Bremer Bait @ BCF

[ahamay]

My local BCF has changed supplier of frozen bait to Bremer and quite frankly it's garbage. The WA pilchards are ok but the prawns seem like they have been thawed and refrozen about 100 times and the white bait are about the same size as the stuff the kiwi's eat. You would have to put 2 or 3 on to cover a bream hook. I think it used to be tweed bait or Terrys.

I know it's best to catch your own fresh bait but it's sometimes convenient to have a pack of prawns or white pillies in your esky. Is it just my local BCF (Gold Coast) that's changed or is it everywhere ?

[Noelm]

why not go to a good bait supplier and get consistent quality and a far better price?

[ahamay]

why not go to a good bait supplier and get consistent quality and a far better price?

If anyone can recommend around the Gold Coast area that would be great. I don't mind buying a bulk lot if it's good quality.

I have to drive right past a BCF store to get to my launch spot so it was more convenience than anything.

[Marlin_Mike]

It is just as cheap to buy fresh green prawns than the frozen junk. And your results will improve. I usually buy nice medium size banana prawns.

Mike

[shrunken pojie]

I think they used to have Terry's in my local one (Lawnton) and it was rubbish too. I recall the guys saying that they changed to try to get the quality up. Obviously didn't work at your store.


Phill

[FISHAWN]

I've read a member from the goldy on here saying he can supply i think bonito/pillies? so maybe research that but I myself get reasonable pillies and good squid from Gem bait & tackel which is near stapylton.

[sleepygreg]

I used to stock Bremer Bait when I had the tackle store. Generally it was good quality...every once in a while you would get a batch of 'crap'...usually in the small prawns. Their Hawkesbury prawns were generally the best ....but most people objected to paying the higher price, they would rather buy the smaller prawns and whinge about the quality. Never had a quality issue with their white bait or froggy pillies. Normal pillies - it depended on whether they were imported or WA pillies...I always asked before I ordered them where they came from...if they werent WA pillies...I didnt order them....easier to say you dont have any than cop the abuse for being poor quality.

A lot of the issues with poor quality bait with the larger chains is how they handle the deliveries....if you recieve your delivery and leave it sitting in the back room for a couple of hours before you put it in the freezer (which I KNOW happens) then the bait you eventually buy will be seen as crap. Easiest way to tell is if it has crystal ice inside the packet...means it has been refrozen more than once.

I used to buy the green pilchards direct from the trawlers, salt em and freeze them to keep as a back up for when the WA pillies were in short supply. They werent as good as the WA pillies, but far better than the imported ones.

[cuzzamundi]

I've always found Bremer to be great when looking for squid. Dunno about their pillies, never tried 'em.

Cuzza

[robersl]

yes they have changed companies to try and get a better quality product but sometimes you get the odd crap with any frozen bait, fresh is best but sometimes you got to use frozen

shane

[ahamay]

I've always found Bremer to be great when looking for squid. Dunno about their pillies, never tried 'em.
Cuzza

I thought it might have been a one off but i've bought prawns there 3 times over a month so it's not the same stock. They would not even stay on hook, they jus turned to mush. It was like they were rotten before they were frozen or most probably have been handled badly on the way to the freezer as someone mentioned.

I did note that out of the two bags of WA pillies I purchased, half of them were WA pillies like the ones your used to but mixed up in them was some other sort of silvery tuna looking fish.. not sure what they are. Probably 50% of each bag was like this.

I did buy some squid last week and it was reasonable. At least it didn't look like it had been refrozen a few times.

[Feral]

I heard the bait companies were doing it pretty tough with the run of windy weather we have been having, maybe its old stock or recycled stock or something similar?

I prefer to buy my bait off tackle stores I know do a lot of their trade with their bait, they care more about what they are selling, bigguns like BCF, #####, bait is a small sideline to them, nothing to get to excited about.

[gr hilly]

i use the gem for my pillies they always have a couple of different types to choose from i like the single frozen pillie the best,they cost a couple of bob more but don't fall off the hook after a couple of casts you know like those soft belly crap.
cheers Hilly

[bushweek]

im almost certain its storewide

[cuzzamundi]

I thought it might have been a one off but i've bought prawns there 3 times over a month so it's not the same stock. They would not even stay on hook, they jus turned to mush. It was like they were rotten before they were frozen or most probably have been handled badly on the way to the freezer as someone mentioned.

I did note that out of the two bags of WA pillies I purchased, half of them were WA pillies like the ones your used to but mixed up in them was some other sort of silvery tuna looking fish.. not sure what they are. Probably 50% of each bag was like this.

I did buy some squid last week and it was reasonable. At least it didn't look like it had been refrozen a few times.

Crikes mate that's a shame...maybe they have changed stocks/had a rough patch due to weather/finances. I haven't bought squid in over a year, so might have just been a recent decline in their quality? Either way a shame...found them the best brand for squid, which is the only bait I need to buy frozen.

Cuzza

[kelkhesha]

y.

A lot of the issues with poor quality bait with the larger chains is how they handle the deliveries....if you recieve your delivery and leave it sitting in the back room for a couple of hours before you put it in the freezer (which I KNOW happens)

I think you will find that Bremar bait is not delivered to BCF to sit in the back dock. They actually come and fill the freezers themselves direct from the freezer truck.

If you dont like the quality, then let them know. Thats how Terry's bait was dropped and replaced by Bremar, Unlike what Feral claims the bait is not a sideline sale, and is a very important part of the buisness and this change in brand was due to customer feedback.

Ive seen plenty of crap bait at my local tackle shop, and unfortunatley, just like a big chain, they cannot control the quality that comes in - just like your local supermarket cant control a bad run of apples

[sleepygreg]

I gather you are a staff member or manager of BCF, kelkhesha?

One or two 8' Freezers in a store the size of a BCF is a 'very important' part of a business. Sorry to be the one correcting you......but on sheer economics that is NOT a 'very important' part of the business. And unless Bremer have changed their way of doing busines in the last year or so....they do not restock your freezers. They trolley the order in and put it beside your freezer....or to the recieving dock (as decreed by recieving company policy).

As I have previously stated...I owned and managed a bait and tackle store for a number of years, and have regular contact with many mates and aquaintences who still own and run bait and tackle stores.

Your point about not being able to control the quality of bait that comes in is valid. It has always been an industry problem. The advantage the smaller operator has is the ability to be able to control this on a week to week basis, as opposed to the central buying policies of the major chains where the wheel turns slowly. I can tell you right now that the floor space allocated to SP's, or HB's will return far greater profits per square metre, than the equivalent floor space taken up by a bait freezer. Now compare the amount of floor space allocated to both and tell me what is more important!!

[Steeler]

Greg

Maybe if it were a national deal then vendor refilling was one of the requirements,just as a guess though.

I know of one very large corporate stationary supplier that has one many contracts and the condition that got the business over the line so to speak was the delivery drivers actually re-filling storerooms.

Steeler

[sleepygreg]

Steeler

I take your point with regards to vendor refill. I know how this operates as I was one of those people who left the 'corporate world' of national retailers, to follow my dream of turning a hobby into a business (setting up and running a bait and tackle shop). I suppose my question should be to kelkhesha....do Bremer now do vendor refill? They have never done this in the past. They deliver the goods..but it is up to the customer to get it in to the freezer. (and the same goes for their competitors). It is also handy to have staff that actually know what they are doing with specific product knowledge to be able to identify what is 'acceptable' quality. I am sure that there are some staff at BCF who DO know what good and bad bait looks like...but I am also sure that there are many staff that would have that responsibility, who wont have the first clue as to the quality of bait they are selling/unpacking.

Greg

[Tailortaker]

Yes they do !!! They fill our freezers. Maybe you should ring them and find out for yourself.

[youngy]

Hi Greg, i can confirm that Bremer do restock the freezers now and that BCF have Bonito and Slimeys that they never had from previous supplier.

Overall i would say the bait is off better quality, the Pippies are Australian not Indonesian and the Pillies are better in both size and quality. cheers wayne.

[kelkhesha]

I gather you are a staff member or manager of BCF, kelkhesha?

One or two 8' Freezers in a store the size of a BCF is a 'very important' part of a business. Sorry to be the one correcting you......but on sheer economics that is NOT a 'very important' part of the business. And unless Bremer have changed their way of doing busines in the last year or so....they do not restock your freezers. They trolley the order in and put it beside your freezer....or to the recieving dock (as decreed by recieving company policy).

As I have previously stated...I owned and managed a bait and tackle store for a number of years, and have regular contact with many mates and aquaintences who still own and run bait and tackle stores.

Your point about not being able to control the quality of bait that comes in is valid. It has always been an industry problem. The advantage the smaller operator has is the ability to be able to control this on a week to week basis, as opposed to the central buying policies of the major chains where the wheel turns slowly. I can tell you right now that the floor space allocated to SP's, or HB's will return far greater profits per square metre, than the equivalent floor space taken up by a bait freezer. Now compare the amount of floor space allocated to both and tell me what is more important!!

Im not going to get into a fight with you, but unfortunately you are not correcting me, and are not stating any facts at all. You may have owned a tackle store and the likes or similar in the past, but unfortunately, you do not know what you are talking about in this instance.

Yes, Bremar do fill the freezeers, and yes, bait does have much more a part in the overall sales than what you claim. The bait in BCF is delivered weekly, and sometimes 2 or 3 times a week depending on the time of year and which store. And I guess when your dealing with many thousands of dollars each week, this is possibly one of the extra's included in the deal as opposed to someone only dealing with a few hundred dollars each week I would imagine.

Bremar overall has had a higher quality strike rate than Terry's, and again, has been put in place due to customer feedback telling BCF that Terry's was not up to the scratch.

Again, if people are not happy with Bremar, then provide the feedback in the same way as was done with Terry's. Bremar was only put in place due to feedback and request.

Believe it or not, the customers opinion is listened too, and where possible, changes put in place. Sometimes the changes happen quickly, sometimes it takes some time. One of the problems associated with a big company is reaction time due to the size and logistics of certain things, but I assure you, they do listen

as for certain staff not knowing good quality from bad - well, no argument from me here. As with all the big companies, it is hard to find anywhere from 15 - 50 people which fill a BCF Team who know this. Some are Campers, some are fishers, some are people who dont know it all, but want to learn, and some are there for a part time job. Unfortunatley, it is much harder to staff a BCF than it is a tackle store.

- Im sorry, but its just annoying sometimes when people say things that are not based on facts

[loophole]

I
One or two 8' Freezers in a store the size of a BCF is a 'very important' part of a business. Sorry to be the one correcting you......but on sheer economics that is NOT a 'very important' part of the business. And unless Bremer have changed their way of doing busines in the last year or so....they do not restock your freezers. They trolley the order in and put it beside your freezer....or to the recieving dock (as decreed by recieving company policy).



Greg Bremer delivery drivers are responsible to load bait stright into freezer's....Having the freezers in daily rotation, And weekly deliverys means that the bait is kept as fresh as possible... IMO bremer looks a better bait, not that i use it:P ...

[Chamelion]

My local BCF now has the Bremer bait too and all in all it's WAY WAY WAY better in quality than the previous stuff.

I never used to buy my bait at BCF, now I do... Better quality, better range.

I work for one of their competitors :P

[the gecko]

Ive not been happy with any of the Bremer whole mullet. It seems to be poor quality at any servo that I go to, and I avoid Bremer. It always leaking blood and guts, which looks like its been thawed and refrozen several times. I go out of my way to buy Tweed bait from a tackle store.

I agree that servos might not handle it properly, but Ive seen a consistant difference between the 2 brands over the years. Its been the same at gold coast and at hervey bay.

If Bremer dont get accurate feedback from us customers, then how else can they up their game? Good topic.