A boyhood dream comes true for Oakridge brothers who reel in beloved Bert’s Fish-N-Stuff tackle shop

By DOUG BATES and GARY CARL/The Herald — As boys growing up in Oakridge, the Chrisman brothers loved going to Bert Schragl’s little shop on the highway for their fishing tackle.

“We always told him we would buy his place from him someday,” Brett Chrisman recalls, “and Bert would always say, ‘It ain’t for sale.’ And that was that.”

The years rolled by. The brothers grew up. Their crotchety old friend died last fall and Bert’s Fish-N-Stuff went up for sale after all.

Brett and Brice Chrisman have the business now, and they call it a dream come true.

“We have all of the stock that Bert left when he passed away,” says Brett, “and over the next week to two weeks we’re trying to restock with some newer merchandise.”

Brett, who works for an Oakridge towing company, and Brice, who works for the U.S. Forest Service, plan to keep their day jobs during the startup. They had a soft opening last Saturday, March 27, and plan regular hours beginning Wednesday, March 31. Initially, the hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Helping out at the shop will be Brett’s girlfriend, Hailee Rumer of Oakridge.

Bert Schragl, who died last September, was 81 and had been married to Peggy Schragl for 51 years.  She still lives in the same Oakridge home she and Bert shared.

“I would love to run the store,” she says with a laugh, “but I can barely walk.”

Peggy remembered Bert as “a really nice guy” who liked to portray himself as a grouchy old man. But underneath, she says, Bert was a warm, good-hearted, generous man.  He never met a stranger, and he welcomed everybody in his shop.

Many a customer remembers going to his shop to buy worms, ammo or a $6 lure and coming away with about $200 worth of free advice on how to catch fish in the waters around Oakridge.

Bert came to Oakridge just after getting out of the Navy in 1963. He was 24 years old and immediately went to work for the Forest Service, laying out timber sales.  Although Bert had a home with the federal agency, his dream was to open a fishing supply store.  Finally, when he got the opportunity for his store in 1986, he retired from the Forest Service and opened Bert’s Fish-N-Stuff.

He enjoyed sharing his knowledge with all who stopped by — and not just his know-how about fishing but about the Oakridge area in general.  For Bert it was never about making money, although he did enjoy some financial success, says Peggy.  Bert just enjoyed his interaction with people, she says.

Yes, Bert could be cantankerous, says Bob Sollish, owner of Bob’s Lock Shop and next-door neighbor to Bert’s Fish-N-Stuff. But under that exterior was really a terrific guy, Sollish says.

Schragl’s landlord — Steve Savage of Aumsville, who still owns the building that houses Bert’s Fish-N-Stuff — remembers Bert as being “kind of rough around the edges, but as honest a man as you would ever meet.”

“In all those years Bert never missed a rent payment, was never late,” Savage says. “And if Bert told you something, you could be sure it was absolutely true.”