MUSCODA - Dan Dobbs is not a newcomer among Muscoda’s Wisconsin Avenue businesses. However, in recent weeks he has been putting finishing touches on the newest version of his “Knot Just Fishing-N-Jigging” outdoor sports business.
Wisconsin Avenue has been the business home for Dan for a number of years. He started offering outdoor equipment in a building on the west side of the avenue in 2006. That building is no longer standing but historically it served as the location for a shoe sales and repair operation, plus at one time, horse harness repairing.
Dan then moved his fishing and retailing of outdoor items to the east side of the avenue when the former Ivan Farness barber shop became available. Now he is in the process of completing another move, this time to the next door former attorney office, last occupied by retired attorney Brian McGraw. Assisting Dan with his expanding endeavor are his wife Marcia and daughter Cheryl.
But that is not the complete story of the Dobbs – Wisconsin Avenue connection. For 16½ years Dan was an officer with the Muscoda Police Department, headquartered in the Kratochwill Memorial Building located about a block further north. During that time he served a Chief of Police for two and a half years after the retirement of Chief Milford Feryance. Following his own retirement from the department Dan worked for a time picking up repossessed vehicles.
Among the equipment in his completely remodeled new location is a special unit to keep and sell three versions of minnows used by walleye and crappie fishermen, as well as other live bait.
With the increased space at the new spot he is working to expand his offerings of fishing and hunting gear, which includes an assortment of long and hand guns and ammunition.
Recently, Dan has been lamenting the brutal cold temperatures that shut down much of the fishing through the ice. However, with the forecast for a return to a more “normal” end of winter he has hopes for a long, green spring.