By Linda Stinnett

 Dan Dearduff’s family had a fear earlier this year that their plans to get him up and moving each day had met with a formidable roadblock.

They were moving a small log cabin to his home near Haysville with the plan to put him to work selling bait. Just as their supplies began arriving, Sedgwick County put a stop to the idea because of zoning issues.

“I had to get a building,” Dearduff said.

Within a week the family rented space in El Paso Village at 828 N. Baltimore. After nearly two months in business, the numbers of clients through the door is brisk and the family has expanded its space two times. 

“Now, I’m sending a thank you note to Sedgwick County for moving me out,” Dearduff said.

The avid fisherman is introducing types of bait that many in this area have never used. The specialty “jumping worms” sell out as quickly as they arrive and Dearduff and his son-in-law Dewey Atkinson say they have had customers more than impressed with the results of fishing with leeches and European night crawlers. 

“We try to keep a large variety of stuff,” Dearduff said.

They also brag they have a better selection of large rods and reels than the large sporting goods stores in Wichita carry.

“Even Cabelas and the others don’t handle what we handle in big rods,” he said. 

The family is also expanding into installation of Koi ponds and supplies.