The Egmont Key artificial reef, started in 1999, is one of eight reefs the Hillsborough County Artificial Reef Program has developed and maintained in Tampa Bay since 1986. It is located about one mile from Egmont Key in 20 feet of water and provides some great protected fishing for inshore species such as trout, redfish, sheepshead and flounder and offshore species such as gag grouper, triggerfish, mangrove snapper, white grunts, cobia, Spanish mackerel and kingfish.
The reef is made up of concrete pipe and culvert, junction boxes, bridge spans and pilings, and many manufactured concrete pyramids rising close to 10 feet from the bottom. The reef area is 400 yards square and is usually marked by a single yellow buoy located at Loran 14193.5/44606.8 and GPS latitude 27:35:00, longitude 82:44:60.
The Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission Web site, epchc.org, has a time lapse video from the barren, sandy bottom of the infant reef to the current site, along with a pictorial trip that shows how quickly growth and fish life are attracted to material when it is placed on the bottom.
This Web site also has a map of other reef locations and some valuable information as to what has been placed on them.
When fishing the Egmont reef it is best to determine an anchor heading, pay close attention to your bottom machine to locate the structure and anchor in the sand letting the boat back to the structure. Many anchors have made an involuntary contribution to the reef.
Dave Zalewski charters the Lucky Too out of Madeira Beach and can be reached at 727 397-8815 or by e-mail at Luckytoo2@aol.com
