Darrell Parrish is living a dream with his new business.
Parrish, 46, is the owner of The Tackle Box, a full-service bait shop at 200 W. Claiborne Ave.
“It’s probably been 25 years since I’ve fooled with this kind of business,” he said. “I worked for a mortgage company for 20 years. I just didn’t have time.”
Business has been slowly building at the shop, which offers a wide selection of hand-tied jigs, cane and jig poles and, of course, live bait ranging from minnows and worms to crickets.
“Each day the weather is good, it gets a little better,” Parrish said.
Parrish spends his slack time tying jigs and casting lead jig heads.
“You’ll get bored if you’re not busy,” he said.
Running a bait shop runs in Parrish’s family.
His father, Leroy Parrish, operated the Ainsworth Bait Shop on Carrollton Avenue for years.
Parrish, a Greenwood native, said his father also ran a successful “minnow route,” supplying fresh minnows to several bait shops from Greenwood to Grenada.
After his father retired, Parrish worked for Ray Bowell, owner of Delta Bait Shop.
“I’d go to the minnow farm and pick his minnows up when he needed them,” Parrish said.
There’s something about a bait shop, he said: “I’ve always enjoyed it. It was something that I’ve always wanted to do.”
Parrish said the business is geared toward making it easier for anglers. It serves as a one-stop shop for them on the way to the lake, pond, stream or river.
“Some folks fish with minnows, some folks fish with worms, some with crickets. I get different customers,” Parrish said.
The Tackle Box offers a selection of snacks, soft drinks and ice for a day of fishing.
The Tackle Box also keeps fishermen’s hours. It is open from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
The phone number is 451-1115.
