The Hook Line & Sinker Bait Shop has reopened after being put out of business for months after a September fire.
For owner Ron Jedlicki, it wasn’t a moment too soon.
Ice fishing season is underway in Lake Orion, which he said is one of his busiest times of year.
In all, the shop was close eleven weeks.
‘For the first three weeks, it was like a vacation,? Jedlicki said.
But as the weather cooled and local lakes began freezing over, there was a rush to get the work done.
The work involved repairing the damage the shop incurred after an arson fire tore through the apartment above on Sept. 19.
Lake Orion police eventually arrested Siobhan Kelly, a tenant in one of the apartments above the bait shop, for starting the fire.
While the blaze luckily didn’t spread down to the shops below, it was a stark reminder of the ?04 conflagration that buried much of downtown Lake Orion in ashes.
It also inflicted some serious water damage on Jedlicki’s bait shop, ruining walls, carpeting and office equipment.
Much of the work getting those things taken care of is now finished and Jedlicki can concentrate on what he does best: supplying local ice fishermen with buckets of shiners to catch walleye and perch with on any of the numerous local lakes.
Advice and tips are also in supply at Hook Line & Sinker, Jedlicki said.
As the ice fishing season crept up, there was definitely a rush to get open, he added.
‘I busted my hump to get it open,? he said.
While the damage was being repaired, many people saw the paper up over the shop’s windows as a sign it went out of business.
Jedlicki said nothing could be farther from the case.
‘It would have to burn to the ground for me to give up,? he said.
This is the second fire Jedlicki has braved while in business at 12 N. Broadway downtown.
But now, it’s January business as usual at the bait shop, with men clad in insulated overalls carting buckets of bait away from the counter.
Jedlicki said he’s looking forward to it being a real winter this season.
‘This year has started out really good,? he said.
He implores fisherman to be safe.
‘There’s no such thing as safe ice,? he said.
And whether it’s to buy bait or to chat about technique or the best places to go, he invites fisherman to his reopened shop.
‘Come on in and get the info,? he said.