Lakers Bait & Tackle: local spot for all things outdoor

The outdoor recreation season is going into Autumn, but Lakers Bait and Tackle in Enders still does a lively business every day. We had a good summer season, Lakers owners Ron and Cindy Schoenberger said. Activity at the lake slows down after Labor Day but we still get a fairly regular stream of customers in the store, Ron said.
Enders Lake has a good reputation for being a clean lake and the Parks and Recreation employees do a good job of enforcing park regulations like activities after 10 p.m. being secured, Ron said. We have boaters and RVs camping here from Ogallala, Benkelman, Stratton, Holyoke, and Sterling, Colorado, he said. There was a lot of flooding from the heavy rains down around Stratton earlier this year that contaminated their waterways. A lot of people that normally might not come up here have because Enders stays so clean, he said. Also, Lake McConaughy by Ogallala recently added more regulations to using the lake, he said.
We are almost into October and there are still a few RVs and campers down in the campgrounds area. They have a full service of facilities with electric hook up and water. Guests in the campground pay the fees through an honor system through pay envelopes that are deposited in a box, but the system is enforced through park employees and the Game Warden, who will cite violators with state tickets, he said. Some people come into the park with cars or trucks and sleep under an awning, not a lot of creature comforts, or primitive camping as it is called, but it’s enough for them, he said.
There is a large Northern Pike mounted on the wall at Lakers Bait that Ron caught some years earlier and doesn’t remember how much it weighed, but without measuring it appears to be about 36 inches long. There are some big fish in Enders, he said. Northerns, Catfish, Spring Crappies, among others. This year two different people came in showing their whoppers. Two Northerns measured 56 and 59 inches respectively, and a Spring Crappie 12 inches long, he said.
Lakers Bait and Tackle carries a variety of baits, real and artificial, and tackle gear. Groceries, beer, liquor and ammunition of various handgun, rifle, and shotgun. We sell the various fishing and hunting licensees and state duck stamps, he said. We have some unexpected items in the display case at the cash register. I have several silver coins here, like that 1881 Morgan dollar that sometimes draws interest and we make trades. We sell a lot of gasoline as well, he said. In the summer months we sometimes have our gas delivery fill the tank outside twice on a week-end, he said. When numerous customers come in wanting 60 gallons of gas for their boats it adds up, he said.
Ron and Cindy have seen changes at the store over the 25 years they have run Lakers. The styles of boats change more frequently in recent years, and we don’t see as many jet skies. And at the campground there used to be more primitive camping, they both agreed. We used to see more cash coming through the store, like 80% cash over 20% credit, and now it is 20% cash with the 80% now being from debit cards.