In June, 1967, Dick and Barb Shedd made a down payment on an acre of land across the street from the entrance to Paynetown State Recreation Area at Lake Monroe—a busy destination for visitors to Indiana’s newest (and still largest) reservoir. Soon after, they sold their insurance agency in Indianapolis and Dick headed south in his Jeep—pulling a camper—to clear the land and oversee construction of “The Fishin’ Shedd.” The dream was to own their own business, and we think Dick and Barb might have thought (more than once), they had taken on a little more than they originally envisioned.

For a number of years when Monroe was seen primarily as a fishing destination (and it still is!), the store opened well before dawn and often stayed opened 24 hours throughout the weekends from spring through early fall. Back then, nightcrawlers arrived from Curtis Fisheries in Martinsville at a count of 500 crawlers per wooden flat, and it was up to the family and their young staff to get them counted and packaged. Those of us who did that counting and packing remember it well all these years later— the packing table, the coolness of the soil as we reached our hands in to bring wriggling crawlers to the surface , and the hum of the aerators on the minnow tanks behind us accented by the nighttime chorus of crickets and cicadas. Our wood and glass display cases were repurposed from the former L.S. Ayres in Indianapolis, and our cash register had mechanical keys and a lever to pull to complete a transaction.

Now in our 58th year, so much has changed, and in some pretty wonderful ways. What has not changed though, is our commitment to you. We are a family-owned business anchored in stories and tradition and have a long history to celebrate here at the Shedd. Stop in and share it with us soon!