Discovering Georgia Hidden Gems – Tiger Creek Bait And Tackle

Over the past 30 years the tackle industry has changed. And in my opinion… it’s not for the better.

When I was a boy a Saturday morning trip to the bait shop with my grandpa meant pulling up to a little hole in the wall tackle store a half hour before sunrise, and walking inside to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the friendly face of the same feller we had done business with for the who knows how many Saturdays before that. He knew us, we knew him, and honestly stopping in to buy a box of worms and a couple of other odds and ends felt more like visiting with family than a business transaction. Yes sir those were the good old days.

Nowadays mega powers like Amazon have all but taken over the tackle industry completely, and at first, that was good news for fishermen looking to save some cash by getting tackle delivered directly to their door. Then…somewhere along the way… things began to change. Small tackle stores have closed up shop in recent years at a record pace, and you better bet the big boys of business have paid attention. With very little competition left in local markets, Amazon and other similar companies have sent prices higher than the rockets being tested in North Korea.

Let me stop right there for a second and say that the purpose of this story isn’t to throw stones at Amazon or any other company in the trade.With a wife and two teenage daughters at home, I spend most every afternoon after work kicking packages out of my way just to make it across the back porch and into the house. It’s a reality of the day and age we live in, and I’ll be the first to admit that this new way of doing business definitely has its place in the world today.

With all that said, now it’s time to throw this month’s spotlight on Tiger Creek Bait and Tackle. Situated down a dusty dirt road just outside of Vidalia, Chris Edenfield and his wife Tammy are changing the way the tackle industry operates by merging old school business with the new way of doing things.

Chris and Tammy operate the seemingly small operation right out of their backyard, and it’s open for walk-in customers weekday afternoons from 4-8, and on Saturday mornings from 8-2. But it’s when the lights go off and the doors get locked, that’s when the real work begins. Often working late into the night, the couple tirelessly processes and fills orders from all over the country.

“When we started Tiger Creek a couple years back, the goal was to have a place that local anglers could come and shop, but we also wanted to be able to bring lower prices on fishing tackle to everyone. Our daughter, Allison, is the one who made that happen. She manages the website and the tech side of things for us, and I can tell you right now we couldn’t do this without her,” said Chris.

By operating the business on their own property, doing all of the work themselves, and negotiating with wholesalers to buy products in large quantities, Tiger Creek is able to offer prices on fishing tackle that other large retailers can’t compete with.

Some examples of this would be the Zebco Omega and Zebco Delta combos that are currently in stock. The Omega Combo is priced at an impressive $55(Avg retail elsewhere $85-$100), and the Delta combo is priced at $45(Avg retail elsewhere $70-$90). These are only a couple examples of the hundreds of combos on the rack at Tiger Creek. Anglers can also choose from dozens of different baitcasting and spinning reels that are priced below $60, and Chris mentioned if you don’t see it online, that doesn’t mean they don’t have it.

“Allison is still working hard on the website, and we’re still adding new stuff everyday. If you don’t see what you’re looking for then give us a call or stop in because there’s a good chance we’ve either got it, or we can get it,” said Chris.

Chris and Tammy keep the candle burning at both ends, with each of them working full time jobs during the day. Chris is an operations manager at a plant, and Tammy is a teacher. When I visited the shop for this story, I asked Chris what the plan for Tiger Creek’s future looked like.

“I can’t say for sure, because you never know how things will work out, but me and Tammy hope to be able to transition the business into something we can continue to operate on into our retirement years. It’s been a lot of work on both of us to get it off the ground, but I think it’s been worth it and the future looks promising,” said Chris.

To visit Tiger Creek you can find the shop at 561 Ben Boatright Rd, Vidalia, GA 30474. Keep in mind the store is open in the afternoons from 4pm-8pm and on Saturday’s from 8am -2pm. If you have questions for Chris and Tammy you can reach out to them on the Tiger Creek Bait and Tackle Fb page, or give Chris a call on his cell at 706.831.1454. For those wishing to place an online order visit www.tigercreekbaitandtackle.com.