By Ed Killer
Anglers and divers enjoyed great weather for fishing and diving although the arrival of cooler water temperatures had a slowing effect on much of the fishing off Martin County waters. As a result, the catches the anglers aboard the 33 boats entered in the sixth annual MCAC Reef Builders were smaller than expected.
The fish of the event was a 42.3 pound gag grouper reeled in by Andrew Bryant of Tampa, who was fisshing aboard the Bone Shaker. Bryant battled the gag from the depths near the Eight Mile Reef, a natural coral reef about eight miles from the St. Lucie Inlet. Bryant said it was the biggest grouper he has ever caught. Other notable catches included three sailfish releases aboard the Molly E with Steve Altenhoff, who caught one, and two caught by Devin Gyras. Top Junior Angler Will Charles fished aboard I Spirit to catch the second largest cobia of the event near the end of the day, a 21.2 pounder
The 25.3-pound category winning cobia was caught nearby by angler David Applegate of Port St. Lucie, who fished aboard Daymaker Charters with Capt. Patrick Price.
The second annual Lionfish Roundup featured 12 divers who removed 119 lionfish from area reefs, including some from inshore waters. The Boorman family from Stuart collected one of the most interesting lionfish, the smallest at only 1.5 inches. Diving from their boat Pura Vida, the family used pole spears to nab ten lionfish in all, six near Hole in the Wall and four near Jupiter Inlet in the Intracoastal Waterway.
For more information on work produced by the MCAC Artificial Reef Foundation, visit www.mcacreefs.org. For more information on artificial reef locations in Martin County, visit www.martinreefs.com.
