Lake life
The Cheney Lake Day Kit
August 11, 2026 · 6 min read
Here's a thing we watch happen most weekends: a truck pulls into the lot at 10:40am, somebody hops out, and the first words are "do you have ice?" Then bug spray. Then a phone charger. Then — every single time — worms.
Nobody forgets the cooler. People forget the six small things that decide whether the day is great or merely fine. So we made the list. Not the generic one off the internet, but the one built from what actually gets asked for at our counter about four hundred times a summer.
The List
Everything worth hauling out to the water, everything you can skip, and the short list of stuff you should just grab from us on the way in. Print it, screenshot it, or check the boxes right here.
Bring from home
Non-negotiable
Grab from us
On the way in
Easy to forget
You'll want these
If kids are coming
Trust us
What we keep behind the counter
The whole reason we stock the store the way we do is so your packing list can be short. Bait's the big one: medium minnows, worms, chicken and beef liver, frozen shrimp, frozen frogs, shad sides, stink bait. Ice, propane, beer, snacks — all here. No second stop in town, no thirty-minute detour back for the thing you forgot.
If you didn't bring a boat, that's fine too. Kayaks run $17 an hour with a free 30 minutes built in for pickup and drop-off, life jackets and paddles included. Full-day and overnight rates are discounted. Two things worth knowing: you haul it yourself (a pickup makes life much easier), and there's about 15 minutes of paperwork, so don't cut it close if you're chasing a sunrise.
One more: we don't sell fishing licenses. Grab yours online from the state before you leave the driveway. That's the single most common "oh no" we hear at the counter.
How to time your day
- 7:30 amBreakfast before the water. We have waffles, biscuits and gravy, coffee that means it.
- 8:15 amIce, bait, propane. Kayak paperwork if you're renting (leave 15 minutes open).
- 9:00 amHead to the lake while it's still calm and the ramp isn't stacked up.
- 2:00 pmHeat of the day. Come off the water, get the burger and something frozen.
- 4:00 pmSecond round on the water, or the covered beer garden if you're done.
- 8:00 pmKaraoke Friday, live music Saturday. Wind down where you started.
Adjust for how early you want to start your morning.
That's the kit. Print it if you're the printing type, screenshot it if you're not, and if you get all the way out here and still forgot something — good news, that's kind of our whole job. You can't miss us. We're the one-stop spot right as you pull up to the lake.