Christmas tradition scores big with anglers
By Greg Seubert
As far as John Faucher is concerned, nothing says Merry Christmas like a few dozen fathead minnows or a tobacco canister filled with waxworms.
That’s why he spent much of Christmas day at his business – Johnny’s Little Shop of Bait – in New London.
Faucher is no stranger to the small bait shop, located at 1205 W. Wolf River Dr., next to the city’s municipal boat landing on the Wolf River.
He has worked for more than 30 years at the store for three previous owners, including Don Cashmore, who died in May 2011 of a stroke following bypass surgery at age 64.
“It was at the tail end of the spring walleye run,” Faucher said. “My wife worked for Don and I helped out here. Don’s family asked me to keep it open and oversee it until they could settle everything and figure out what they were going to do.”
Besides operating the business, then known as Cash’s Little Shoppe of Bait, Cashmore also lived in the building.
“I had a promise to Cash personally before he went to the hospital that the place would keep going no matter what and his cats would be cared for and they’d live their natural life here until they died,” Faucher said. “I was obligated to that promise.”
Cashmore’s family received three bids for the property, including one from Faucher and his family.
“We aggressively bid on the place and to be honest, we bid very high – probably about $20,000 too high – to make sure we would get it,” he said. “It meant everything in the world to me. If somebody doesn’t open this bait shop on the day that I die, I’m going to come back and haunt them.”
Open on Christmas
Faucher took the business over in 2012 and one of his first decisions was to be open every day of the year, including Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Cashmore never opened on Christmas day, according to Faucher.
“Christmas was a big deal for Don,” he said. “It took him a whole year to shop for Christmas gifts because he was thoughtful in his gift-giving. He wanted it to be something personal between him and that person.”
Faucher showed up shortly before noon on Christmas, but an employee opened the doors at 6 a.m.
The shop stayed open until 5 p.m. and reopened Dec. 26.
A steady stream of anglers came through the shop’s front door Christmas day and nearly all of them left with live bait before heading out for a day of ice fishing on the Wolf River, which flows through New London and Fremont before emptying into Lake Poygan.
“A couple of these guys today are from as far as 30 miles away,” Faucher said. “We see a lot of people from the Clintonville area and a lot of Fox Valley people. From midday on, we’ll have a lot of locals.”
Those customers included Matt Brown, who lives in the Twin Cities and spent the holidays with family in the New London area.
“I started looking on my phone for bait shops and this one said it was open,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to make sure, so I came down.”
Brown bought some minnows before heading out to fish with a friend about 20 miles from New London.
“You can’t go anywhere,” he said. “Almost every place is closed.”
“It definitely wasn’t economics-driven,” Faucher said of the decision to be open on Christmas.
“We know there are people that either don’t have family or they celebrate Christmas at different times,” he said. “Everybody’s together at Thanksgiving or a deer camps and they have a Christmas then. That gives everybody a holiday with not much to do. They’re grounded to watching old movies at home.”
Faucher first opened his doors on Christmas in 2012 and has done it ever since.
“I said to my brother, ‘I’m going to open up on Christmas day,’ and he said, ‘You’re nuts, why would you do that?’” he said. “He said, ‘If you have more than five customers today, I’ll give you $100.’ It was over an $800 day. I was delightfully surprised and I was really happy to collect $100 from my brother.”
Anglers are grateful the shop is open for business.
“We hear it all the time: thank you, thank you, thank you,” Faucher said. “Especially on the holidays.”
A familiar face
Besides owning the New London area’s only bait shop, Faucher is also well-known as a long-time reporter for the New London Press Star, which he still does on a part-time basis. He’s also a New London alderman.
Johnny’s Little Shop of Bait offers its customers something they won’t get anywhere else, Faucher said.
“I think they’re looking to be treated like any family member at the farmhouse kitchen table,” he said. “They’re looking for character, they’re looking for humor at the right time, they’re looking for encouragement. We’re careful about particular spots (for fishing), but we definitely talk about patterns.
“For example, the guys that are fishing walleyes right now are catching some very nice walleyes, very well-fed,” he added. “When they take them home to clean them, they’re full of mudminnows and that’s something we don’t see a lot of here. That starts a conversation in the shop: where are they getting these from? I talked to my bait guy and I said, ‘Where would these walleyes be getting these mudminnows from?’ Their bellies are literally full. You clean a walleye and there’ll be 12 mudminnows in there.
“They can survive on about 60% less oxygen than a regular minnow,” he said. “You don’t typically see them in the main current of fresh, moving water. You see them a lot in stagnant water. My bait dealer said it got colder and the ice starting to freeze down to the shore. Mudminnows bury themselves in the mud. As the ice continues to come out, they have to move out further and get into deeper mud. Walleyes are opportunists and they’re picking them off as they come out of the mud.”
Faucher’s advertising efforts include word of mouth, a website (www.thelittleshoppeofbait.com) and a Facebook page.
“People come around the last corner on the way into town,” he said. “Even if they’re not fishing, they stop. This place is a tourism center. It’s an ongoing continuous forum of people coming in and visiting. We meet a lot of interesting people.”
Something different
Most of the shop’s customers are looking for live bait or custom-made lures, including jigs.
“We have enough of the essentials and then we produce a lot of our own product that you can’t get in a big box store,” Faucher said. “We come up with new patterns and things every year. We can’t offer everybody all of the discounts and selection of a box store, but if you drive and you’re going fishing, we’re going to be there for you with the best selection we can have.
“One thing about this place is the customers will keep you in check,” he said. “When you think about changing things and you shouldn’t be changing them, they’ll let you know. When you’re not changing and you should be, they’ll let you know. Your input and your fishing knowledge means just as much as if Bill Dance or Roland Martin walked in here.”
The shop’s telephone rang several times on Christmas Eve.
“We had 36 calls saying, ‘How long are you open today because we’re going to fish,’” Faucher said. “It’s been seven years and by now, they know we’re open. We could never close on Christmas now.”