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Thats to bad. I have purchased many a minnows from them. What do you think took them down? Gander Mountain, Walmart, L&M, and others and to hard to compete? I know there prices on tackle was questionable but still any bait shop should never be closed in my book.

mr confused.gif

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Every time I went in there they were too busy jawjacking with their cronies to wait on me promptly, so I went elsewhere.

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kobilkas slowly went under because they ignored their prospective customers. It wasn't wallmart, because Tabers and bluewater don't seem to be suffering and they pay attention to all customers

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Right you are, papabear. I know countless people who stopped going there because of the service. I switched to Taber's and Bluewater, where they seemed more interested in my business. WalMart didn't kill Kobilka's. Gander Mountain didn't kill Kobilka's. Kobilka's killed Kobilka's.

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Bluewater and Tabers both have great service. We're lucky to have both of those shops in Bemidji. A lot of towns don't have these types of places anymore. Obviously, service is key!

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Sad to see him closed, Bob was a great guy to work for. I worked at Kobilkas from 91-95 and had a blast. I would like to think that I gave everybody the time of day when they came in there, becuase I loved that job! I really have no idea what happened after I left, as my life took a turn. But I would like to thank Bob for allowing me to chase my dreams and be a part of the fishing/hunting industry.

Good luck Bob!

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Deitz, people I know who patronized Kobilka's when you were there said that you did an excellent job. My experience with Kobilka's was long after you left (2003) and it was a radically different operation then.

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Deitz, I also worked there (96-97')and heard good things about you. The worst thing about working there was that because of our employee discounts I usually spent more than I made! I would just hand my check back to Jo. Did you work with Rob Nelson? Thats a bummer about them closing down, I used to go there before Bob bought it and it was called Xens.

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Thanks for the kind words guys...

Boedig- I have met and fished with Rob.. he owns a guide service up in Ely now. He was hired to replace me. So, no I never had the chance to work with him.

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I too use to work at Kobilka's... I also worked at Bluewater and Gander... Kind of fun to see the different store situations.. I was hired after Chad left at Kobilka's... I don't remember the year but I'm guessing around 99'-00'...

Of all the people who I have worked for Jo was pretty darn cool... But spiker still ranks high up on my list grin.gif.. Never had the chance to work for Mark Cook, but I would help him out in a heart beat.

Beef

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  • 3 weeks later...

I worked with Bob and Jo in their Kmart Days and bought stuff from them at Kobilka's until I moved. Sad to hear they closed. frown.gif

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It seems to me that they had a good location and set up. Any time i was heading north out of town I would stop. Could fill the truck, the boat or the wheeler and get ice and bait too. The prices were steep, but the convience was there. The one thing that i noticed too was that as of the last year or two the gas seemed 10 cents more. It is a bummer though. Hopefully it gets bought. And re-opens

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thats what i miss the most, i always stopped to grab a pop or two for while deer hunting or some waxies and a little debbie for the fishhouse. I cant even count how many times i have forgotten they are closed and have to go all the way back to BP or Tabers

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We've had a family cabin on Beltrami since 1983. I started stopping in back when it was Xen's North Country, and all through the Kobilka's years until the last few, after they liquidated their fishing/hunting gear. After that, I never stopped back.

Until then, it was the standing joke at the cabin that if Steve's whereabouts were unkown, he'd snuck off to Xen's/Kobilka's to do a little ogling. It was a great swing from Bemidji. Great Northern for the liquid quenchers, Xen's/Kobilka's for the bait, scenery, gas and tackle, and up to the cabin, with never a need to come back to town all weekend.

Now, if I need tackle in Bemidji, I shop at Gander (I'd do Bluewater, but they're really far off the beaten track for me), and I buy my bait at 71 Mart or Newby's.

Life moves on.

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Ohhh yeah..Kobilkas is closed... I think alot of people stoped shoping there because he jacked his prices sooo high so bob could stuff his back pockets before he jumped ship. Like everybody else said, Bluewater and Tabers sure don't have a problem in town. As far as Bluewater, I used to do my business there until I bought a new rifle from there and while they were mounting the scope they put big deep scratches in the stock of the rifle. Mark didn't go good on it which is kinda weird... Anyways.. Kobilkas is closed! Let's all go to GANDER MOUNTAIN!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Ice Fishing!

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I dont know about Gander Mountain though either. Has anybody else had troubles getting someone to mosey over to the bait shop when its busy. Ive sat and waited there for 20 minutes sometimes trying to get bait. Ive just been hitting up old tabers. Ron or Pam are always sitting on one of the stools with a good story or a shot of whiskey to keep ya warm on a nice cold day. Ive been giving them most of my business just for good service and there very friendly people.

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Ron always has a shot of whiskey or Brandy or a beer available to his good customers. i remember two fishing openers ago i had my dad and brothers come up, and Ron asked my dad if he wanted a shot of Brandy to warm him up at like 4 in the morning.

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Ya ive ended up sitting in that place for hours listening to some pretty good stories and emptying a few bottles with some buddies. And yes Bobb-o he will offer them at any time of the day

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Good ol Ron. I haven't been ice fishing in Bemidji for too long now. I need to find a job up there so I don't miss it soooo bad. I remember when Ron took over Taber's and we went in there and got a scoop of crappies for Red and we got what most bait stores call a gallon. Half of them would die because our minnow bucket was too small. Then we got a 25gal aquarium for our college house and we went to Taber's twice and got a scoop each time and we had minnows for 5 guys for a month. Not to mention if you want big River Shiners for tip ups. They are dynamite on Bemidji for pike. Oh I miss it.

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Too bad. We used to hit Kobilka's several times when we stayed at the state park. The Zen kid in the wheelchair was a student at BSU when I attended.

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Hey Deitz, you still monitoring this? This is Chris, it's been a while. It sucks to see the store is closed, we had a lot of good times working there. I was just up there this past summer right after they stopped selling gas. It was sad to see how small the store was and I was wondering if something was up. I talked to Mary for a little bit but Bob was out golfing. I just emailed Todd and told him about it too. When did they close?

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Howdy Chris... It has been a while.. I'm not sure the exact day that he shut the doors?

I'm going to head up to Bemidji tomorrow and hang out with the in-laws.. I might try and look bob up when I am up there too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quote:

or some waxies and a little debbie for the fishhouse. I


A little debbie? I'd think they could stay open with as many as you go through ( you know i just had to say somthin...)

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This is a little off the subject, but hearing Taber's bait sparked a memory. Both of my parents were from Bemidji and all of my grandparents lived there. On summer vacations my father would take me fishing in the Bemidji area and we would always stop at Taber's for bait. Most of the time we were pretty early in the morning. We would walk in through the unlocked door of the bait shop, scoop what we needed for bait into the bait bucket, get a soda out of the cooler, and put the money in a coffee can left on the counter for the purpose. This would have been in the very early 60's. I looked forward to going to Taber's almost as much as going fishing.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

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