At this time of the year, the weather is so variable, it's hard to work in a morning or afternoon of fishing.

But when the weather does cooperate, Mike and Betty Ems, the owners of N&M Sporting Goods at 1524 Jeffco Blvd. in Arnold, are ready with live bait - crickets, shiners, goldfish, chicken livers, turkey livers, shrimp, nightcrawlers, red worms and crickets.

Mike was unloading several shipments of live crickets when Patch visited last week.

N&M also sells, buys and trades a wide variety of firearms, as well as hunting bows and arrows. In fact, Mike Ems said many people don't realize his shop has an indoor archery range in the basement of the business so archers can hone their skills.

The business also sells ammunition, but it is in scarce supply since the current debate over gun control laws has caused many gun owners to stock up ammo in large quantities, Betty Ems said.

There is some ammunition in the store, but Betty Ems said the availability of .9mm and .223mm ammunition is "non-existent."

Another service N & M provides that is not well-known, is "gunsmithing," Betty said. With three gunsmiths on site, N & M provides such gunsmithing services as bluing, cleaning and scope mounting.

For more information about N&M Sporting Goods, check out its website or call 636-287-8700.