Novelty Bass Mount Scares Away Bait Store Burglar
OutdoorHub Reporters 02.07.14
Visitors to Tom Allen’s “Hooked on Fishing” bait store in Rochester, Minnesota are used to to the tunes from his novelty Big Mouth Billy Bass. According to WCCO, Allen uses the singing bass to alert him when a customer arrives, but he also turns on the motion-activated fish when he leaves the store. Allen thought it might give unwanted guests a shock when they entered a store, but now he suspects the loudmouthed bass caused at least one burglar to turn tail.
When Allen opened the store this Monday, he found that the door had been kicked in and was ajar. On a closer inspection of the store, however, he found that nothing was missing.
“Not a doggone thing,” Allen told WCCO.
Sergeant Tom Claymon of the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office told the Star Tribune that it was likely that the bass activated when the would-be burglar came through the door, possibly playing a rendition of “Take Me to the River.”
Allen says he suspects the singing fish startled the invader so much, they decided to leave. It is a theory that the sheriff’s office agrees with. However, the burglar did decide to leave one last parting note by knocking Billy Bass to the floor.
“”There were plenty of things to take but nothing was missing […] other than Billy’s pride,” said Claymon.
While Billy may be a better watchdog than Allen previously thought, he says that he also has surveillance cameras in the shop. Unfortunately, the person who broke into his store did not go far enough to be captured on video. The sheriff’s office is still investigating.
