Bait And Tackle Shop In Enfield Closes As Generous Owner Retires

ENFIELD, CT — Fishing enthusiasts who have flocked to Yankee Bait & Tackle in Thompsonville for the past two decades will have to find a new source for their gear and accessories, as shop owner Guy Beaudoin is retiring due to health issues.

The personable 81-year-old Beaudoin, a U.S. Navy veteran who participated in the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961, closed the shop at 88-92 Main St. in early January due to right knee replacement. He is scheduled to have his left knee replaced in March.

He and his son Mark, a U.S. Army veteran, opened the store March 1, 2001, renting the eastern half of the building from owner Martin Levitz. The site had been planned as a laundromat by the previous tenant, but that concept fell apart.

"All the machines were in, but the guy who was going to run it must not have been a very nice person, because he went to jail," Guy Beaudoin recalled. "Both Mark and I liked fishing, and I had just retired from owning my own building business, Home Modernizing Center, for 40 years."

Situated between Freshwater Pond and the Connecticut River, the site seemed ideal for an outdoors-based store. The Beaudoins rented the space for about two years before the town foreclosed on the property, enabling the father-son duo to purchase the 2,867 square-foot 2-story building for an extremely reasonable price in 2004.

Mark Beaudoin, who works in the medical industry, officially sold his interest to his dad about a dozen years ago, but never really left. The duo demonstrated considerable generosity to the community: donating supplies for nursing home residents to fish at the pond, contributing to the annual kids' fishing derby, and sponsoring tournaments to benefits organizations such as Special Olympics, the Enfield Food Shelf and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Both agreed the best part of being in the business was opening day each season, and an annual catfish tournament which was highly successful for many years. Guy Beaudoin also recalled what he considered a highly unusual transaction about a year and a half ago, when the commissioner of Blitzkrieg! Pro Wrestling came to the store and bought 15 dozen worms for use in a show. A former WWE star called The Boogeyman had a popular gimmick of putting live worms in his mouth and dumping them on his opponents after, and sometimes during, matches, and he was appearing on the Blitzkrieg! show at the CREC Civic Leadership High School that evening.

"Never had anyone buy that many worms before, and certainly not to put in their mouth," the elder Beaudoin laughed.

When asked what they will miss the most about the store, Mark Beaudoin said, "All the regulars. People would come in with stories and pictures that kept us going. That was always fun."

The building is currently listed for sale, and Guy Beaudoin said once it is sold, he will hold "a blowout sale" of all remaining inventory. Those interested in inquiring about the property may call 860-614-1930 or 860-670-2660.

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