ABOVE: Bret and Morgan Bonin stand with their bait tank, situated inside Tuttle Lake Bait at 1446 30th Street. Buckets and nets are provided and use of any other buckets or nets are prohibited to prevent contamination.

CEYLON – Those looking to fish this winter and beyond have a new option for bait and tackle.

Bret Bonin has opened up Tuttle Lake Bait in Ceylon at 1446 30th Street. Bonin grew up fishing in Fairmont.

“I grew up on Amber Lake, so I grew up fishing every single day,” he said. “Pretty much growing up on the lake, I’ve always been involved in fishing and outdoors,” he said. “We moved down here four years ago, got a prime location here with all the lakes around.”

As for how Bonin decided to turn his lifelong interest into a business, he said it stemmed from his social nature.

“We have a really good fishing Mecca right across the road,” he said. “Being the social person I am, I talked to everybody, and everybody had one common theme. Having to drive all the way to Fairmont, Spirit Lake or sometimes even to Mankato to get bait. I’m an avid outdoorsman, and I like to go fishing whenever the fish are biting. That doesn’t necessarily line up with when bait stores are open.”

The store is open 24 hours. While Bonin does man it when he can, the shop is self-serve.

“The door is always unlocked,” he said. “The bait tank is always here, hopefully always stocked. We have the bucket so you can scoop your own water into your bait box. Then you can scoop your minnows up into the net and put them into your bucket, or the wax worms that are in the fridge, just keep it simple.”

Usage of any bucket other than one provided by Tuttle Lake Bait is prohibited, as even a small amount of contamination of substances like gasoline could kill the bait population.

In addition to a money drop box, there is a Venmo QR code and username for people who need to pay that way. A ledger is there for people to write down their purchases.

The shop has been open for around three weeks now. Bonin said it was a journey to get there, bringing water out to the buildings, acquiring a bait tank and trying to find distributors for bait and tackle stock, all while working on fall harvest and two jobs.

In the time they’ve been open, they’ve already sold out of bait three times.

“Figuring out how much bait to order and keep on hand is very difficult when you have the demand we have in this area,” Bonin said. “The community around here is so heavily outdoors-related. I mean, we have so many lakes in our county. The lakes that we do have in this county are also amazing fisheries.”

With a good chunk of time under their belt, Bonin said he has seen a lot of positive feedback and demand.

“That first day alone, I think we saw over 40 people come through the door,” he said. “It really was eye-opening, and felt really good seeing the support that we have from the community already.”

While he has some rods and equipment, Bonin said currently they’re mainly focused on bait, with emergency tackle supplies for what people need.

“Keeping stuff on hand, if somebody were to break a rod or something, to have an extra one here,” he said. “We haven’t advertised hard on the tackle side yet because we’re constantly getting new stuff in.”

Looking forward, Bonin said they will be rolling out fish house rentals and looking to grow their tackle and equipment inventory.

“They’re just plain day shacks, no overnights,” he said. “There’s a big need for that in our community, trying to fill the need with it. We’re working on apparel right now. I am offering a fish cleaning service as well. I can clean them for you. Eventually, we’re going to get a fish cleaning shack built next to the shop here.”

For more information, call 507-848-1627.