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Andre Jenkins has big plans for his bait shop and the local fishing scene.

He recently opened Sabine Slam Bait Co. tucked away at the base of the Rainbow Bridge on the Port Arthur side.

Jenkins sells handmade and live bait from the shop, and in the coming weeks he hopes to add a small menu that will expand over time.

“We are going to start out with some finger foods that people can buy,” he said. “We just want something that they can grab and go when they go out fishing. It will probably be some burritos or something in the morning. For lunch, we will have something like pulled-pork sandwiches or brisket sandwiches. We can put that on the smoker and forget about it.”

He said by the time crawfish season comes back, he wants to expand the sitting area in front of the shop.

“We want people to have a place to simmer down and have a seafood patio area,” he said. “We will have some picnic tables on the ground. I hope we aren’t over doing it, but I am not going to complain about more business.”

Jenkins worked for Motiva for eight years before being laid off.

“I have been making my own artificial bait for a few years,” he said. “I wanted to see how that would go. Next thing you know, that wasn’t enough, so I started doing a little more.”

Jenkins found a shop in Sabine Pass and started selling live bait. He realized the demand for live bait, which is why he also sells it at his new location.

Jenkins also wants to bring more fishing tournaments to the area after having success organizing several local events.

“We are going to do a trout series in the winter out of here,” he said. “It is going to be three months long, one weekend a month and two days per event. We will do a Saturday and Sunday once a month. The last tournament we had about 40 boats.”

Jenkins said the idea to keep live bait came from a dearth of providers in the area.

“I know people from Orange that would drive all the way to (Highway) 365 and then come back to launch at Cow Bayou. Here, they can cut that drive in half and launch here because this is the best launch spot on Sabine Lake, because you can go either direction.”

Jenkins said he also wants to look into having regular live music for the tournaments. He said he knows plenty of musicians with his South Louisiana connections.

“I feel like the only way to be successful in this industry is to be diverse and pull people in with different things,” he said.

Sabine Slam Bait Co. is located at 7069 Rainbow Lane in Port Arthur. For more information, call 409-330-7745.