Yamba Bait and Tackle: Owners Kel and Mick Leavey sell business to Mick McGarvie

The owners of a popular Clarence bait and tackle shop are calling it a day after years of pouring their heart into their business. Find out what’s next for the store and its owners.

Yamba Bait & Tackle. Picture: Odessa Blain

A beloved Clarence Valley family-run business is changing hands after years of hard work and success.

Recently, Yamba’s Bait & Tackle owners and husband and wife team Kel and Mick Leavey decided they were ready for new horizons.

The couple steered the shop on the corner of Yamba and Wooli streets for 15 years and built a steady stream of devoted customers.

Speaking to The Daily Examiner, Ms Leavey said the reason they originally set up shop was because her husband was “such a passionate fisherman”.

“When I was only six or seven I wanted a tackle shop,” Mr Leavey said.

Before opening up the shop, Mr Leavey spent his childhood and adult years all over Australia — from Newcastle to Mackay to Glen Innes.

Mick and Kel Leavey, the previous owners of Yamba Bait & Tackle. Picture: Odessa Blain.

“I always chose the spots where I knew there would be good fishing places,” he said.

Yamba’s Bait & Tackle started as a small store, occupying one block.

Yamba Bait & Tackle. Picture: Odessa Blain.

“But we just saw there was so much fishing gear in this little shop and we needed a bigger shop and the lady who previously had Mitre 10 (next door), we kept asking if she would be interested to sell,” Mr Leavey said.

“And finally — six years later — she said yes, and out business only grew from there.”

The expansion happened with astonishing speed — Mr Leavey, with the help of his mates, managed to more than double the store’s size in just ten days, constructing new shelves and getting all the new gear set for display.

When asked what they would miss the most, Ms Leavey said it was difficult to pinpoint one aspect of running the business.

“There’s so much that we love,” she said.

“I suppose it’s the customers … and the friends you’ve made along the way that’s probably the best part of it.

“It’s been 15 years and it’s been a pretty good ride.”

Mr Leavey said he would miss “talking fishing all day”.

“You hear all the stories — admittedly some of them that may or may not be the truth,” he said.

“And the people in the fishing industry, the people we buy the gear off, they end up your best mates. They come through every month and you’re always talking to them on the phone.”

The couple said they were comfortable the business would continue to do well after securing a mate to run it into the future.

A sign out the front of Yamba Bait & Tackle announcing the change in ownership. Picture: Odessa Blain.

New owner Mick McGarvie – jokingly dubbed “the new Mick” – owns neighbouring Yamba cafe the Bean Scene Cafe and has run four other businesses.

Asked about why he decided to delve into fishing, Mr McGarvie said it was a stroke of good luck.

“It was a bit funny, really. Kel was just over at the cafe getting lunch and she told me they were going to sell it,” he said.

“And it was just something that just clicked with me and I thought that’s something I would like to do … we started talking about it and then Mick came over one day and fully sold the idea to me.

“And after that it was a done deal.”

Mick, the new owner of Yamba Bait & Tackle (right) and employee Josh, who will continue working at the store.

While Mr McGarvie said he was not a “pro” fishermen like Mr Leavey, he loves a spot of recreational fishing and was excited about the new challenge.

“This is the first retail business that I’ve owned so that’s going to be a new challenge for me — from working full-time in the cafe to being in here now as well, it’ll be good,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

In terms of the Leavey’s plans for the future, the couple said they could not wait to spend more time with their two daughters.

Mr Leavey is by no means leaving his love of fishing behind – he plans to check out creeks in the rural Clarence Valley he’s wanted to visit for years.

“We’ve devoted a lot of our life to this store, so there are no major plans, just living life and going fishing some more.”