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Outdoors

Offering small baits and a big heart

That big shrimp is more than a place to buy crustaceans, as an artist-turned-vendor offers a unique vantage of life at sea.

By DAVE BROWN
Published December 24, 2005

Talk about an oxymoron. "Big Shrimp" may sound like a contradiction, but for Homosassa anglers the bait shop operated by Bonnie Van Allen of Island Bait Co. has become somewhat of a landmark.

Even though it doesn't sit on land.

Run out the Homosassa River and you would have to shut your eyes to miss Van Allen's 24-foot pontoon boat rigged with seven 50-gallon bait tanks. A giant white shrimp tops the roof.

Most days find Van Allen - often joined by her 4-year-old mongrel, Gracie - anchored near Marker 26 just outside the Homosassa River channel. In rough weather she sets up shop inside the river near marker 63A on Tiger Tail Bay.

Based on Pinfish Island between the Homosassa and Chassahowitzka rivers, Van Allen is on the water by 7 a.m. daily except during severe weather and her annual repair/maintenance break in mid January and February.

Shrimp and pinfish fill her wells, but she traps the occasional squirrelfish or grunt, so it doesn't hurt to ask.

At midday Van Allen pulls anchor and works her pinfish traps throughout Homosassa Bay. After the lunch hour, if you want bait you have to find her. Locals know to call Van Allen's cell phone at (352) 634-2248, but an elevated crustacean is hard to miss.

"That's one of the reasons I have the big shrimp on the top, so people can see me from a long distance," she said.

Raised in Miami, Van Allen spent several years as a sculptor in New York. She had a sculpting business in Florida but lost it in the No-Name storm of 1993. Made of PVC and aluminum, the shrimp was her last work.

When she's not offering fishing tips gleaned from conversations with locals and VHF radio chatter, Van Allen hears plenty of big-fish tales. Customers often stop by at day's end to show off the fruits of their labor - and her bait.

Once, fishing guide Mike Locklear passed Van Allen on his way back to MacRae's boat ramp. Leaning back, hands over his head, he let out a "Whoo!" that foretold the glory of a giant tarpon catch that Locklear described in great detail.

"I knew he had caught something really wonderful," Van Allen said.

Such interaction spawns friendships of a special nature. Van Allen's a reader, and poking her nose into a good novel gets her through slow periods. Her regulars know this and often bring her books, which she passes along to other customers when she finishes.

Gracie also came from a Big Shrimp customer. Van Allen's husband, Ted, suffered a stroke in 2001, and she had to run the business alone. Her need for companionship on the water changed one morning when a fisherman idled up to her bow.

"He said "Close your eyes, I have a Christmas present for you,' " Van Allen said. "He put this warm, fuzzy little puppy in my arms and I fell in love immediately. She basically grew up on the boat.

"I named her Gracie, because I thought that she was a gift of grace."

That's a sentiment Van Allen carries with her each day on the water. Like barbers and bartenders, she hears of life's ups and downs. She has seen it all: folks nursing emotional wounds, others bonding with young children new to fishing. Some find a peaceful place to discover their life's focus.

"The best thing about this business is that people come out here not just to catch fish, they come out here to get away from the world and have an enjoyable day," Van Allen said. "It's a healing place. I love that about the [fishing] business."

Van Allen sells no tackle, but she stocks a few common-sense items such as hooks, matches and first-aid supplies, which she gives away as freely as the beaming smiles that greet each approaching customer.

"I've learned to keep these items handy for people who just get excited about fishing and forget things," she said. "I don't charge for these things. I just want people to have a good time on the water.

"I started this business solely to make some money. But I had no idea how rewarding personally this business would be. I look out for my customers, and they look out for me. There's a great richness in [what I do]. Not to mention that most people who fish are in a really good mood."

Fishing guide Mike Locklear frequently buys shrimp from Bonnie Van Allen, but occasionally a spontaneous need has left him unprepared to handle live crustaceans. Normally a livewell - or at least a flow-through bait bucket - would work. But lacking such, Locklear has a trick that can benefit canoe and kayak anglers, as well as unprepared anglers. Put a couple of inches of ice in the bottom of a small cooler, wet a newspaper or a paper grocery bag and fold it like a book. Put the bottom section on the ice, lay live shrimp across the paper and close the top section of paper to keep your bait from flipping around. Shrimp will live for several hours this way and perk right up when dropped into seawater.

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 01:32:00]