of
lures and weights. If you bid and win and want to pick the mold
up in our store to save the shipping charges, just let us know.
As fall and then winter approaches, many anglers start thinking
about next season and what they want to make in order to be prepared.
If you've never made your own weights or lures, think about it.
It's fun and you can save some money making your own. The big
bonus is the satisfaction you receive when you catch fish on
a lure you made. We have the best selection of lure making supplies
in the state. Come check us out.
Friday-September
8, 2006 - 2:05 pm - The
cool weather continues and catfishing continues active. Sonny's
Blooded seems to be the bait of choice right now. Deb's (my wife)
knee continues to improve. I think I will be able to get back
to Wichita next Thursday for a day and then the following week
get back on a more regular schedule. I'm not sure anyone has
really missed me, Alex, Ben, Dave and Tom have been doing a super
job.
Friday-September
1, 2006 - 2:07 pm - Another
good day of fly fishing sales yesterday as people continue to
prepare for those annual fly fishing trips. For those of you
staying closer to home, cooler temps spell an ideal Labor Day
weekend. Hope you all have a chance to work some fishing in during
the long weekend. My wife's new knee continues to come along
well. I actually had a chance to sneak to Wichita yesterday and
spend some time in the store. That was the last day of our 53rd
anniversary sale. If you have a chance to stop in today or tomorrow,
you might still find some of the items on sale. I'm hoping next
week will be the last week I need to stay close to home and I'll
have a chance to get to the store on my regular scedule once
again.
Sunday-August
20, 2006 - 3:05 pm - Deb
(my wife) is doing well with her new knee. We made it back home
Saturday evening and now it's several months of recovery. Thanks
to all of you that emailed wishing her the best.
I'll be sticking
close to home for a while to help out. The store will be in good
hands with Alex, Dave, Tom and Ben. We're nearing the end of
the month and our anniversary sale. If you haven't made it by
yet, you still have a little over a week to take advantage of
some good prices on our sale items. I don't know where spring
and summer went, but it won't be long until we move into the
fall fishing season. I talked with several customers that had
been doing well on catfish this past week or so.
Thursday-August
17, 2006 - 3:28 pm - If
you've been following this page you know my wife was scheduled
for a knee replacement Tuesday. I'm glad to report it went well.
She says it seems much better than when her other knee was replace
in 2001. It never has been quite right. We're hoping this one
does much better and we can start getting back out for more fishing.
I slipped away from the hospital to update the fishing reports
on the Kansas Angler Online and try to catch up on emails, orders
and all those other things that need regular attention. I've
enjoyed meeting several new customers today. Our anniversary
sale is still going and will run through the end of this month.
If you haven't been in yet, stop by and check it out. You might
find something you can use and save some money at the same time.
Saturday-August
12, 2006 - 7:19 am - This
week had an interesting, international flair. Monday started
with a phone call from an angler in Tasmainia seeking information
on some products. We talked for 15 minutes or so. I asked him
about the Tasmainian Devil (fishing lure) and he thought I was
talking about the animal. He told me they were in danger of becoming
extinct. Seems they are developing sores that keep getting worse.
He said the healthy ones are being isolated on a couple islands
off of Tasmania. Originally from Sydney, he had moved to Tasmania.
He's now retired and spends about six months a year fly fishing
in New Zealand. He said he had flown over Kansas and thought
it was all wheat. I told him about the Flint Hills and some of
the other great things about our state.
Later in the
week, two guys came in the store and looked around for a while.
After hearing them talk a little while, I asked them if they
were from out of town. They smiled and said they were from Austrialia.
I told them I suspected that and told them about my conversation
with the angler from Tasmania. They confirmed his story about
the plight of the Tasmanian Devil.
Although he
wasn't from out of the county, Friday morning we had a gentleman
from Chicago come in. He said he had moved to Wichita recently
and stopped in to see what we had. We talked a while about the
similarities and differences about the fishing in both areas.
Later Friday,
one of our regular customers stopped by and bought a couple hundred
Swim Tails to send to his son in Wisconsin. He told me they use
the Swim Tails to catch about everything up there.
I hope you get
a chance to get out and do some fishing this weekend. I'll be
busy trying to get odds and ends done as I prepare to spend several
weeks helping my wife, Deb, recuperate from knee replacement
surgery Tuesday.
Remember to
stop by and check out savings on a number of items in the store
as we enter our 54th year of serving anglers.
Tuesday-August
8, 2006 - 5:25 pm - In
my earlier post, I mentioned Mark and his success in hot weather
fishing. He is a regular contributor of reports and photographs
to Kansas Angler Online. I just received another report and photographs.
I've posted them on the home page. He just keeps catching fish.
I guess he doesn't know that it's too hot to fish. You can also
see his fish and photgraphs as well as other reports from Kansas
Anglers by clicking
here.
Tuesday-August
8, 2006 - 12:56 pm - Who
says it's too hot to go fishing. Check out the latest photo on
our home page. It shows Mark with a nice striper from Cheney
yesterday. We've received another order from War Eagle. We now
have the full range of colors in their buzz baits. This bait
continues to produce for anglers and the colors from War Eagle
are great. Stop by and talk fishing with Dave Johnson, especially
fly fishing, his favorite.
   Sunday-August 6, 2006 - 3:31 pm
- Finally got the
photographs of the three new miniature rod and reel combos processed
so I could show them to you. The first miniature collectible
combo we had was the Quantum Energy E30 PTI spinning reel with
the Tour Edition PT rod. The went over really well. People enjoy
the fact that they not only look just like the real thing, but
they also work. No, you shouldn't really use them to fish, but
they do work. The three new models we received include a Quantum
Energy E860PT-XM bait casting reel mounted on a Tour Edition
PT rod, an Abu Garcia Morrum M6600CL reel on a Lightning rod
and for the fly fishing enthusiast, a Martin Mohawk river MR78
reel on a Mohawk river MR97 rod. All the reels have line. The
combos are packaged in a clear plastic tube with hard plastic
end caps that snap together to form a base than the rod holded
fits in. You can click on the images to see a larger view. We
still have some of the spinning combo also in case you would
like to get one of them. Come by this week and check them all
out. If you live out of town and would like to get some of these,
you can purchase them through our shopping cart by clicking
here.
Saturday-August
5, 2006 - 5:44 am - Just
posted a story on the Kansas Angler Online site about the winner
of the annual Steve Harper scholarship for 2006. Each year, a
graduating high school senior wins a $1,000 scholarship to help
in his/her college education. You can read about this year's
winner by going
to the story. It
doesn't seem like it's been as long as it has since Steve passed
away. Photographer turned outdoor writer, Steve entertained and
informed Wichita Eagle readers for a number of years.
My wife Deb
enjoyed working with him at the Eagle and appreciated the opportunity
he gave her to get started in outdoor writing.
Friday-August
4, 2006 - 4:37 pm - What
a day. Another order of Chatterbaits arrived and we kept busy
getting all of our internet backorders shipped out and the rest
of them put out on display. I have to admit, I was skeptical
on this bait at first, but it's been producing fish for people.
Alex, our next to newest staff member, has been fishing them
and is real believer.
With many anglers
pushing their fishing earlier and later in the day, it makes
me think of our Secret Weapon spinnerbaits. If you're not aware
of them, it's a spinner bait that lets you change your blades
to meet different conditions. That's perfect as the sun goes
down and you want to switch to a darker blade. It's quick and
easy. No need to cut off a bait and tie on another, all you do
is switch the blades. Stop by and check them out.
We had some
good reports from people on catfish today. Cheney was one of
the hot spots it seems.
Wednesday-August
2, 2006 - 12:42 pm - Our
53rd Anniversary sale is underway. We have special prices on
a number of things and will be adding more as we go through the
month. You will find markdowns of 20% or more and a wide selecion
of soft plastics and crank baits. Thursday and Friday we will
be marking special prices on a number of rods. Our latest order
of Chatterbaits was shipped Monday according to the manufacturer.
I'll post it here as soon as we receive them. We have a number
of backorders to fill for internet customers, but should still
have all the colors available for our walkin customers. If you
would like to reserve some, you can order on
the internet and
put a note to hold them for you to pick up at the store. Then
we will notifiy you when we have them.
Saturday-July
29, 2006 - 3:29 pm - Hot
weather is moving fishing to early mornings and late evenings.
Bass anglers are fishing top water baits. Some of the most popular
with our recent customers have been the Jitterbug and Hula Popper.
Jitterbugs and Hula Poppers have been catching bass for generations.
I would dare say we have the best selection of colors and sizes
in the state. This time of the year, grasses and moss present
challenges for bass anglers in ponds and lakes. We have the lures
you need for that type of fishing also including the hot new
Spro Frog, Snag Proof brand baits, Norman Weedwalkers and more.
Come check them out.
 Friday-July
28, 2006 - 1:25 pm - We just received three more models in
our collectible rod and reel combos. The new models include a
Martin fly combo, a Quantum baitcasting combo and an Ambassadeur
combo. We will have photographs of them as soon as as possible.
Watch this blog for the photographs. Busy day today with people
hoping for the cooler weather to hold into the weekend. Interestingly,
we've been having quite a lot of activity with people making
their own lures. Normally that's a winter time activity, but
I think the hot weather has been keeping people inside. We have
spinnerbait heads up to one-ounce. This is the time of the year
people like to make up some 1/2 ounce and heavier spinnerbaits.
Also getting more items priced for our 53rd anniversary sale.
It kicks off next Tuesday.
Tuesday-July
25, 2006 - 4:16 pm - We're
marking special prices on a number of our items to celebrate
our 53rd anniversary and will contine to through the week. The
celebration will start officially August 1. Watch here for more
info, but you can sneak in any time and take advantage of special
prices we have already marked.
Saturday-July
22, 2006 - 2:47 pm - We
received several orders yesterday. We have all the colors again
on the Sparkle Tail lures in both sizes, a full selection of
Cortland's Fairplay leaders and a ton of 10" Blue Fleck
Power Worms from Berkley. I would be willing to bet we have the
best selection of 10" and 12" worms in the state. It's
that time of the year, come check them out. Tom and Alex are
in the store today to help you. I'm in the Cottonwood Falls store,
but I'll be back in Wichita next Monday, Thursday and Friday.
Dave is in the store Tuesdays and Wednesdays now. Come in and
talk fly fishing with him. My son Ben is in the store on Wednesdays.
We're still working on preparations for our 53rd Anniversary
Sale. Keep watching this space.
The fishing
tackle industry just finished the annual trade show in Las Vegas.
It won't be long until the new items for 2007 start showing up.
I agree with many of our customers that say, "They make
this stuff to catch us, instead of the fish." While that
might be true, if the product is to have a long life in the marketplace,
it has to perform. I've seen so many products come and go through
the years, it boggles my mind at times. I have to laugh sometimes
when I think of some of the ones that didn't make it even though
they seemed to be a good idea at the time. I have to laugh because
if I didn't, I would have to cry because we bought into them
and then were stuck with them for a long time. Most of those
were in the days before the promotion products from the major
manufacturers receive today. Television and the internet have
really changed things.
Friday-July
21, 2006 - 2:15 pm - Cooler
temps today are encouraging. Interestingly enough, we're seeing
activity with people making their own lures. I think the hot
weather kept people in just like cold weather does. When you're
locked inside, making your own lures is about as you can get
to fishing. If you're interested, we have everything you need.
Wednesday-July
19, 2006 - 3:16 pm - We
still have a few Chatterbaits, but we're getting low. Better
get in soon if you need some. We also received another order
from Gene Larew Tackle. With the hot weather, you may want to
check out the Hawg Craw selection.
Wednesday-July
19, 2006 - 12:12 pm - I'm
in Cottonwood Falls today, but I'll be in the store Thursday
and Friday. I've been updating fishing reports on the Kansas Angler
Online website.
I just finished posting a couple photographs from one of our
Bass Shop customers and regular contributors to the Angler site.
I've also posted them on the home page of this site. While many
people have been staying inside by the air conditioner, he's
been out catching fish.
I hope the weather
forecasters are right in predicting that today is going to be
the peak of high temps for a while and we will see a little cooler
weather. It would be great if we could get some moisture too.
Thursday and
Friday, we will be selecting items to put on sale for our 53rd
Anniversary. I'll post it here when we are ready. Hope you all
make it through the hot weather and take a chance to sneak out
and do some fishing. My dad always said, "The best time
to go fishing is when you can go." If you can go now, take
advantage of it and get out.
Saturday-July
15, 2006 - 7:10 am - Busy
day at the store yesterday. Had a number of first time customers.
It's always interesting to see how people find us. Word-of-mouth
is the most often mentioned method. We always appreciate that.
It let's us know we're doing things right. Bass Pro rods and
reels continue to be popular with our customers. The price vs
quality is a winner. The smoothness and performance of the Johnny
Morris Signature reels and Extreme series reels continue to impress
anglers. I'll be at our store in Cottonwood Falls today, but
Alex, Jeremy and Ben will be in the Wichita store to help you
if you need something today. Ben is my oldest son and he has
been busy adding more items to our shopping cart. Some of the
items on the shopping cart are internet specials. We will honor
those prices in the store if you print out the page and bring
it in with you so we know you visited our shopping cart and are eligible for the special
pricing. Check it out often. We have a close out section on it,
but we also have special pricing in some of the individual areas
from time to time.
Thursday-July
13, 2006 - 7:15 am - We
spent yesterday starting to identify some items to put on sale
for our 53rd anniversary. Watch this blog to find out when the
sale starts. Then when it starts, let your friends know about
it. I'm in Cottonwood Falls right now but will be heading back
to Wichita. We still have some Chatterbaits, but between store
sales and internet sales, we will be out of them again unless
our next order arrives before we run out. I wouldn't count on
that though. We had a call from an out of state person to buy
a gift certificate for a relative in Wichita. If you have out
of town relatives that tell you that you're hard to buy for,
suggest a gift certificate from Zeiner's. They can order from
our shopping cart or by phone. We can mail the certificate to
them or to you. Then you can use it for anything in the store
or something you might want to order from the Bass Pro catalog.
We can order almost everything they have for you and it's the
same price as their's and there is no shipping or handling in
most cases. The is only a handful of items we are unable to order
because of manufacturer limitations.
Thursday-July
6, 2006 - 2:19 pm - Hope
everyone had a safe and fun fourth. We did a lot of catching
up on things yesterday since we were closed on Tuesday. We placed
several more orders for items we were out of or running low on.
That's one thing we do than most of our competitors don't do.
Fishing is our business 12 months of the year, not just for a
short time in the spring. I met more new customers Monday. People
that in town to visit relatives, etc. If you're wanting to try
the Chatterbaits, better get in soon. I think Bobby, our store
manager said we've put out all of our backup stock. We have a
new part time employee starting today. He is a young angler that
seems to have a pretty good handle on fishing. He's a bit like
a walking fishing encyclopedia on fishing. He fishes as much
as he can and watches all the fishing shows and reads everything
he can get his hands on. Stop by and say hi to him sometime.
His name is Alex and he will be working afternoons probably.
Monday-July
3, 2006 - 6:34 am - We
will be open today, but will be closing early. We will be open
until at least 4:00. Stop by and see us if you have a chance.
We will be closed on the 4th.
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