MONTGOMERY - Michaelene Shirey dips a net into the water and scoops out some live minnows - the preferred bait of many area anglers.
Welcome to Shirey's Outdoor Supply, a kind of mom and pop shop with hands-on customer service.
Need some hooks or lures for that weekend fishing trip?
Article Photos
MIKE REUTHER/Sun-Gazette
Michaeline Shirey scoops minnows out of a case at Shirey’s Outdoor Supply in Montgomery.
Perhaps a new reel or rod?
Shirey's is a one-stop shop for outdoors sporting needs.
Located in downtown Montgomery next to the public library, the store is owned by Michaelene and her husband Mike Shirey.
Fact Box
Shirey's
Outdoor Supply
5 S. Main St.,
Montgomery
246-8002
Mon. to Sun.- 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
It opened March 31, just two weeks before the start of trout season.
"We have hand-made rods," Michaelene said. "We have bow-fishing supplies. We have camping supplies."
The shop also sells soy candles.
It's a small one-room business, located in a former news stand at 5 S. Main St.
Michaelene said customer response has been good since it opened.
People in the community have been supportive, offering the couple help at different times.
They couldn't be happier about locating the store in Montgomery.
"It gives you a nice hometown feel," Michaelene said.
The shop, she said, is a good fit for the community which could use a few more businesses in its small downtown.
The couple will be selling fishing licenses this spring and later this year, firearms and hunting supplies.
As a special offering for children, a series of youth fly-tying classes will be held this month.
Mike noted that fishing has waned among younger people, and hopefully the class is a means of reviving some interest in the outdoors sport with that generation.
The store sells flies but mostly caters to bait and spin-casting anglers.
"We have a variety of live bait," Michaelene said.
The couple decided to go into the business after much consideration.
Michaelene is finishing up a master's degree from Misericordia University.
Mike is an avid hunter who figured on combining a love of the outdoors with a business plan.
Michaelene said the two are in it for the long haul.
With the down economy, and the job market tight, they figured it was as good a time as any to launch a business venture.
"We're transplants who moved here in 2006," she said.
Michaelene hails from Luzerne County and Mike from Clearfield.
The store is open seven days a week, 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
