- April 25, 2024
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Ike Leary has seen a lot of beautiful sunrises over the Halifax River, and the City Commission just made it possible for him to see them for another five years.
As manager of the Bait House at Cassen Park, located at the southwest corner of the Granada Bridge, Leary, 68, opens early each morning to greet the day and the fishermen. He has been running the shop since 2000 and the City Commission voted Feb. 7 to extend his lease another five years.
Leary said he hopes to go five years after that, health permitting.
“You never go wrong investing in kids.”
IKE LEARY, Bait shop manager
At the meeting, Commissioner Troy Kent called Leary an “absolute gift” to the community, lauding him for the customer service he provides.
“You are a true ambassador, even though we haven’t given you that title,” Kent said.
Commissioner Rick Boehm called him one of the unsung citizens of Ormond Beach.
“I’m happy he wants to do it another five years,” he said.
The commissioners mentioned the upcoming Reel in the Fun Fishing Tournament, noting that Leary donates prizes and cooks hotdogs for the participants.
Leary says the kids are future fishermen. He has customers today who first visited his bait shop as kids.
“You never go wrong investing in kids,” he said.
Leary sells bait, fishing tackle and supplies; and rents kayaks and folding chairs at the city-owned facility, which he leases. He also sells beverages and foot items, including his wife’s homemade fish dip and smoked mullet. He catches king mackerel offshore for the fish dip and catches the mullet in Ponce Inlet.
He has always been a commercial fisherman, but now only fishes for the bait shack items.
In addition to a lot of sunsets, Leary said he’s seen a lot of other things. On a shelf in the shop is a picture of someone holding a 71-pound black drum. The fisherman caught the fish off the walkway that goes under the bridge, and a fisherman in the water loaded it into his boat and took it to shore him.
After the pictures, the fisherman let it go. A fish that big is not good for eating, Leary explained.
Another plus of running a bait shop is that most of the customers are going fishing, so 99 out of 100 are in a happy mood, he said.
As far as changes in fishing over the years, Leary said regulations by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission have been beneficial. For example, snook were hit hard by a freeze about 10 years ago. The FWC put a ban on them for a couple of years, and now they are back better than ever.
In addition to being a commercial fisherman, Leary was also a plumber and pipe fitter until he retired. He said he’d much rather be in the shop than out laying a pipe in a ditch. Most of all, he says he enjoys the “ambience.”
“Just look at it,” he said, pointing to the sun rising over the river.
