Patterson Bait and Grocery at the crossroads in Knifley was open a little over a week or so ago when I drove by there. Their phone number is 270/465/3804...I got that phone number from their Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pattersonsbaitandgrocery/
If Pattersons does not have any bait try Green River Bait Shop. They are up the road a few miles like you're going to towards Holmes Bend on HWY 551. I usually stop in there about once a week. They have cut back their store hours some. They use to open at 5:30 AM CST but now they open at 6. They also close a little earlier in the afternoon and a littler earlier on Saturdays. A couple weeks ago the owner told me they were thinking about shutting down for a bit because they were having difficulty getting bait and some of the suppliers who deliver other items were not delivering very regular so there supplies were getting low. It was two weeks ago when he told me that. I drove buy there 3-4 days ago and they were open but who knows for how long. I have no idea if they have bait but as I said they were having issues with the truck that delivers bait. Green River Bait Shop 270/384/5206