Charkbait

Wouldn’t tell me how much they’re reels are tells me to look at the website

I got there at 545pm and they would not let me in because they closed at 6pm. I thinks that’s piss poor for a business. I would have taken me less than 5 mins to grab what I needed and get out. Lazy lazy lazy.

Well as it stands right now I’m disappointed with this business. I called and checked the website for business hours and both said 6 pm. With an already tight schedule, I made the hour trip from La Verne and got here at 5:45 pm to a closed store. With planing on spending a good amount here and not being able to make it back this week for their Fred Hall Sale, I would have to say they have lost a customer.

I have been buy a lot of my fishing equipment from them when Mark was sell from his garge. And I recommend a friend to them. He bought a Diawa Saltiga LD60 2Speed reel not at the best price but went with Charkbait because of my recommendation. He went on a once in a lifetime fishing trip to Guadalupe island that has not been fished few years. And the reel failed on his first fish!!! A 100lb yellowfin. The deckhand laughed in is face when the reel started to spin backwards!!! And had to use the boat rods for the rest of the trip only a 5 day trip. When he got back and took the reel back to Charkbait he was told by «Beta» that the reel is used and he could not do anything about, even if I had you you still have to go to Diawa. So in closing I will never recommend anyone go to Charkbait!!! The worst customer service!

The best! If you want quick proper customer service and staff that will help you even on the phone (Unlike a «specific» huge North county tackle shop, where their crap don’t stink.) this is the place for all your tackle needs! Best in North and Central OC!

The best prices around on gear! Charkbait is the most customer service oriented tackle shop in CA hands down ! What ever question you have they will answer if for you, from the harbor to offshore the staff is there to help you succeed on your next trip!

Decent selection and some great prices on Avet reels. They will spool you up with spectra at the best price in town. The only reason they don’t get 5 stars is their sales people are often busy and one tried to sell me on a reel I didn’t want, I finally left the store and decided to use their online store. As it turned out they didn’t have the reel I wanted in stock and had to order it… that would explain why the salesperson was trying to convince me to buy another reel. Fortunately their past reputation kept me as a customer… I really don’t like loud, know it all sales people, especially when they are wrong. They can usually get you spooled up with new top shots while you wait and I have never had one of their knots fail.

Used to be my go to, not anymore!
Purchased a reel from these folks and took it out for a spin. It’s an Avet HX 2 speed. Hooked up a Dorado, nice one at that. Got it up and down and put the reel in low gear, got the fish, belly bumps, high fives, uh oh, couldn’t get it out of low gear. Took it to Charkbait, after only two weeks of owning it, and they basically told me I was on my own. I asked the guy why they don’t stand behind products? He said «we do but you have to deal with»!
So I had to pay for shipping, blah, blah, blah!
They not only lost a good paying customer, but I have a quite large group of friends that will not longer use this place! Used to be a great customer service go to place, guess they got to big for they’re britches.
What a shame!
KD

This spot gets a 3 star for me.
Workers are cool. Selection is good. My issue is that I was sold their 544 jig in a specific color for deep water fishing (crab red) for tuna. I Get on the boat and am told that’s this specific shops top water lure that only they make.
Well that sucks. Since I bought 4 for me, my girl and my buddy. Well let’s just see if we can take them back. **Note that after we found these were top waters we didn’t use them to hopefully return them**
I go in and the Owner is there. So we explain our deal about buying them by mistake via bad info by them. Then he tells us «Nope, unless you have the receipt.»
I explain these we bought out of a mistake cause we were told they for yoyo jigging by them. Not really our fault.
Maybe we can meet in the middle and I can at least try and exchange them for a different color better for top water so technically they don’t lose money and still get the business. He says «Nope no receipt, can’t help you.»
Owner is just smug and not helpful or understanding at all. He seems like a cool guy. But this is a shit way to run a business customer service wise.
Take your business to big fish in PCH and seal beach. I’ve never gotten anything but awesome from them. Info, bait and customer service. Especially from the big Mexican guy and older Asian guy.
F this shop all because of their BS return policy and the no f*** given attitude by the owner about helping us, or at least try. Cause now I’m stuck with 4 useless $ 9 top water jigs in a crap color cause they gave us bad advice.

I came here with a friend a few months ago. Being new to the area and needing a new reel, I bought a $ 200 Okuma Cedros reel from charkbait. I took the reel out for the first time a week ago. While I was fishing, the drag loosened to the point I had the captain of the boat take a look at it, and he agreed that the reel wasn’t operating properly.
I brought the reel back to charkbait yesterday. The employees tested it using a scale and also agreed that the drag was rapidly loosening as the reel was used. However, they told me that it wasn’t their problem and I would have to return it to Cedros for repair.
I explained that I am going on a trip next week and would need the reel and asked if they could swap it out for a new one, or at least open it up and see if it was an easy fix. I thought this was fair since I bought a defective reel from their store less than two months prior. They kept saying the same thing, that it wasn’t their problem and there was nothing they would do.
Needing to get my reel fixed, I drove over to the longfin to have it looked at. Even though I didn’t buy the reel from these guys, they looked at it for me. They talked to their Okuma rep who picked up the reel and promised to have it back to the longfin early next week so I can have it for my trip. I wonder why charkbait refused to do something so simple as spending 5 minutes talking to a rep. They didn’t have a single customer in the store while I was there.
Another gripe with charkbait: I had spectra and mono spoiled onto the Cedros reel by those guys. While fighting the second fish of the trip, the mono broke off of the spectra and I could tell that the break was at the knot between the two. I don’t know if they didn’t take the time to cinch the knot down because of laziness or they just aren’t good at knot tying.
Also, I mentioned earlier that I am new to the area. I recently moved from the east coast where we do not have the live bait supply of the west coast and, thus, typically troll for most of our fish. After explaining this to the charkbait during my first visit and asking a lot of questions about knot tying, they acted in a demeaning manner to me. I wrote it off as them being grumpy or in a bad mood, but now I know that they just have terrible customer service.

I love this place. I’ve been buying tackle from here for years. Just had a situation where some reels I had ordered did not get shipped from the manufacturer in time for my long range trip. Mark (the owner) went out of his way to make sure I’d have my gear before I left. The staff is always friendly and very knowledgable. They have earned my business for years to come. I highly recommend Charkbait to anyone serious about fishing.

Best saltwater tackle shop by far. Customer service is top notch even when they are swamped with people. Cannot recommend them enough.

I entered this bait shop as a complete novice. I asked questions about surf fishing that the staff could have laughed at, but instead I was greeted with an encouraging attitude. They took the extra time to explain strategies and techniques with me, even though they had never seen me in their shop before. I know this information is not much to the more experienced angler, but to anyone who is new to the sport, I suggest this shop for their willingness to teach and share. I will continue to shop at Chark Bait because I feel like I can get the answers I need without feeling like a «rookie». I would have given 5 stars if I felt I had more experience to critique.

Okay so I purchased an Avet reel for over $ 500. It was the last one they had of the model I bought. The one in the show case that had already been handled by who knows how many people. It also had a scratch on the bottom. They gave me a 10% discount for unknown reason but i took it. Anyway, a few days later I went on their website and saw a few deals, and only a few deals, that advertised if you purchase an Avet reel from them you would get free line up to a certain amount of yards or a free pair of pliers or some lures. So I called and spoke to a lady and explained to her that I made a purchase and if I could come in and get my free set of pliers and she said yes. So I went in and they said I was not eligible for the offer because they gave me a ten percent discount. Well they never told me that they had this deal going on when they sold me the reel so how was I supposed to know. One of the employees there explained to me that they have so many deals going on that they can’t keep track of them all and this is why they did not offer the deal to me. Sounds like poor management to me. I’ve worked in the sales industry before and was always aware of all the deals or promotions that were going on. This is an extremely small tackle shop and it’s hard for me to believe that they can’t keep track of the deals that they have going on. It’s not like they are the Longfin store in the City of Orange which is enormous with a ton of offers. Anyways, I am a huge Shimano fan and did not know that they do not sell any of their products so I won’t be going back there anymore.

I had a communications issue on a small phone order (no ones fault, just one of those things on one of those days), shot the owner (Mark Smith) a quick e-​mail and had a response back within 15 minutes.
Mark went out of his way to apologize for my inconvenience with a situation that was totally out my or his control. Long story short I asked him for his help in picking some iron for a off shore trip to Florida, He handled everything personally and had the iron shipped to Florida so I would not incur the wrath of over weight airline baggage charges.
A stand-​up guy, running a stand-​up company.

Dr. Michael Barvitz
Ms. Barb Garden

I ordered a $ 230 fishing rod on July 16 from Charkbait and it showed as being in stock. I received notification that the order was being processed. My credit card was charged for the full amount on that date.
The rod showed up at my house today, some 13 weeks later. I was never contacted by anyone from Charkbait to let me know that it would take more than 3 months to ship the rod to me. Legally they should not be charging a credit card for products not in inventory and not a special order in any sense. They also should contact a customer if there is a problem that will delay shipping out the order for more than 3 months.
Without a doubt I will never order anything from Charkbait again. I did not have the rod I needed for my fishing trip thanks to their terrible business practices.
Too many other sources that are cheaper and honest and provide vastly better customer service than Charkbait and this store always charges full retail so no savings and no service makes for a good reasons to shop elsewhere.

Great place for fishing equipment. Wish it were closer to my home, but they have Internet sales as well. Only downside is they don’t carry Shimano (they got into a fight with them years ago about MSRP and Charkbait takes every chance they can to badmouth them). Prices are pretty good. Selection is OK, but they may have stuff in the back room or warehouse or another store.

I have been shopping at both the H.B. and S.D. locations and am very happy with their knowledge, selection, and service. The first time I came in (about a year ago) was to re-​spool a reel before a long range trip, and I was nervous as I had my son (5) and nephew (2) with me. Not only did they re-​spool the reel quickly, they also had the kids playing with the swim baits and gave me great tips on making fishing more fun for the kids.
I was concerned about a travel rod that I had broken recently. It had broken above the handle with line that was rated well below the rod’s capacity. I brought it back and explained what happened and the associate agreed that it was most likely a manufacturer defect and took what was left of the rod to let the owner see. I got a call a few days later and they replaced the rod at no additional charge. I came to pick it up about ½ hour before they closed and wound up swapping stories and joking with the guys over an hour after the store closed.
I continue to be impressed by Charkbait and the quality of service from their associates.

First off I have never been here in person but I’m sure this applies to the in store service as well.
I have ordered both online and through the phone. This place is by far the best online tackle shop there is.
I tried tackle direct (being from nj I was trying to support nj business.) and had a very bad experience but I will make a separate review for that.
Everything I ordered came super fast and in great condition. The prices are great and they offer price match.
The costumer service over the phone is the best I have had with any retailer. The last time I called I had a question about a fishing rod and not only did the sales person recommend one that fit my needs better it cost less then the original one I was looking at. I like it when store employees look at the customers needs over trying to sell the most expensive items.
After he helped me with the rod he also helped me with some fishing tips about using Braided fishing line with a leader. He was on the phone for about a half hour explaining everything I needed to know, I was not rushed off the phone. I mean that was way above and beyond my expectations.
A+++ customer service!
I have been definitely recommending this place to everyone.

I went to two fishing shops today (Sav-​On in Santa Fe Springs & Charkbait in Huntington Beach) and had two different experiences. Sav-​On was not totally bad, but the chick (Amy) that «greeted» me at the door with, «You have about 10 minutes before we close», coupled with their higher prices, and low stock for what I was looking for (Hopkins spoon), left me with a slightly dissatisfied vibe. Dave and Jimmy were cool/​helpful as usual though.
I then went to Charkbait, as Sav-​On was limited in their stock, and was immediately greeted by Beta and Blake. Mind you, I got there with 30 minutes until closing, and not once did they mention anything about time, or the place closing. They asked me if I needed help with anything and I told them I was cool, and walked around the shop. I ended up asking for help when I didn’t see what I was looking for, and Blake located the Hopkins spoon that I had walked by twice already. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was $ 2.00 less than at Sav-​On, and struck up GREAT conversation with Beta and Blake.
The knowledge I gained from those two guys was stuff that I’d pay to get at a seminar. Beta took time to share tips on fishing lingcod, and showed me how to rig a snell hook with a stinger. He also spoke about strategies while targeting the «Lingasaurs», as well as ways to save money while doing so. Blake shared some local spots to fish, as well as the setups to use. He also brainstormed with me, as we attempted to remember the name of a giant tube-​type lure, that they unfortunately no longer carried. But the time that he took trying to remember the name and that Beta took searching online went above and beyond.
I am SO happy that I decided to rush down to Charkbait before closing. All in all, I ended up being there 35 minutes past closing, chatting it up about fishing and getting a personal seminar. Beta & Blake ROCK, and the prices are as good as they get! I’ve had negative experiences in the past with a rep that I no longer see on their website, as he was always kinda arrogant, rude and to put it bluntly, an ass. Even with that I’d shop Charkbait, but I’d try to limit my interactions with him so that I wouldn’t get pissed. This was a whole new experience, and one that will get me coming back over and over. Big ups to Beta & Blake; your knowledge, courteousness, as well as the great prices, have earned a life-​long customer.