Ranking of major fishing gear suppliers in Southern Ontario

[zippyFX]

For Ottawa and online information.

LeBaron
1) On service and repairs, or returns: No experience.
2) On helpful CORRECT expertise in the stores & attitude: Very knowledgeable and informed. In Ottawa no Carp or catfish supplies
3) On regular pricing (not including sales): Prices are very competitive. Good specials. Good selection
Centrally located in Ottawa (15 minutes from home or work); Has worms for sale; These guys are in the internet stone age though, needs a total re-work.

BassPro (on line from Ottawa)
1) On service and repairs, or returns: No experience; They get my online orders right and ship promptly; Has catfish supplies; Not much for carp;
2) On helpful CORRECT expertise in the stores & attitude: Web site is easy to use has good reviews and tutorials
3) On regular pricing (not including sales): tend to be competitive.
Great selection; Only order with free shipping

Canadian Tire (two location mainly Barrhaven and Kanta)
1) On service and repairs, or returns: They will take almost anything back; No catfish or carp supplies
2) On helpful CORRECT expertise in the stores & attitude: Very little expertise unless the guy working happens to fish
3) On regular pricing (not including sales): higher than average for most things; but specials/clearance deals are great and you can get deep discounts;
Biggest factor with CT is convenience 5 minutes from home and 10 minutes from work; Has worms for sale

Sail (Trainyards)
1) On service and repairs, or returns: No experience; Web site searches are crummy; No catfish or carp supplies
2) On helpful CORRECT expertise in the stores & attitude: Seems good from the few questions I have asked
3) On regular pricing (not including sales): competitive though I think LeBaron is slightly better (based on impressions)
Not conveniently located (30 minutes from home, 40 minutes from work); Probably the best selection and variety in Ottawa but a hassle unless I have the time.

Cabalas (Saskatoon)
1) On service and repairs, or returns: No experience; Limited catfish supplies; No carp supplies.
2) On helpful CORRECT expertise in the stores & attitude: Seemed helpful and knowledgeable
3) On regular pricing (not including sales): comparable to Sail or Basspro; Not as good as Le Baron
Vist during the holidays. Nice store. Never seem to offer good online sales or free shipping like Basspro.

Manotick Bait and Tackle (Manotick)
- Local bait store; Good to hear what the others are catching and were (they put me onto my Muskie)
- Minnows all sizes (I fish early so I pick them up the night before bagged in Oxygen)
- Sucker 8-14 inches (upto 16 inches sometimes)
- Good hours; Good for terminal tackle and odds and ends.
- The old co-op is now offering minnow; I will need to check it out;
- The kids get a free soft plastic lure of their choice winch keeps them busy until I get what I need.
- No online presence

Some other locations outside of Ottawa I have not had a chance to got (30-40 minutes out of town) Paddletales in Winchester and a proshop in SmithFalls.