Seven day’s after the bullfrogs start chirpin’ the bullheads start bitin’!

It’s the perfect time of year to be making fish for dinner. Everyone loves a different part of preparing a fish meal. Some love to do the catching, others enjoy the cooking, but most peoples favorites part is the eating! Well now part of the job is done, you can skip the catching! Now available to purchase is domestic bullhead for $6.99 a pound here at Miller’s Meat Market.

As much as we want you all to come to our store and buy the bullheads we are selling, we know that there is so much fun in catching dinner yourself. Our store won’t help you much with your fishing adventures, but did you know that there is a bait shop right down the road from our store?

Allow me to introduce to you Phyllis Ward, and the Mud-Puppy Bait shop.

This was my first time meeting Phyllis, and seeing her bait shop that she has been running in this same spot for years. Phyllis and her late husband James ran the small bait business together, until his passing two years ago. Phyllis and James have lived in this same house on the Pine Grove road since they got married 67 years ago, and 45 of those years they have been selling bait on their enclosed porch. Of course I had to ask how this couple got their bait shop started, and Phyllis said it was actually a silly story. She told me about one night when James got home from work after getting into an argument with his boss. She couldn’t help but let out a laugh while explaining how he was in such a tizzy, and ready to quit his job! Then James suggested selling bait right out of their front porch, the bait shop that had been down the road had recently closed, so James and Phyllis saw an opportunity to do something new and that’s what they did. They closed in their front porch and the Mud-Puppy bait shop began. Phyllis did go on to tell me that after James had cooled off a bit, he realized quitting his job was probably not the best option, so he continued working while also running a business at home.

Memorial weekend will mark the 45th anniversary of the Mud-Puppy bait shop.

Like most families in this area, the Ward’s were a family of hunters and fishers. Phyllis told me that they’re favorite place to fish was at Long lake, however it was a trip to Bullhead pond that ended in the name of the Ward’s bait shop. The family used to have a jeep, and one evening James took that Jeep to Bullhead pond to enjoy an evening of fishing. Turns out that the area was quite muddy, and somehow James got the Jeep stuck in the mud and it just would not budge! Eventually, James arrived back home and Phyllis greeted him by saying, “You finally got that mud-puppy out!” And that night they knew they had the name for the bait shop.

Phyllis runs the bait shop herself these days. On Saturdays her great-granddaughter, Brooke, helps her out and occasionally her sons help her with tanks if she really needs it. She said she never really thought about not opening the shop up when James passed away. She told me that as long “as [she] feels like doing it, [she] will do it.” The Mud-Puppy bait shop is closed from October until the first good ice when ice fishing starts up. She opens up the shop 6am to 8pm every day except for Monday mornings which she uses to grocery shop and go to the bank. Phyllis told me she enjoys seeing new faces in the summer time just as much as she likes when the long time customers come in and visit. Although, James was the one who was always know for the story telling and chatting with all customers that came in. “People would come in just to hear his stories” Phyllis told me. She told me he would keep them around much longer than they had probably planned to be, she said she’d have to tell him “they wanna go fishing at some point ya know!”

I had such an amazing conversation with Phyllis about her shop. She is a local lady, with a local business. Next time you are headed out to fish, stop and get some bait from the Mud-Puppy bait shop! In an effort to tie back around to the beginning of this blog, I asked Phyllis her favorite way to prepare bullhead. She said, “Well, I’m old-school! We always just covered it in cornmeal or flour with some salt and pepper and fried it up in a pan!” So, if your looking for some bullhead to enjoy this summer, you can stop by to Miller’s Meat Market and purchase some, or catch some yourself and stop at visit Phyllis’ at the bait shop on the way!

Thank you all for tuning in and reading the blog this week. It was such a blessing to chat with Phyllis and highlight the bait shop in our blog. Come again next week to see what we have to share, and have a fantastic Tuesday!