Ok, so who's going to buy Big Chief Landing?

I vote for Chuck Rollins. That sure would seem to be a nice place to guide out of. With so many other marinas closed around here, you would think someone could make a go of it with that place.

Besides, even though I'm all about jigs right now, I sure would enjoy having minnows just two miles from home again this winter.

how much they want for it?

Wish it was me. I would love to own a marina, or even a bait shop on a lake somewhere.

I think it would be a blast.

I keep reading marinas can't make any money now, which doesn't make sense to me. Joe Pool Marina charges from $206 to $500 per month for boat slips.

I don't see why you can't make money with those type of fees, since it only takes one man to maintain them. It does cost an electrical bill but that is about it for the slips. The store should pay for itself in just minnow sales if you keep a current minnow supply.

I went there one time , I thought it was very nice bait shop
typical of the ole school bait shops
real mounts on the wall and lots of tackle and such crammed in a tight spot
the guy behind the counter was great and my bud said what took so long
I said well it was neat place and I had to look it over a bit
hopefully someone purchases it and carries on the tradition
it looked like it had been there a long time
what would something like that be worth anyway ?
that is a good question crapicat

The thing about Marina's is they have to build up business seasonally over many years by having dependable personnel with good customer service over many years. Basically, once folks understand they can ALWAYS go to the marina and fill their needs, then over several years, the business will build up to the point where they become profitable and hopefully successful. Weather and water levels will inhibit even the best management. The seasonality issue is a big hurdle to overcome. Further, if the business revenue has declined; which can be due to many factors (especially weak management/personnel.) Having to pay too much for such a business is a sure fire way to to go broke before the business can be returned to profitability. In addition, many marina's assets are leased from the presiding water authorities and the contracts that have to be negotiated can be overly burdensome, so that even the most astute business person can not make a profit. Obviously, these are only part of the issues involved in operating a marina, but good management and customer loyalty are two absolutes for operating a successful Marina.

One of the better marina manager's I have seen in the last several years is Elmo over at Navarro Mills...One twirl around that place and you can tell it is a one stop shop, (hey, you can even get Crazy Angler stuff over there) plus he is courteous, quick to get you checked out, and will provide pertinent (accurate, reliable, timely) information when you ask. Also, he has a good system established to ensure an enjoyable time fishing on his docks, regardless of whether he is open or not. Overall, there is an art to building a successful marina business and he has done so over a period of seven or eight years.

hope this information helps anyone concerned to understand a few of the issues relating to marina operations. It is a business that is not for the faint of heart.

I understand the seasonal part for the marina store. But the slips are leased by the year so that is not seasonal. Joe Pool Marina has some vacancies but that is due to the owner being unwilling to remove the Hydrilla from the slips near the shore.

They have people looking for slips but nobody wants a slip that is full of this weed.

I was told that the Park charged the marina 6% of receipts for rent. As a one-time owner of mall stores I will tell you that is extremely cheap rent. The person I was talking to thought that was high rent but from a retail perspective that is extremely cheap.

It does cost money for upkeep of the slips but not near as much as is taken in by slip rental.

Now if you are talking about a lake store that does not have slips to lease I imagine it would be a different story.

But I agree completely that you need to find and keep employees that enjoy the business and treats the customers right.

Frankly if I owned a marina I would sell very little in the way of tackle. I would concentrate on live bait, cold drinks, snacks and finger food such as hamburgers for the store. Make it a convenient place for local fishermen to buy bait and food while fishing.

I would have a fishing barge with a low fee to use and would want slips to lease. I would also lease canoes, kayaks and small boats (no motors.

The slips would earn the money, the other things would be to support the slips and cover expenses of the operation.

Years ago the lady who had the concession at at Cleburne State Park did this and stated she made enough money during the summer and fall months that she closed it during the winter and spring months.

But you definitely don't want to pay too much for the business, especially a business that has had poor management.

had me an offer years ago to have my very own bait shop
man it sounded good to me ....
down near Sebastian inlet ....
started thinkin bout the 4 or 5 am start times
the 7 days a week thing
the off season
dealing with the live bait
the local folks that supply the live bait
my possible need to go ketch the live bait
and the 47,000,000 other things involved
told myself it would probably kill ALOT of my own ketchn time
and that right there was the kiss a death of that idea for sure
finger mullet anyone ?

Big Chief doesn't have rental slips, to my knowledge. Very few if they have any.
The community around Cedar Creek Lake just won't support much of anything on or around the lake for some unknown reason. Not a single marina has ever made it for any long term. Marimac and Cedar Creek Marinas are now permanently closed. Don's Port has had more owners than customers.
A large number of year round people here on the lake are retired and on fixed incomes. It's difficult for them to live here and they don't support anything except their own needs. I haven't seen some of my neighbors in years and some on a very limited basis.
When I look at what is happening at Palestine, I see a booming lake business with several marinas offing full service and can't understand why CCL can't do it.
Anyway, EZ, Big Chief may not be the retirement place you would like but, on the other end of the bridge, is the Causeway Marina which has some slips, a nice ramp, a convenience store selling everything and gas pumps for marine and regular cars and trucks. It's closed and available and I hear the asking price is around $750,000. I'm betting they'll take a lot less, it's been closed for some time now!

One other thing, there isn't a fishing dock anywhere on the lake! A heated dock would be a big addition in my opinion.

Big Chiefs location is not in a prime area on the lake, and when the wind kicks up it gets rough over there. Also, several boats got destroyed on side of thier little motel in that mooring area, because they never put up pilings or tires or something to keep the boats from banging against the concrete walkway. I witnesses a guys motor get crushed, when his boat went under that wall in rough weather. several other people have complained about that as well. Also the boat ramp is way to steep, and the previous owners were really unprofessional when we stayed there. While we were trying to back the boat in and out of the water they were letting there kids ride bikes all around the truck and the boats, like they were playing chicken, and just made us really nervous. Just a wild bunch, with gaurdians that just didnt seem to care. just very unprofessional and unsafe.

Interesting to say the least...thanks for the Paul Harvey version Leanin Post....

It certainly sounds as though they could use profesional management, as well as property upgrades. While these two marinas may not be in the prime fishing area (although some may disagree) they most certainly have the highest visibility of any marinas on the lake as they anchor each end of the bridge between Gun Barrel City and Seven Points.

At my age I'm not going to get involved in another business, as much as I would love to own a marina. I sold my last business in 2005. My wife would kill me if I got involved in another one.

If you are providing a convenience store and gas to regular public along with marina services to boating public you are operating two different businesses in the same location. You would need two different managers to do an adequate job for both aspects of the business. Might be why they failed, if they did not recognize the difference between the two types of customers.

Added: I am considering buying a second home with dock at Cedar Creek Lake once I sell the second home I have in Slidell La. I was going to sell it this year but the need for the heart surgery postponed doing anything with it until late summer at the earliest.

if you want to see how marinas are supposed to be set up, go to lake waco. they are protected coves, with long riprap points protecting them. And waco is a kitten compared to the monster CC can become, with that retaining wall surrounding most of the lake, theres no place to beach your boat if it gets rough, then you run to a marina, where you think is safe and a 18.000 motor gets crunched under thier walkway. guess when you are also a boat and motor repair facility as well, it keeps your wrench busy.