Catch of the day: North Shore Bait Company turns 10

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

September 8, 2025

OCONTO – Since setting up shop 10 years ago this past July, Owner Paul Lukas said North Shore Bait Company has been reeling in fishing fans.

After recognizing there was no local bait shop in Oconto, Lukas – an avid fisherman – took matters into his own hands and launched North Shore Bait Company at 1110 Pecor St.

“I got tired of driving a half hour to get any kind of bait, so I decided to give it a go,” he said.

Though he initially split his time between the bait shop and his plastering business, Lukas said when the shop became a popular source for live and artificial bait, fishing tackle and dependable fishing reports, it took priority.

A shortage of reliable help – combined with the slowdown in construction during COVID-19 – Lukas said, prompted him to shift his full focus to the bait shop in 2020.

Since then, Lukas said the shop has earned a solid reputation among anglers for its proven walleye tackle and his deep knowledge of the Bay of Green Bay, as well as the surrounding lakes and rivers.

Though the shop’s exterior is modest, Lukas said customers are often pleasantly surprised by the selection and expertise they find inside.

“It’s a fairly big shop… and when people walk in, they’re surprised by the amount of selection I have,” he said. 

Known for its custom-painted crankbait lures – a must-have for the walleye anglers who frequent both the shop and the bay – Lukas said North Shore Bait Company was one of the first businesses in the area to offer them.

“Walleye are finicky fish, and a lot of the colors they like, manufacturers don’t make,” he said. “Green Bay is pretty much a walleye factory, although the populations are dropping on the bay due to poor spawning and a lot of overharvesting.”

Though he’s a lifelong fisherman, Lukas said he’s also passionate about helping the walleye population rebound, including working with some others in the area to try to form a Walleyes for Tomorrow chapter.

The group’s first meeting is set for Sept. 10.

“We’re a group of like-minded people who want to do something to help the walleye population so future generations can enjoy [fishing],” he said.

Though walleye fishing is popular, Lukas said it’s not the only fishing game in town by any stretch. 

The Bay of Green Bay, he said, is also home to yellow perch, smallmouth bass, northern pike, brown and rainbow trout and other species.

Lukas said that draws a combination of local residents, nearby communities’ residents and more far-flung customers who enjoy fishing the bay.

“I started the shop as we needed a bait shop and out of my love for community and fishing, but I also promote tourism,” he said. “We have a great thing here in Oconto and try to promote our town and community on Facebook and get thousands of phone calls a year for fishing reporters.”

Lukas said he sees an influx of fishermen in the spring for the walleye run, with people heading in and/or calling to see when they can pull out their rods and reels.

“There are people who depend on me to let them know when the ice is off the bay and when it’s safe,” he said. “As soon as the ice goes, people come in. We pull from all over, with the majority of them trying to get a trophy walleye.”

Lukas said it’s “pretty cool” to see the same faces every spring, creating a reunion of sorts with the regulars.

Lukas said it’s not only he who supports local anglers, but the shop does, too.

North Shore Bait Company, he said, stocks everything anglers need to fish on the bay.

Though a few other bait shops have existed in town over time, Lukas said they likely failed because they tried to carry too much inventory, including items that didn’t sell.

“You don’t need 150 types of claw hooks – you need maybe five,” he said. “I do a good job with the products I carry and am always looking for the next best thing as far as tackle goes. I’ll take a chance on bringing in a product I feel is good. Sometimes it’s a home run, and I sell a lot before everyone else in the area gets on board with it. But sometimes, I’m stuck with tackle.”

Given he only has 1,000 square feet of retail space and another 1,000 square feet for the back room and work-packing stations, Lukas said he has to be careful about what he brings in.

He said he makes a point of stocking products from small Midwest businesses whenever he can.

Having witnessed many little tackle companies dissolve or be gobbled up by conglomerates, Lukas said he prefers to support fellow small businesses.

“It’s hard because the conglomerates are cheapening the lures and jacking up prices,” he said. “People used to take pride in the tackle they manufactured, but now it’s about quarterly profits. I prefer to seek small businesses.”

Lukas said he has also discovered he’s better off carrying 100 of a given lure versus just a few, because there’s nothing worse than striking on a hot item and selling out too quickly, as it takes too long to order.

“The biggest thing with fishermen is that when a lure or color works, you’ve got to have it and have it now,” he said.

Reeling in the past

Lukas said the shop started in an even smaller footprint in the same space, only to be flooded when the Oconto River backed up in 2019. 

The water rose to his thighs, and with insurance not covering the $40,000 in lost inventory, Lukas said the experience forced some major changes. 

He said he now stores all inventory in plastic tubs instead of cardboard boxes and converted the former office – once home to computers and the security system – into a dedicated minnow room, complete with two large tanks.

Lukas said he also made use of the building’s back area, turning it into extra storage space for things like ice fishing gear during the offseason.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he said he kept the doors open without the help of government loans, leaning into the renewed popularity of fishing and the outdoors.

“We had a huge spike in sales with more people getting outdoors because many had to buy everything – fishing rods, tackle, reels,” he said. 

Though the spike “tapered back a bit in the past few years,” Lukas said there’s a steady influx of customers entering North Shore Bait Company’s doors year-round.

Lukas said the store is open 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week, closing around 2 p.m. on Sundays, and that he is typically personally behind the counter, unless his son pitches in or one of a couple of retirees pops in to help as needed.

Though walleye fishing generates the greatest influx of customers, he said he does welcome customers who ice fish – so long as the ice materializes.

“Last year, we had a bit of ice, and two years ago, we didn’t have any ice, and that really hurt,” he said. “It’s all about what Mother Nature gives us. We’ve had a lot of south wind in the wintertime blowing warm wind up here, and that changes things.”

In addition, Lukas said he’s seeing significantly lower water levels on the bay in the past few years, losing three to four feet after having high water in 2020-21. 

“There are 30-year cycles with high- and low-water cycles, but I’ve never seen the water drop this fast,” he said.

Lukas said he should know, having fished the north shore of Green Bay since he was a kid.

These days, he said, when the business allows, he can be found casting on the shoreline or in a boat. 

Hooked on community

Lukas said summertime at North Short Bait Company, with several fishing tournaments held in Oconto and the Green Bay area, along with the steady draw of Oconto’s harbor and boat launches, is the shop’s busiest time.

“[Oconto has] the best facilities on the bay with our launches and harbor,” he said. “Plus, our city’s parks and recreation [department] does a phenomenal job of organizing tournaments and boat launches. When people come here with tournaments, they say Oconto has it figured out, and it goes like clockwork. I think it’s all part of being a small community.”

In late August, Lukas said the AIM Pro Walleye Series was in Oconto for its Garmin Championship Bay of Green Bay/Oconto event.

The event, he said, created a surge in business for North Shore Bait Company – selling nightcrawlers as fast as he could pack them and ensuring he had death jigs and glide balls stocked and ready to go. 

“Bringing people into the community is great for the economy,” he said. “Some people think it’s only a few people making money from it, but tournament anglers go to bait shops, bars, restaurants, gas stations and more. And, when they support local bartenders and waitresses, they in turn spend that money as well when they get their hair or nails done in the community, so it benefits us all.”

Lukas said though he’s fully supportive of the fishing community, he’s not in the business of giving all the information away.

Though happy to help, he said the shop gets plenty of calls from people looking for fishing reports who never actually stop in.

These days, Lukas said he knows the regulars by voice and is quick to share insights with them. 

For others, he said his response is a bit more reserved.

“I tell them, ‘The bite’s decent. We open at 5 – stop in and we can tell you where the best bite is and what they’re using,’” he said. “I’ve had to switch strategy a little.”

Lukas said he opened North Shore Bait Company’s ecommerce store in 2017, featuring custom-painted lures and anticipates evolving that to Shopify or another similar site.

He said he also stocks a 24/7 bait-and-tackle vending machine – making sure anglers have access to essentials any time, day or night.

“That was my dad’s contribution, as he wanted that in front of the shop when we’re closed,” he said. “He was my biggest supporter and loved his perch fishing, even fishing on his last day on earth. He wanted it outside the store, so that’s where it remains.”

Lukas said he also stays active on Facebook, where more than 19,000 followers keep up with the latest from the shop.

He said his posts go beyond store updates, as he has started sharing local fishing news, tournament highlights and the many ways the business gives back to the community.

“We’re big on [supporting] veterans and children,” he said.

Lukas said this support takes on many forms – from collecting donated change, to giving away reduced-cost or free bait to kids in town who bring in garbage from fishing spots.

Locals, he said, know about the effort and often drop by the shop with $20 here and there to help fund that cause.

Additionally, Lukas said he provides bait and tackle gear for the area’s summer school fishing program and donates to fishing outings, including a recent event for clients of St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter that was followed by a fish fry.

“Watching them catch fish by my shop on the river created a spark in them,” he said.

Lukas said an appreciation for the sport of fishing remains as strong as ever, though he wishes more people would focus less on catching the limit or snapping photos of the biggest fish with their smartphones.

He said for him, fishing is about the experience in the moment.

“I often quote [Henry David] Thoreau, that ‘many go fishing all their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after,’” he said.

Check out northshorebait.com for more on North Shore Bait Company.