Bait Shop Initiative

The Bait Shop Initiative (BSI) is a researched-based Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Outreach project that has been part of Wisconsin’s AIS Prevention strategy since 2011. As ‘trusted spokespeople’ bait shop staff are turned to by anglers for all sorts of local fishing information, including impacts of species like zebra mussels or Eurasian watermilfoil. Members of the AIS Lakes Monitoring and Protection Network (LMPN) and lake organizations can conduct local outreach to anglers by contacting bait shop owners and managers to help get the word out to prevent the spread of AIS. The shops are provided materials in formats requested by the original shop owners, managers, and staff who participated in the research through focus groups, on-site visits and surveys. 

It is recommended that you build a relationship with the management and staff at local shops. Visit once in the spring or early summer, check back in by phone or in-person to see how it's going in mid-summer. If the shop is active over winter, they might want to have some new supplies then. Or not. We can't force people to participate and in some places shops will be much slower or busier than others. As relationships build, they may contact you themselves. Please utilize the reporting form and enter your data in SWIMS (see reporting notes below). 

There's more good background information and material in the Bait Shop Initiative Outreach folder in the Box. The Toolkit sub-folder contains a variety of template materials, including a great Certificate of Appreciation shared by Stephanie Boismenue, Oneida County AIS Coordinator, that can be personalized.

Learn more about the How and Whys behind the program by watching this Bait Shop Initiative video!

Supplies for Bait Shop Initiative  

Part of deciding what you need is determined over time. Start small, check back, and adjust. Every shop should get 1-2 Frequently Asked Questions sheets (publication number WY-122). Everything can be ordered from DNRAISinfo@wisconsin.gov. 

• Bait Shop Staff FAQ Sheet: WY-122 (only one or two are needed per shop.)

• Customer Bait shop cards:  WY-092 (50 is a good start per shop)

• Ice your catch sign: WY-001A (one per shop)

• OUT OF STOCK Fishing with Bait brochure: FH-240

• Good Fishing Healthy Waters sticker: FH-249   (50 per shop)

• Minnow Use Reminder sticker: FH-250   (50 per shop)

• Floating keychain (WT-980) OR WI-shaped Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers keychain (WY-115)

Report Your Efforts

To help us manage supplies at the statewide level and to help you keep track of contacts and efforts overtime, we began recording data for the Bait Shop Initiative in SWIMS in late 2020. The Bait Shop Initiative Reporting form can be downloaded from the Box. 

Every county has a project in SWIMS named "Bait Shop Initiative - County Name". We use one Station ID for this project: 10056440-Bait Shop Store and Facilities. 

Avoid a SWIMS error that leads to data "lumping" by making sure you add a different start and end time for each visit occurring on the same date. The times can just be a placeholder unless you want to accurately capture the hours for your own purposes. 

If you have any issues entering data, contact LakesSupport@uwsp.edu.