The Minnow Bucket Is Ready for the Bluegill Festival and 4th of July
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989-632-3257
1. Our Story
From Empty to Essential
In 2019, Jeff and Ron took a dusty, long-closed bait shop and brought it back to life—floor to ceiling, pegboard to paint. Not just remodeled, but reimagined as a hub for all things outdoors in Saint Helen. The Minnow Bucket isn’t just a shop. It’s part of the rhythm of life up here.
2. What We Carry
Everything You Need. Advice Included.
Live Bait & Fishing Tackle (open water & ice)
Archery Gear & Supplies
Firearms & Ammunition
Deer Feed, Attractants & Scents
Propane and Propane Tanks
Camping & Cabin Essentials
Whether you’re hunting, fishing, riding trails, or setting up camp, Jeff and Ron have what you need—and they’ve probably tested it themselves.
3. A Place for Every Season
Fall — The shop smells like molasses and cedar. Feed stacked high. Ammo shelves stocked. Local hunters swapping trail talk before sunrise.
Winter — Propane tanks clinking. Augers loaded. Minnows flashing in buckets. Ice shanties waiting.
Spring — Crappie rigs on the move. Warm rain. Coffee steaming. First launch of the year.
Summer — Sand on the floor, sun in the trees, and a cooler full of nightcrawlers heading for the lake.
4. Meet Ellie & Willow
Every good shop has mascots. Ours have tails. Ellie and Willow are part of the Minnow Bucket welcome—offering soft eyes, wagging greetings, and the kind of loyalty you can’t buy.
5. Minnow Camp Next Door
In June 2025, Jeff and Ron built Minnow Camp—five rustic-modern cabins tucked just steps from the shop. Roll out of bed, grab bait or propane, and walk back with a plan for the day. Minnow Camp is the stay to match the store: practical, peaceful, and built by hand.
🌲 Saint Helen, Michigan — Your Year‑Round Getaway Under the Pines
Just off the beaten path—no highway glamour, no neon lights—Saint Helen is the kind of place that waits, ready and patient, until you arrive. Stay for a weekend, stay for a season: the woods and water will still be here. Only they’re different each time.
Tucked into the heart of northern Michigan’s recreation play land, Saint Helen offers a full-circle kind of stay—from the burn of woodsmoke in October to the stillness of snow in January, the sparkle of lake water in July, and the low golden slant of light every September afternoon.
Surrounded by thousands of acres of state forest, 690+ miles of ORV trails, and the deep hush of wilderness, this is where you come when you want more than a vacation—you want connection.
🦌 Fall — The Rut, the Rites, the Rustle of Whitetails
As the leaves turn and mornings sharpen, Saint Helen becomes a hunter’s haven. The Backus Creek State Game Area, with over 4,300 acres of public land just south of town, is a whitetail stronghold. Orange vests flicker through the trees like embers. Stand still long enough, and you’ll hear everything: wind, hoof, breath, heart. Whether bow or rifle, this is sacred ground.
❄️ Winter — Ice, Fire, and the Rhythm Beneath the Snow
Winter doesn’t slow Saint Helen—it shifts its shape. Lake St. Helen, 2,400 acres wide, freezes over like glass. Ice shanties bloom across it like small, determined villages. Inside, heaters hum and lines dance as pike, perch, and bluegill come through the ice with stories attached. Ride your snowmobile straight from the lake to the trails. And when the sun sets, let it—all the stars come out to watch.
🌿 Spring — Where the Forest Wakes
As the snow pulls back, the pines breathe again. Mushrooms rise in secret patches. ORV trails open like veins in the land, winding deep into jack pine, aspen, birch. Birds return, and so do the early anglers, casting from shore with quiet hope. Spring in Saint Helen is the season of beginning again.
☀️ Summer — Where the Days Stretch Long and Easy
This is where your kids catch their first fish. Where you grill barefoot. Where trails are dusty and coolers are full. Saint Helen’s ORV trail system draws riders from across the state, weaving through forest and freedom. Lake days melt into bonfire nights. The Bluegill Festival brings the whole town out. It’s simple. It’s joyful. It’s exactly how summer’s meant to feel in the heart of northern Michigan’s recreation play land.
📍 One Place, Four Seasons
Hunt. Fish. Ride. Roast a marshmallow under the stars.
Saint Helen is a getaway that doesn’t check the clock—it listens to the trees, the trails, the lake ice cracking open with spring. Come for a weekend. Stay longer. You might find what you didn’t know you were missing.
The heart of northern Michigan’s recreation play land. Not just a slogan—an invitation.