County Gives Bait Shop The Boot

Mike Dean Harry Jemison Jemison's Bait and Tackle has a lease with Mobile County until 2013 but they are getting the boot in October.

by Tiffany Craig

Published: Thu, April 02, 2009 - 5:28 pm CST Last Updated: Thu, April 02, 2009 - 5:47 pm CST

The lease at Jemison's Bait and Tackle Shop is up in 4 years but the county wants the popular tenant out by October.

Jemison's is just south of Alabama Port on Highway 193. The Jemison family has been in the bait business since the 1950s and have leased the current location from the county since the 80's.

That lease is set to expire in 2013 but the county sent Jemison's a letter to vacate by October.

Customer Russell Wilson says the public loves this place. "To me, the land belongs to the county but it also belongs to the public. They fish out back. They fish across road and use the boat launch across the road. You're taking away from the public. You're taking away from everybody."

The county has grant money to build public boat ramps and fishing piers. Commissioner Mike Dean says they've been working on this plan for years. "Now, we get to repair the bulkheads and build new fishing piers and wharfs also boat ramps and make it more for the use of all Mobilians."

Jemison's has started a petition in hopes that the county will have a change of heart. Commissioner Dean has agreed to take a look at the petition but says the county is ready to get this project started.

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rolltide33 Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Very fishy… hope they have a good attorney!

BamaBob Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 8:32 pm

Something is fishy about this situation.

troutslayer Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 8:28 pm

drove from west mobile to jemison’s today, picked up some jigs and signed the petition - coupla thoughts come to mind… why not use bayfront park (less than a mile north)? answer #1 - it is a drug haven - locals don’t let their kids play there because of the illegal drug activity. answer #2 - competition… i’m told jemisons wanted to rebuild their own pier, but were denied a permit from the county… guess mr. dean wants his pier to be the only one… wonder who’ll get the concession - a friend, a relative, or a political contributor? if the mafia pulls this they call it organized crime… when the politicians do it they call it “progress”...

Violator Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 8:17 pm

Mike Dean is a buffoon. His little Dean Transport Trucking business failed miserably. His son Casey was running it. This guy is a racist, idiot, and moron. He hates Blacks and Asians. How this man keeps getting reelected is an unsolved mystery.

BamaBob Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 6:57 pm

Is there any commercial property adjacent to this area that might benefit from this very expensive project?

commsense Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 6:41 pm

I don’t believe Mike Dean plans on running for office again . but he does
plan on closing the bait shop .

all because the owner pulled againt him in
the last election .

if Mike Dean had not won , this closing would
have never been an issue .

the park is a trumped up reason to take the land
away from the shop owner .

some of you news people need to dig around a
little more and expose the real truth . Does
Mike Dean have any ties with the bait shops
competition ?

Mike Dean is pulling a fast one on the people
of Mobile County here .

that money needs to be spent on a ton of things
other than this park , anyone with half a brain
knows that !

be careful Mike ! a lot of people are watching this !

BamaBob Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 5:56 pm

Is this stimulus money being spent to put people out of work? Biden said he would come looking for anyone that misused the federal dollars. Building piers and boat ramps no one wants sounds like a big waste of dollars to me.

The wife Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 5:29 pm

Go ahead and build the pier, the boat launch and whatever you like. Make it beautiful. You can also build a beautiful bait shop right along with it. The Jemisons do not mind paying the same amount of money for the same length of time, if you would like to build them a fancier bait shop.

daryel26 Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 4:52 pm

I tried to e-mail the county commissioners
but their e-mail isnt working.I just dont think they know just how important the bait shop is to a lot of people.I am a dean supporter BUT if he plans on going through with this eviction ill be voting for the person running against him.the commissioners must think that they are in Prez obamas camp the way they want to shove things down peoples throats.

GST Says:

Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 4:29 pm

74 of my friends signed it yesterday

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