Ryan White averages 80 hours a week at his White’s Corner Bait shop in Madison Lake and loves every minute of it.
Reeling them in
Customers appreciate bait shop owner’s dedication By Marie Wood | Photos by John Cross
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ince the old red Victorian in Madison Lake was converted to a bait shop in the 1950s, the shop has seen its share of owners. The newest owner is 35-year-old Ryan White, a fisherman and hometown guy, who purchased the bait shop in 2011 and renamed it White’s Corner Bait. White works 70 to 90 hours a week, 363 days a year at the shop. He’s consistent and his customers know they’ll see him whenever they come in for live bait, tackle, gear and the local fishing report. “That’s what it takes for a small business like us, especially when you’re starting out,” White said. John Anton, a regular from rural Madison Lake, agrees and said he believes White can make a success of the bait shop because he puts in the hours and works hard. “You gotta ring your own till,” Anton said. “We try to patronize him. Without a bait shop in Madison Lake, it would be like Christmas without Santa.” White spent his summers at his Dad’s lake place on East Jefferson, where he learned to fish. Now that he lives on Madison Lake, he’s passing on the sport to his own two
children. “I’ve been a fisherman since I can remember. I have pictures from when I was 3, 4 years old. Guys appreciate that,” White said. For 10 years, White sold furniture in Owatonna and Medford, where he worked a third fewer hours and made three times more money. In 2009, he began running the bait shop for the former owner before buying the business. “I’m much happier working at something I enjoy doing every day,” he said.
Profile
20 • May 2013 • MN Valley Business
Gearing up White is ready for fishing opener on May 11. He’ll be open almost around the clock Friday to Saturday and back at it early Sunday. He has a touch screen point of sale terminal to sell fishing licenses and will be well stocked with live bait and a full line of gear and tackle. “I concentrate on local favorites — bobbers, sinkers, line, rod and reel combos and a huge amount of jigs. I can get you out of here in two minutes.” The live bait comes directly from a private trapper,