Mile Xiong has for the past five months owned Gimp's Live Bait on Rice Street, selling minnows, nightcrawlers and fishing gear to neighborhood anglers. But a cool, wet spring dampened business, he said, despite his and his wife's 15-hour days.

Eventually, as more sunny days of summer arrive, Xiong expects business to pick up.

Others expect the same thing. With gas prices screaming upward, experts say more folks will be drowning worms from the greener and cheaper shorelines of close-to-home area lakes. It makes sense. Nearly 40 lakes in Washington and Ramsey counties are stocked with an often-overlooked abundance of fish, said Rick Walsh, east metro fisheries manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

"I think we're going to see more interest in people fishing closer to home. Even people with boats will be at White Bear or Bald Eagle, instead of driving for hours up north," Walsh said. "You have to assume that fewer people are going to make the trip, even to Mille Lacs, let alone Lake of the Woods."

"A lot of them don't realize we have some pretty nice fish in our local lakes," Walsh said.

In fact, the DNR has set up a website, called Fishing In the Neighborhood, detailing lakes in the east and west metro areas -- including everything from information on the fish that call them home to how to tie a knot for your hook.

What anglers will find is that Lake Como in St. Paul is home to some pretty decent northerns and walleyes, Walsh said. Snail Lake in Shoreview has proved a popular spot for bluegills and crappies. Bass are biting at Turtle Lake, too.

Many of these lakes attract people who fish from shore. Some of the lakes even have fishing piers.

It's cheaper, Walsh said. And often easier than packing up a boat and trailer. In fact, for many city residents, shore fishing can be done for just a couple of hours here and there.

Mike Vanderwerff and his kids were fishing in Vadnais-Snail lakes Regional Park in Shoreview on a recent Friday morning. They were dropping their lines in a shallow channel that runs beneath Hwy. 96. Vanderwerff, of Oakdale, had a golf game scheduled for later in the day. This was his kids' first morning of summer vacation. So they set off for the lake.

"We come here occasionally," he said. "Usually, there are a lot of people down here, seems like more than normal this year. I think with the gas prices and everything, people are sticking closer to home."

As Vanderwerff spoke, his 17-year-old daughter, Ashley, reeled in a sunfish. His son, Dana, 12, put the fish in a wire basket with two or three other bluegills.

"I don't own a boat," Vanderwerff said. "It's pretty easy to come here."

Many of Xiong's customers are Southeast Asian immigrants. Some have boats, some don't. Many, though, have grown up with the tradition of fishing.

Back in Laos, Xiong said, that meant tying a string to a stick and putting a worm on a hook. Now, he sells much more sophisticated gear and many kinds of bait. But the tradition of casting a line into the water from a spot on the shore remains.

"The reason I got into this business is because fishing was really important for families," he said. "My dad took me fishing [in Laos]. And while so much has gone away, the fishing is still there."

Xiong has actually renamed Gimp's, a decades-old Rice Street fixture, to Kathy's Live Bait N' Tackle -- in honor of his youngest daughter. But the yellow and black Gimp's sign remains. So does the orange lettering on the front of his shop. And, Xiong admits, he will probably change the name back to honor the first owners of the store.

"I think the owner who built this store would like that, too," he said. "Tradition."

Almost all of his customers fish the nearby lakes, he said. In fact, Gimp's is just a few miles down Rice Street from where Vanderwerff and his kids were catching sunnies.

Xiong said he just wishes a few more customers would come through the door for suckers, shiners and fatheads. Gas prices are cooperating, he said.

"People say cloudy days are the best for fishing," Xiong said. "Not true. Not here, anyway. Sunny days are the best days for fishing. At least, that's when they come in here to get their minnows. I know."

James Walsh • 651-298-1541