COLUMBUS, Ohio - Bill Wentzel has been in a bait and tackle shop since he was 9 years old. His one piece of advice for today's youth is you can't be afraid to get your hands dirty.
"All fishermen are liars except me and you... sometimes. I have my doubts about you," he joked. "That's what my dad use to always say."
And now, 72 years later, he's saying goodbye.
"It's been a lot of fun," he said. "It's just time for me to hang it up."
R & R Bait and Tackle, after 106 years, is leaving Columbus.
Wentzel's father bought the business in 1947. It was passed to Bill in 1965. Then, last year, he passed it to his son who is moving the business to Buckeye Lake.
"Buckeye Lake is an upcoming thing," Wentzel said. "We feel like the area needed a real store out there, a real bait store for fishermen."
The store will still sell all the tackle and bait you can imagine, like live crawfish, night crawlers, minnows and goldfish.
He says it's what makes the difference between R & R and big box stores. Between that and the people, he doesn't know what he'll miss most.
"If you don't love what you do and love the people who come in here, you're in the wrong business," he said.
After being in the business as long as he has, he's ready to cast a line for good.
"At my age, I want to go fishing," he said. "I don't want to sit here and wait on everybody else. I want to actually spend more time fishing."
Until the doors close in October, he'll be at his South Front Street shop helping out to keep R & R on the up and up and keeping his tradition of getting his hands dirty.
"Keep working," he said. "Don't ask anybody to give you anything. You don't deserve to be given anything. Just work for it and you will succeed."
The new R & R Bait and Tackle has been up and running on Route 79 near Buckeye Lake for the last three months.