Fish On!
By Robert Waldner
Photo by Aslyn Baringer
164 NIX BOAT YARD ROAD • 877-840-BAIT • FISHBITES dot COM
St. Augustine thrives on the contributions of small businesses and the people who run them. Many, like restaurants and retailers, are well known in the community. However, some work their magic behind the scenes, quietly producing high-quality custom products, bolstering the local economy, and providing valuable employment opportunities to residents. Carr Specialty Baits, Inc. is one such business. “My family moved here in 1973,” says Michael Carr, Vice President of Advertising and Marketing. “We all went to St. Augustine High School,” he elaborates. The others he speaks of are Teresa Carr, his sister and VP of Corporate Relations, and Terry Dillinger, her husband and the company’s CEO.
In 2000, Carr Specialty Baits, Inc. was created to manufacture and sell a synthetic fishing bait called Fishbites. Fishbites is the result of thirty-plus years of research and development by family patriarch Dr. William Carr. “Most of our dad’s research was conducted at The Whitney Laboratory,” says Michael. His father’s tireless efforts resulted in an alternative to natural bait that releases a scent replicating natural fish chemicals. Unlike other artificial baits, Fishbites does not release its feeding stimulants until after it is submerged. “We like to say that it’s the scent that melts in the water, not in your hands,” says Carr. After starting in a four-hundred-square-foot plant, off Old Dixie Highway, the company has grown exponentially over the years. As a result, they now inhabit three acres at 164 Nix Boatyard Road, on the shore of Gonzales Creek, and employ about thirty members of the community.
While Fishbites is well known for its lack of impact on your sense of smell, it is also notable for its nonexistent environmental footprint. “Our products are biodegradable, and we take nothing from the oceans to make them,” Michael says. As far as making the Old City a blip on the national fish finder, he continues, “We have sold more than 8.5 million bags of Fishbites all over the country. The phrase, ‘Made with Pride in St. Augustine, Florida USA,’ is stamped on every bag we have sold.” For more information, visit the Fish Bites Website or call 877-840-BAIT.
