For Tim Sonenstahl, co-owner of Wayzata Bait and Tackle, minnows are usually where the money is. Up to 75% of his income is from live bait. “It’s like a gas station being out of gas,” he said.

This time it is minnows. The next time many live wells at local bait shops are currently empty. "You can see what we have, nothing. Nice clean water" said Gary Gould, owner of Fargo Bait and Tackle.

Touachongka 'T' Xiong owns Kathy's Live Bait in Saint Paul. He said supply is hard to come by. "This is one of the most challenging years," said Xiong. "We don't have a lot of minnows," he said.

Pham is mostly in the business of selling live bait along with several other bait stands and while he’s catching over 100 pounds every day. It’s still not enough to make a profit.

As live bait goes, it’s hard to beat crawfish for trout, bass, catfish, and more—yet they are wildly underused. That’s because it’s rare to find them for sale in bait shops.