Discovering The Mature Lifestyle Award-winning gardeners share their stories. Page 2
Summer Fun
June 16, 2016
June Issue
BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Brian Sularz has an enviable job: owning a store that reflects his leisure time passion. Sularz, who has been fishing walleyes competitively for 15 years, has owned Big B’s Bait & Tackle Shop in Plymouth since 2013. It’s a small shop, tucked into an affluent neighborhood bordering Bass Lake. “There’s a core group of people who fish in the area and also have cabins,” Sularz said. “The business has really grown. It’s made leaps and strides. We’re seeing a lot of new faces.” One item that draws customers, Sularz said, is jumbo leeches. “Most shops don’t carry them, but I have a good supplier,” he said. Another popular item is frozen salted shiners, he said. The inventory also includes crappie minnows and fatheads, wax worms, night crawlers, green crawlers, leeches, bullheads, and sucker minnows. Custom tackle and all kinds of accessories are available, along with propane tanks. Because he used to sell fish to local pet shops, Sularz said he is familiar with the live bait aspect and also familiar with the aquatic aspect of the business. In spite of this year’s regulation regarding walleye fishing at Lake Mille Lacs, there are plenty of other lakes that are reaping the reward of more customers, Sularz said, including Winnibigoshish, Leech, Cass, Ottertail, and Osakis.
He finds that customers fish “all over the area,” including White Bear Lake and Bald Eagle, and many go to Canada. Sularz has fished walleyes all over the Midwest for 17 years, he said. “I caught my first 4½-pound walleye on Leech Lake with my grandpa, when I was 4½ years old,” he said. “I hooked the fish, and he hooked me. I’ve had fishing mania ever since.” He has been on the Masters Walleye circuit. Sularz also sponsors fishing clinics for kids in June, through Three Rivers Parks District. “I definitely try to get involved with kids,” he said. Sularz and his wife, Jodi, a tax preparer, are the only employees at the shop. When Brian is not at the shop, he is overseeing the concrete construction company he owns. When he’s at the shop, he enjoys the camaraderie of other fishermen. “I hear the same stories over and over again,” he said. “The fish grows 3 inches every time. It’s fun. I really enjoy the customers.” Jim Lynch, an 8-year resident of Plymouth, is one of the customers who fishes for walleyes, but he also likes crappies, he said. “I fish close to home, usually at Lake Minnetonka,” said Lynch, who recalls fishing for the first time at age 7, with his grandfather in Ohio. Lynch said he knew Mark Johnson, who preceded Brian and Jodi Sularz are the owners of Big B’s Bait & Tackle FISHING - TO PAGE 2 Shop, 11540 Bass Lake Road, Plymouth. (Photo by Sue Webber)