Next stop on our tour is a little shop that sat at 3526 W 16th St. in Speedway. It went by the name of Genesco's (Bait & Tackle), and the owner was Gene Robinson. In the picture above, it would have been in the small abandoned storefront in the middle. I believe the Sports Spot was there at the time, too - been there forever it seems. Gene was a regular out at Eagle Creek back in those days, and turned me on to baits like the chartreuse and black Mudbug. Some of his regulars brought in pictures of other big bass from area reservoirs like Raccoon and Cataract Lake, as well as the local rivers. Gene's shop had it all, and even did things like custom rod building and repair. I recall him having his own line of custom spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, too. At the time, living in Brownsburg and going to school at IUPUI downtown, I frequently took 16th St. to get to and from campus, so stops at Gene's shop were common. The shop closed down a long time ago, though I honestly don't remember exactly when. I also have no idea what happened to Gene, where he might have went or if he is still around. If anyone knows any more, I'd love to hear it.
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I believe he passed away about 20 years ago. I worked with his son
Posted by: Lee Dierkes | January 28, 2015 at 03:05 PM
I remember that one too. There also was a boat dealer just east of Lynhurst and another one that I think was called Waymiers pretty close to the bait shop on the south side of the street. I bought my first outboard there (7 1/2 hp evinrude) when I was in high school.
Posted by: B Sturm | January 28, 2015 at 05:20 PM
This is fun. Brings back memories of shops I've known, and the characters who ran them. One guy who started up a little shop on Honeoye Lake in NY talked my mom into letting me have my first .22. Another I bought my first jigs and UL tackle from, as well as my first slug gun. I still have that old Ithaca and took another deer with it a couple years back.
I worked full time in a shop for a couple of years too. At the time it was the largest tackle shop in the state. It was built on the Lake Ontario coldwater fishery but we had an extensive bass section too, with all the lakes and wonderful bays on the big lake. I was one of my best customers lol. I made regular use of my employee discounts. I was also the reel repair guy and managed to cobble together a number of nice reels for myself fro spare parts. At one point I was given a Zebco Cardinal 4 (the green and white one) that had been new in the box before being robbed for parts over the years. I ordered what was missing and ended up with a new in the box Card4. I still have it, although it doesn't get used much. It has a few design flaws for an old back-reeler like me.
Posted by: Paul Roberts | January 30, 2015 at 01:11 AM
He passed away years ago. Lost a leg I believe and then went downhill from there. I grew up right behind the building and would play baseball with his grandson. We used to take minnows from his shop and put them in puddles after it rained.
Posted by: Darrell | April 10, 2016 at 07:45 AM