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Hurricane Pass Anglers Club
By TERRY TOMALIN, Times Outdoors Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2000
For years, this small fishing club in North Pinellas has offered a home to landlubbers and old salts alike. But four years ago this group of determined anglers decided to do more than just talk.
Members gathered more than 3,000 signatures from fishermen, scuba divers and marine industry representatives, encouraging government officials to build an artificial reef for everybody to use.
One Aug. 3, 1999, their hard work finally paid off when, 12 miles west of Hurricane Pass, the first of several old but sanitized work barges was sunk in 43 feet of water. The 80-foot-long barge now serves as a beacon for a variety of sportfish, including king mackerel and cobia.
When completed, the reef will be about 1-mile long and a half-mile wide. Officials plan to drop 300 tons of native limerock and 150 concrete "fish houses" on the site.
The Hurricane Pass Anglers Club meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the main office building of the Home Port Marina in Palm Harbor. For membership information, call Wendell Akins at (727) 785-3018 or the marina at (727) 784-1443.
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