Set out below is a 2016 review.  The support we have received from the fishing community has been outstanding, and I know a number have people have followed our “start-up” story so I wanted to give an update.  It is a fairly long read for those that are interested.  

It has been and interesting journey for Shore Catch so far.  We opened our Wangara shop in Late February 2016 and have now had 9 months of actual trading.  We proposed a unique product line that was designed for experienced fishers and invested in the equipment, premises, licences, stock, and all the rest.

The shredded fish and burley products we make seem to have gained good market acceptance, because they work.  We currently wholesale various products to quality tackle shops in the Perth Metropolitan region, as well as selling our full range from Wangara.  There was a lot of R&D into making quality “new” products, and I think we did ok.  Our research is ongoing and we will produce more products in 2017.

A number of tackle shops have requested that we supply selected bait, and we are currently stocking at a few outlets as a trial.   We do not intend to be a manufacturer and processor of all types of bait products and directly compete with the existing wholesale suppliers.  The products we wholesale will be unique in the market and only be available through selected wholesale clients.

We will continue to operate a retail shop in Wangara.  Although manufacturing and wholesale supply is likely to be our main focus, I think we can add value to the retail sector by offering unique products and services.

Our 2017 retail products will be around the following themes.

Fish Based Burley – We will continue to manufacture our fish based burley products, being either a minced fish based burley block or shredded mulies block in 1.5kg or 5kg sizes.  We are currently changing the shape of the 1.5kg blocks to a 100mm diameter by 200mm length logs.  We have modified our manufacturing and packing process to produce a product that will fit into the vast majority of existing burley pots.  Overall, we have been very happy with the performance of our burley products, and after much testing, and numerous customer reports I think we have the mix ratios right.

Shredded Fish – We custom built a piece of equipment that was designed to shred any fish to a size that had buoyancy in the water column. The Shredder is certainly the “Queen” of our processing operations and we make a lot of our products from her output.  Our in-store retail products are 1kg and 2kg vacuum sealed shredded, mulies (Albany pilchards), local mullet, tuna and mixed fish (various commercially caught whole bait fish, and reef fish frames).  Our business certainly has a component of recycling in it.

Bulk Bait to Order – A popular product has been bulk mixed bait for trips away.  It has been good to deal with knowledgeable people about their requirements at the shop, or via email, and we have learned a lot.  We will shortly update our web site to allow custom selection of baits & packaging to make it easy to order exactly what you want.  It will generally take 3-5 business days to produce the order with Wangara being “on the way” for Northern trips.  We are working with Mad Fish and hope to provide discounted esky bags that we can pack for trips away – take the bait up in it and bring the fish back in it.

Full Range of Retail In-Store Baits – We aim to provide a quality range of retail bait.  We buy from primary producers, market or wholesale supplier, depending on the product and availability.  We have upgraded our freezer storage space in the showroom so we can stock the variety of retail products that people want.  Our bait is generally classified as: whole small baitfish; fin fish fillets; whole fin fish; cephalopod; crustacean; bivalve; and various custom packs with bait variety based on purpose.  We will keep our web site regularly updated with available baits from mid-January 2017, and any suggestions of additional products are welcome. 

Custom Clothing – There is a market for a good quality WA locally made products.  We have produced a lot of shirts this year and I believe the point of difference is customer service.  It is good to work with people to make something that they want, and producing Danny Green’s yearly Yardie Creek trip shirts, and Shelley Taylor-Smith’s Rotto Swim School shirts was a highlight.  The Port Hedland Game Fishing Club was excellent to deal with again, and to hear that our shirts were now “collector’s items” was very satisfying.  We will expand this business line and consolidate a pricing structure.  Custom shirts in short runs (5-20) is the product in most demand by retail customers.  A few images are below.

Knife & Accessories Range – The post about this subject in early 2016 was very helpful (http://fishwrecked.com/forum/knife-range-members-input-requested).  I have visited a number of tackle shops over the last year and have reviewed the knife ranges.  There are some very good offerings of knives in tackle shops, that you can’t even buy from the wholesale knife suppliers, and I guess this is a reflection of quality knives being a relatively slow moving item.  Understandable, given that a good knife that is looked after should last a lifetime.  We will continue to stock a pure “fishing” range of knives and accessories, and refine the offering as it is a service that adds value.  As a separate matter, “high end” manufacturers and distributors seem to care little about the fishing range – the number of our customers preferred knife types that have been discontinued is certainly disappointing.

Selected Tackle – It has been a common mantra that Shore Catch is not a tackle shop.  Nevertheless, we do need to stock some retail tackle items that are complementary to our manufactured products.  Rigs, hooks, sinkers and Big John’s Jigs are the main offering. 

We stock a large range of pre-made rigs and have been very happy with the range, quality and service from MJ’s Custom Tackle.  It is nice to be able to stock a WA made product that is designed for our conditions.  Our point of difference is the range of products to cater for all fishing styles.  We will shortly have MJ’s produce 2 Shore Catch paternoster rig patterns for demersal species, and King George Whiting, that will be available from our shop only.

It has been excellent working with Big John and we certainly congratulate him on his awesome products and service.  Again, it is great to see a locally made good quality product start to gain acceptance in the market, again.  John has updated all our stock with his new range and the products just get better and better.

There are thousands of hook choices out there.  In the end we selected Gamakatsu hooks in 4 patterns (Octopus, Octopus Circle, Shiner and Long Shank) across the full range of size class.  We do not stock small packet sizes, except for the long shank, and our pack sizes are 25 hooks.  Our point of difference is that we actually keep all hook sizes in stock, as I know how frustrating it is to go to buy hooks and what you want is not there.

Although not really tackle, the flaked salt ice is a welcome addition to our retail offering.  We have posted about this before so I won’t go on about it again but it does really work.  On Christmas Day a wholesale customer arranged to pick up an order as it was the only time he had available.  We packed the esky at 9am with the products in salt ice and when it reached its destination at 7pm, after a day in the heat and sun, there had been no defrosting of the ice and the products were still frozen solid.  It is so much better than cubed water ice.

We will continue to seek selected products that hard to get in other places.  Tackle is not what we do, but we do need to hold some so we may as well offer unique items, and good quality and range of a few “standard” items.     

Selected Combinations – We will discontinue the consignment sale of second hand equipment.  There is a lot of work in doing it and the returns are marginal at best.  You also have to be of a particular personality type to succeed in selling second hand goods and be able to deal with the types of people that want the world for nothing.  It is really a distraction from the things that matter so is no longer a core business.  Instead, we will stock a small range of rod and reel combinations that are set up ready to fish.  We are likely to have known brand 10lb, 20lb, 30lb and 50lb combinations for different styles of fishing.  We will stock quality in the medium to low price range.  More detail will be released in due course.

Our business is growing steadily and I would personally like to thank Callum, and my family, for the efforts that have been put in.  Callum has been employed for a few months now and his knowledge and enthusiasm is outstanding.  In 2017, Callum will take the role of Production Manager and look after our manufacturing and processing operations.  We are seeking to hire new casual staff so if you are interested please let us know.  Please note that to do the job, you probably need to have been around fish a lot over your life as it is certainly not a job for those that haven’t.  This is the first advertisement for staff as we consider a fishing related forum the best place to start.

Our business set up is nearing completion.  It has been a lot of hard work and we are indebted to the people that have supported us in our first year.  We have adopted a “hasten slowly” approach so we are sure we can deliver quality, and the right products at the right price.  I am certainly happy this phase is near completion and I can start to focus on operational and R&D initiatives, amongst other things.  It has been quite a ride, and we still have a fair way to go, but I think we can approach 2017 with some optimism. 

Happy New Year to all, and thanks again for your support.  As always, any feedback is appreciated.  Mick