Gray’s sits in the Winn-Dixie shopping center on Sorrento Road, and it’s been selling bait there since 1988 — a strip-mall tackle shop in the best possible sense, meaning zero pretense and everything you actually need. Since 2016 it’s been owned by Capt. Bill Willis, a Coast Guard-licensed captain, so the advice behind the counter comes from someone who fishes this water for a living.
Why locals care
The 5am open, every day. If you want live shrimp and bull minnows in the well before first light on Big Lagoon or Old River, this is the stop — and it doubles as the pre-dawn intel exchange, where you find out what’s actually biting before you commit your morning to it.
Good to know
No website — they run everything through their Facebook page, which is where you’ll find current bait reports. True to the name, Capt. Willis also runs guide trips, so if the intel alone isn’t getting you on fish, the man selling you shrimp can take you to them.