Bait shop a throwback to an earlier time

You almost expect to see Sheriff Andy Taylor and his son, Opie, with fishing poles draped over their shoulders, walking into Pit Stop Bait Shop in Wauconda.

That's because Pit Stop isn't just a place to get minnows, nightcrawlers, leeches, bobbers and other items.

It's a joint where you can hang out with owner Rudy Hendrickson, 54, who generally knows all the fishing hotspots in the Wauconda area and is more than happy to show you the piranha -- now frozen -- caught in Bangs Lake in 2005.

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Adding to Pit Stop's Mayberryesque charm is the "Wall of Fame" with photographs of customers and their children showing off prized catches, and official greeter/watchdog Old Smokey, a 14-year-old black mutt. There even is a cooler with a "soda-pop" sign on it.

Hendrickson has owned what's become one of Lake County's few remaining small independent bait shops for about five years on Route 176 just west of Main Street. Another man sold bait from the building for 30 years or so before Hendrickson.

"It gives you a real nice feeling when you can have people come in and BS a little bit and shoot the breeze," says Hendrickson, an Island Lake resident. "They're all friendly. They love to pet the dog and come in here and bring him biscuits. Heck, sometimes they even bring me lunch."

Sarah Lenzen, 24, has worked at the Pit Stop since it opened. It's more than a job to her.

Lenzen says she enjoys the customers and refreshing chatter that's not about who has the biggest house or coolest car. In the Pit Stop circle, it's about relationships.

"We don't try to run it like the new way," says Lenzen. "Yeah, we have a new register and a credit-card machine, but all in all everything is pretty much the same here as it would have been 50, 60, 70 years ago."

On the business side, Hendrickson takes pride in a special filtration system he uses for his minnows and other bait. He says customers are surprised at how active his bait remains many hours after a purchase.

Depending on size, the minnows sell for $2 to $6 a dozen. Customers like how they get more than they pay for at Pit Stop.

"When they come in here and order a dozen minnows, they get a good three dozen minnows. They don't just get a dozen," Hendrickson says.

"Let them try that at Bass Pro."