Marquette County sporting goods stores gear up for summer tourism

MARQUETTE COUNTY, Mich. (WLUC) — With kayaks, canoes, and boats now available for rent — and more fishing supplies in stock — Gwinn Bait & Tackle is ready for summer.

After struggling to overcome supply chain issues due to COVID-19, the store increased inventory to prepare.

“We’ve been able to get a lot of our orders out of stock over the last two seasons, so with COVID finally easing and supply chains recovering, we’ve been stocking up,” said said Jamie Vincent, head of Gwinn Bait & Tackle.

Vincent said the store on M-35 currently has the largest inventory he has seen in four years of running the business.

“Inventory is like before Covid, everything is pretty much back to normal and business is good,” Vincent said.

Meanwhile, at Wilderness Sports in downtown Ishpeming, co-owner Raymond Sundquist said the store’s wide range of outdoor products were mostly available.

“Certain types or brands of items are a bit difficult to obtain, but often we can replace them with a different brand. We usually have something to cover everyone who comes, it might not be the brand you want. ‘they’re looking for,’ Sundquist said.

Both stores are gearing up for a busy tourist season. Vincent said summer brings customers who enjoy Forsyth Township’s 52 lakes.

“A lot of people from out of town own camps and such on these lakes, so business in Gwinn in the summer is great fun and good,” Vincent said.

Sundquist said tourism is already starting to pick up.

“We had quite a few tourists over Memorial Day weekend looking for a variety of different products,” Sundquist said.

For more store product information, you can click here for Gwinn Bait & Tackle and here for Wilderness Sports.

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