Id or Billies

[biglugs]

you lads wanna try fishing republic at hendon £3.80 a pack of 10 lugworm approx 2-3 inch long a total disgrace

[snag hunter]

i was asked a question so you got my answer, why pay top money for useless worm? i had to put a full bag of lug on me hook to make a decent cod bait! thats not on in my opinion. shouldnt sell poor small bait, then give the quality stuff to mates. it does happen and we all know it. if you say we should look at the bait and refuse it if its no good, then so should the tackle dealers who buy it from the diggers!.

[Stores]

I used to use ID all the time when he was on Chillingham Rd and John would put himself out every time I came up for the weekend or he'd drop bait off at my mams. Couldn't fault him. Whenever I've used Billys the answer would be exactly the same - good service and good quality.
Perhaps we can get around the negative comments by a lack of postings. At school our references never say bad things about the kids but employers understand what a lack of information means. If there were 100 positive comments for ID and none for Billys (or vice versa) the implications would be clear without having to spell it out.

[red rock]

both good shops in my mind and i know both john and billy, its a case of you take as you find is it not

[willywetegg]

It would'nt matter which two shops were mentioned, every tackle shop no matter how good will have had problems with a customer or customers and vice versa. Everyone has his or hers favourite shop no matter what they are shopping for. If everyone prefered Morrison's then Tesco's would close next week as would Asda. When I was in the pub trade, it didn't matter what you did for some people they would still twist about something, also it does'nt matter how often and how long you use a tackle shop, eventually they will make a mistake. How that mistake is handled by both sides depends on the future of that partnership.

It has happened to me at several shops, bait ordered, got there and no bait. With two of them there was no apology or nothing, even when I told one of them them I had phoned before leaving my house. Needless to say I never used those shops again and still wont. A couple of other shops have apologised and sorted me out to both of our satisfaction and I would still use them today. It totally baffles me why the question was asked in the first place, especially the way it was worded

Jim.

[codrod2]

Sorry bout the way the question was phrased .I only really put it on coz last time i got lug from there most were under 2inches.

[darren]

[QUOTE=seanyrooroo;162253]If a shop owner had half a shred of decency then he wouldn't sell crap worm. Diggers would try harder to find better worms and leave the small stuff to grow if the tackle shops refused to take them. Some tackle shop owners are only out to make the money and have no love of the sport. I for one would have no trouble paying a bit extra for better worms if I was relying on a shop.

The 'click' does and always will exist not just in shops but in a lot of clubs too! What do you do about it though? Put your head down? Accept it? Or do you make yourself heard and make yourself some good friends in the process?

Back to the original question, I have never bought from either so I am in no position to comment, however, I do agree with Mark's comment. Frazers bait is normally good and I like how the bait is displayed so you can see what you're buying, unlike most tackle shops who wrap up their crap in newspaper so you can't see how crap it is till you've left.[/QUOTE
billy gets scottish lug in nearly every week aswell as blow lug if you put your order in at the start of the week for the scottish stuff you will usaly get it and its cracking lug but it is a little bit more money to cover the postage to his shop.as for saying diggers have to work harder have you tried digging for a few lug never mind a few hundred and if the diggers have to go to far afeild it would cost to much in petrol and would be a waste ov the diggers time.SMALL TIDES MEANS SMALL LUG NO MATTER HOW HARD THAY WORK.Billys shop is warm and welcoming when i first went there 6 years ago just starting out after a quick chat with bill he offerd to take me fishing and he didnt even no me i now class bill as a very good freind

[roncoe]

usually use Rutherfords in Sunderland , found ID to be rather poor, on my 2 visits to Billy's cant fault them, very friendly and helpful

[b8ker]

not saying

Which shop do you prefer and which does the best quality bait.

a na billys have sum brilliant bait nd u can get crab there if you order it but keeping the number 1 tackle shop to myself soz like but give him a go u might have sum look

[ecoli]

ordered some wraps of lug from id but when I got there it had all been sold so I had to settle for blow lug I asked for 6 bags and got 9 for the same price they have always told me when the lug has been small and usually get more chucked in to make up for it and Iam not in the "click " been to billys and always been happy with the bait the same with frazers , I spend my cash in them all if one has not got what I need you can guarantee one of them will

[Stephen]

It boils my P**S threads like this its got nothing to do with "made his cash" he sells what the diggers get and the diggers are efected by the tides what worm there get.Before you buy them ask to look at the worm if no good then say no thanks

the diggers shud no where to get worm from on poo tides though half decent in anyway

[darren]

the diggers shud no where to get worm from on poo tides though half decent in anyway

you musnt have ever dug ya own worms mate.
The smaller lug are closer to the shore no matter where you go coz thats the areas that get dug the most so thay dont get chance to grow as big.on smaller tides you can get bigger lug in little seprate bays and the odd worm bed here and there but when your a digger doing it for money would you go from place to place getting 20worm here 30 worm there ?i its just not possible these diggers do have to make a living from this

[BILLYB]

critics

Talking about cliks in shops Cod boy i have never seen you in my shop at any time so wonder how you can come up with the answer you put on the thread.
and you must off had your bed removed from ID as you were nearly living in there at one time.
I have had a lot of phone calls telling me about this thread and feel i must answer some of the comments, I have never had a clik of any sort in the shop, nobody picks there bait in my shop you are giving a mixed bag of worms big or small if the worms are small you are shown them and given the chance to buy or not, you do not get 2 for 1 if the worms are small as we pay the same price for a 1in or a 6in worm My rag worm is sold in front of you on the counter so you can see what you are getting.
As for not taking small worm from diggers, If you say to the diggers you do not want the worm they will just take it to another shop and sell it. lug worm is very hard to get if i could get giant lug every delivery i would be over the moon.
every tackle shop has the same problems with lug. As for becoming rich selling worms my electric bill for this 1/4 for keeping worms in fridges is over £700.00
We do not make money on worm it is there to bring anglers into the shop and hopefully they will buy hooks weights etc

[Stephen]

you musnt have ever dug ya own worms mate.
The smaller lug are closer to the shore no matter where you go coz thats the areas that get dug the most so thay dont get chance to grow as big.on smaller tides you can get bigger lug in little seprate bays and the odd worm bed here and there but when your a digger doing it for money would you go from place to place getting 20worm here 30 worm there ?i its just not possible these diggers do have to make a living from this

funnily enough i dig just about every weekend for shops

just got to know about the right places

in my opinion the diggers could get the worm if the went further away, or could be a***d with the extra 2 or 4 hours in the car. or the fuel cost maybe to high traveling that far means you have to dig more worms which is up to the digger.

the tackle shops will take wat the diggers have,

look at it this way a bait digger goes to a place 50- 100 mile away and may dig 600 - 800 little things why wud he travel a extra 100 or 200 mile for the same numbers but slightly bigger worm? and waste more money on fuel it means less profit, they may go once in a while to try and keep the tackle dealer sweet.

which would you do ?

depends if they get paid by the quality of worm.

shops buy the worm around 13p each and if they get the same price for better worm the digger will more than likely go to the place that he is going to make the most profit which is closer to home


hit the nail on the head with a two pound hammer billy

[bozjc]

i used to be a regular in loads of tackle shops in the north east. i used to always go to ID, Temples (back in the day) and sports and leisure.

i never had a problem with any of the shops and i spent a hell of alot of money in them.

i will agree that there are clicks in tackle shops, but they are mainly the regulars, if you are in there most weeks, they get to know your face and will ask how you have been getting on and pass on any info they have been given. there are or where (long time since i used to fish) perks of being a good regular and you would often get told to wait until such a day or time for some good bait that is coming in etc. but its like most things, the more time you put into it, the more you get back. I always used to like mingling in the shops, club and when out fishing. helps to get info, tactics, tips etc.

i normally go to a few shops for bait anyway, the other day i got bait from, frasers and billys, there were hardly any difference in bait. only thing i have noticed is the price hike since i used to fish, it was only £1.10 for a bag of lug, i twisted my tits off when it went up to £1.30. got a shock when i went for the first time a few weeks back and found it was around the £2 mark! lol but times change and the price is a uniform hike across all the tackle shops (show how long ago it was when i last fished) haha

my only advice is to ask to see the worms, shop owners dont mind, or even ask for the best they have lol
then just ask if they have heard any good info, marks, baits etc. or tell them where you are going to fish and ask for their advice, they get alot of guys in over the week and hear alot of catch reports. If you just go in and do the asda checkout routine, they are less likely to start a conversation.

but as far a the ''who is best'' question, i go to all and dont go for one all the time.
At the end of the day, once the bait is on the hook and in the water, the fish dont know or care which tackle shop it came from