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Holy Mackerel, in Pinellas Park, is a fisherman's dream.
By SHARON BOND
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 5, 2000
PINELLAS PARK -- You don't have to be an avid fisherman to appreciate the promise of an 11-inch blue and chrome lure shaped like a fish that can drop as deep as 30 feet to troll for grouper.
Holy Mackerel tackle shop has a collection of these lures as well as 200 rods and 120 reels. Its shelves are filled with every sort of fishing need or want, including the bestselling soft plastic lure, Power Bait, which carries its own special bad fish smell that permeates when the plastic bag is punctured.
The plastic bags remain closed. Holy Mackerel is the sanitized version of a tackle shop. It's not the smelly, dusty bait shop variety. It draws browsers like a well-stocked hardware store. One of the owners, Jerry Bachus, said guys will spend an hour looking through the equipment.
"They're always looking for the magic bait," he said.
Bachus and Ron Parsons, both lifelong fishermen, opened the shop at 8629 49th St. N two months ago in a space that used to be a tropical fish store. They spent about $48,000 readying the space and buying inventory. Neither is taking a salary for six months.
"It's been a dream of mine for seven or eight years," Bachus said. Necessary for the success of his dream were the right partner and the right location, he said.
Bachus and Parsons worked for Jumbo Sports, farther north on 49th Street, which closed in January. In its final days, longtime customers asked the two men separately where they could turn for their tackle. Then the two got to talking and, realizing that they both had customers with needs, decided to team up to provide a place.
"He's still making bad decisions," Parsons jokes of Bachus' decision to become a partner.
Bachus believed there was enough business in the Pinellas Park area for their venture. "I think Pinellas Park alone should be able to support a good tackle store," he said.
"We've found out since, and this is just a guestimate, that 95 percent of the people in Pinellas Park fish," Parsons said. "Okay, that's high; 93 percent then."
Bachus said he searched for a name for weeks for the shop but couldn't find the right one. Opening day was nearing. He and his wife, Jan, were coming home from a restaurant when she reminded him that the business had no name.
"I said, "Holy mackerel, we've gone through everything,' " Bachus said. "She said, "Honey, that's it.' "
Reels are kept in a glass counter, and at first glance they look a bit like microscopes or vital engine parts. Reels can be very expensive. One Penn International reel, the T130, sells for about $1,100.
"We don't carry that," said Bachus.
"We can order it," said Parsons.
That's one of the things customer Brady Cooper of Pinellas Park likes about the shop. Not only will the owners order special items, but "they get it to you in a timely manner." He experienced the same with repairs on equipment.
Cooper, 30, said he has been fishing since he was 5 or 6. He shops at Holy Mackerel about twice a week. He does flat saltwater fishing several times a week at a secret spot in St. Petersburg. He'll talk in detail about Holy Mackerel but only hint at the location of his fishing hole:
"You can see the Skyway from where I fish."
Holy Mackerel is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. The shop is closed on Sundays during the summer.