BIG bait in the castleton area

[FondoFishin]

Just wondering if anyone knows where to buy BIG pike bait thats relativley near the poultney/castleton area? I really like Toms, but it seems like his suckers and pike shiners are running small this year. The general store near ST. cats has halfway-decent suckers, but no big shiners. I prefer to fish with the 8 to 10 inch suckers and the big 6 to 7 inchs arkansas'. Any reccomendations?

[Bailbuster]

We got bait at Ed's  on 22A today,1/2 were over 5" not sure if he would pick out the larger or not.We live on the east side of the state  and most of the time we haul our bait.Steve's has big bait.BB

[beaver1080]

Just wondering if anyone knows where to buy BIG pike bait thats relativley near the poultney/castleton area? I really like Toms, but it seems like his suckers and pike shiners are running small this year. The general store near ST. cats has halfway-decent suckers, but no big shiners. I prefer to fish with the 8 to 10 inch suckers and the big 6 to 7 inchs arkansas'. Any reccomendations?

only problem with tom's bait is most of it is floating by the time u get to where u are fishing. 3 of us went in this morning and got 2 doz med. shiners each 20 mins later on lake and most of the bait was dead. the temps in there are 2 warm.

[taggin out]

Steves in hartland vermont has big bait. We got some 14 inch suckers from him and 8 to 10 inch arks.

[VTPikeman]

Ya sound like a bunch of Greenhorns to Me !..Ever heard of tempering your bait ??Try it next time,you might be suprised.......  I've probably bought more bait @ Tom's then all of you have collectively in all your years combined.Never( i mean in 20+years of buying from Toms, NEVER!) have i had ALL my bait die....And seriously,don't be trashing the man who is trying to make a living helping us fisherman... Look on the walls at all the big pike pic's at Tom's next time you go in there,we got some hogs over the years. Ask Rob or Andrew what those fish were caught on. It's not a 12in sucker or a 10in shiner but more like a 6-7in shiner or sucker,which by the way come right out of the baitshop every week..My suggestion,take care of your bait after you buy it,spend more time fishing and less time on here.

[beaver1080]

easy killer, i have never and i mean never in my life had bait die so quickly. that was the first time i have ever been there and someone else mentioned b4 we went there it might happen. sure enough it did. i'm not saying the bait is bad there cause some did live but something is wrong when it dies on the way to the destination. with the prices of bait these days i have the right to complain about it. until u are the one buying my bait, i can say what i want about it!! 

[FondoFishin]

VTpikeman, never meant to trash toms, I like the place more than almost all of the other shops I've been to, I just think his bait has been running a bit small. Also never had a problem with die offs from there. None of my pike shiners were anywhere close to 6 inches though, the suckers maybe, but they have a smaller profile. I've had perch try to take those smaller suckers. I've put in a hell of alot of hours pike fishing, and plenty of dark-to-dark flagless days. I know what size bait I like to fish with and its the big kind. Toms will still get my business most of the time regardless, since its a straight shot from where I am to glen, and its a good place run by good people, but from time to time I'll want to get the real big stuff.

[mrrutstrut]

oops posted this in the wrong thread the first time.
Im not a big believer in the big bait big fish theory. Those two big pike last year 18lbs & 19lbs came on Medium Heavy shiners. Now I do set out both medium/heavy shiners on some tip-ups and some large on a few others. But as a general rule we catch just as many big pike on the medium/heavys as we do the large and maybe even more.  Sometimes fish dont want a struggle with a big bait I think. So thats my take.
If I had the choice of only using one bait size it would definately be medium/heavy shiners.

[ICE_HOOK]

 Never have I had any of my bait die in the bucket that I got at Tom's - sorry , your doing something wrong !!!!!!!!!! I have always even taken the bait off my hook at the end of the day and put it back in the bucket , brought it home and used it the next week! [ insulated bait bucket ] cooler at home with aerator works great! I guess you have right to buy bait where you want but Tom's works for me !

[grampieshanty]

A few weeks ago when i was planning on stocking my bait box, stopped Friday & loaded up on bait. Next morning half had died, but Rob made it right for me.He suggested maybe I had to many in the bucket. He very well could be right. Anyway  Rob has always treated me good & always given me good bait. I will do all my business with him for both summer & winter fishing. He is also very knowledgeable of the surrounding lakes & rivers as far as good spots to drop a line etc..,& is more than willing to share that info..Keep up the good work Rob .Oh ,& by the way ,he must be doing something right. Go by around 6 am & try to find a place to park..