Mosquito Lagoon - Edgewater, Florida

CANAVERAL NATIONAL SEASHORE — Centuries ago, American Indians piled oyster shells into mounds to form high ground. The shells later served as beds for some of the region’s earliest roads.

Today, plastic mats lay the foundation for an oyster-reef revival in northern Mosquito Lagoon.

Wakes, pollution and overharvesting left the reefs here a shell of their former health.

But after almost three years in the water, the oyster mats that University of Central Florida biologist Linda Walters conceived and volunteers weave are now indistinguishable from nearby natural reefs. These zip-tied habitats have yielded unexpected results, including new seagrass beds and more than 315,000 new oysters.

“Just the water-filtering capacity we have added here is huge,” Walters said, as she stood knee-deep next to one of her mat reefs, where adult oysters clean up to two gallons per hour. That’s 15 million gallons per day from the new oysters.

Walters and other reef revivers hope Walters’ vision can win $4.2 million in federal stimulus funds to place the mats elsewhere. The Nature Conservancy applied for the money through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to expand the oyster-mat restoration project to Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach.

“A lot of other people are talking to us,” Walkers said. “It is a big commitment to do all of this. You have to have somebody with the heart to run this.”

Decades of channeling the St. Johns River and Lake Okeechobee into the Indian River Lagoon added too much fresh water at the wrong times, and also muck that helped kill off oysters.

Overharvesting and pollution played a role, too.

But in this remote stretch of Mosquito Lagoon, studies proved boat wakes, more than storms or pollution, eroded the reefs. Near frequently traveled channels, constant wakes also prevent free-floating oyster larvae from attaching to the reefs.

Oyster reproduction here is all about getting the “spats” to the mats.

Biologists say the empty shells put out chemical cues that trigger oyster larvae to attach. The tiny ones that do, just a few centimeters long, are called “spats.”

Walters’ mats now number at least 10,000. They provide a shell foundation for 29 reefs that restored about an acre each of oysters, seagrass and other habitats.

Volunteers on land make the mats, each with 36 shells.

Initially, volunteers on water spent hours raking out hardened mounds of shell to create proper elevation for the mats. But this year and last, Volusia County Mosquito Control offered its amphibious excavator to rake the mounds and backhoe shell to a barge.

“We call it the ‘marginator,’ ” said Anne Birch of The Nature Conservancy, major sponsor of the project. “It has transformed the restoration.”

Students, Boy Scouts and even big corporations get in on the oyster-mat action.

This recent day in June — prime “spat” time — Debbie Kelly of Rockledge and Bill Hosch of Merritt Island, both Boeing Co. employees, raked and tied under a sweltering sun. The company already had been involved in latching the mats on land.

“We wanted to see the next step,” Kelly said.

While oyster harvesting is allowed in Canaveral National Seashore, with proper permits, Walters’ reef is off-limits.

“What we’re trying to do with this project is try to restore habitat rather than create oysters for commercial harvesting,” said Troy Rice of St. Johns River Water Management District. “I think it’s been very successful. I could see it working in other areas in the lagoon.”

Rice’s program gave $37,500 to date in federal and license-plate revenue toward the project and has budgeted another $82,500 in plate money for next year. They also await word on a $50,000 state grant.

The $305,000 effort so far — about one a third of it federally funded — is one of many ways scientists and volunteers hope to help eastern oysters regain a foothold in American estuaries. Oyster harvests in the United States declined nearly 99 percent since the late 1800s.

Elsewhere, biologists have tried oyster shells in mesh bags, clamshells, even crunched-up porcelain from old toilets, anything to help larvae take to the reef.

Tampa Bay uses “reef balls,” concrete structures oysters can cling to. Others in Estero Bay use oyster shell in bags to bulk up reefs.

All the efforts seem to be paying off, says Aswani Volety, professor of marine science at Florida Gulf Coast University.

“I’m optimistic. Would we be able to wind the clock the back 100 years? Probably not,” Volety said. “But could we make it much better than it is today? Absolutely.”

Contact Waymer at 242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090622/NEWS01/906220314

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Restaurant back from weeks of renovation

By KELLY CUCULIANSKY
Staff Writer news-journalonline.com

OAK HILL — Change is afoot at Goodrich Seafood, but the owners pledge to keep the waterfront restaurant’s history and character alive when it reopens after renovations are complete.

The town’s iconic restaurant, in business about 38 years, opens Friday after being closed for a six-week improvement project, including new paint, windows, doors, kitchen equipment and landscaping. While the business has new owners, the property has been owned by Miami Dolphins great Larry Csonka since 2006.

It may have been “due for an update,” said Dan Cooper, one of the business owners. But Goodrich Seafood, 253 River Road, will continue to have the rustic atmosphere for which it’s always been known.

“Having a good ole’ time and drinking beer will not change,” he said, as workers continued finishing touches on a hot Monday morning. “It’s still going to be home-cooking.”

The renovation has cost about $20,000 in materials and required about 500 hours in labor, said Cooper, who has partnered with Joseph and Becky Horschel of Indian Harbour Beach.

Joseph Horschel, a state certified general and roofing contractor, and Cooper have done much of the work themselves, beginning their 13-hour days as the sun rises over the Mosquito Lagoon.

Cooper retired from the electronics industry in 2001 and has been involved in two other bar and restaurant operations, he said.

“My ambition was to some day have the opportunity to be involved in this place,” said Cooper, a local resident who grew up in New Smyrna Beach.

With the doors closed for several weeks, he said curiosity has caused at least 100 people to slow down or stop by and ask what’s going on at the restaurant, sandwiched between a bayou and the intracoastal waterway.

“The townspeople are in awe of how quickly the remodeling has happened,” he said.

While the restaurant will continue to feature bulletin boards with photos of locals and their catches, the wall decor will feature historic photos. And it sounds like the public is willing to help, Cooper said.

“People have stopped in and said ‘Oh, I got some stuff I want to bring to you,’ ” he said. “It’s amazing how anxious people are to support us.”

The Goodrich fish house has a rich history that dates back to the 1920s or 1930s, when the first one was built along the river. In 1971, Jim Goodrich opened a seafood market and restaurant where freshly dug oysters and fish caught the night before were served to guests.

The current restaurant building was constructed using three block homes that were acquired by NASA during the 1950s. Goodrich, a sixth generation Oak Hill resident, used the materials from the houses, which included the home of the first NASA director of Kennedy Space Center.

By 1983, Goodrich sold it to Cecil and Judy Goodrich. The couple owned it until 2006, when Csonka bought it.

Csonka, who owns a home in Oak Hill, began hunting and fishing in the area in the late 1960s and was there when Goodrich began construction.

“When it came up for sale years ago, I bought it for nostalgia reasons more than anything else,” said Csonka, who paid about $300,000. “It catered to the folks of Oak Hill and I’m hoping to see that again and maybe expand that a little bit through the help of Mr. Cooper.”

Living in Alaska about eight months out of the year, Csonka said he was not interested in running a restaurant, which needs a “tremendous amount of attention.”

“I’ve been looking for someone that wants to recreate the historical significance of the restaurant,” said Csonka, adding that reviving the fish house was not feasible due to the gill net ban.

About six fishing guides will continue to launch from the grounds and Jim Goodrich will remain the caretaker of the restaurant.

Up until the renovation, the establishment was open for breakfast and lunch every day and for fish-fry dinners on Friday nights.

It will now be open every day for all three meals, and while the menu will remain generally the same, there will be healthier dishes to choose from that are baked or broiled.

kelly.cuculiansky@news-jrnl.com

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Volunteers are needed to help restore dead oyster reefs for an oyster reef restoration project in the Indian River Lagoon. The goal is to restore oyster reefs in Mosquito Lagoon, volunteers are needed to help make oyster shell mats. Each mat is made up of 36 oyster shells attached vertically with zip ties. The mats are attached to each other forming a large quilt-like structure.

Oyster mat-making opportunities: 
E-mail Michelle Peters-Snyder or call  (321) 543-6127 to RSVP for mat-making events. Volunteers must be 12 years of age or older, accompanied by an adult, able to follow instructions and work with their hands.  

• June 23, 10 a.m. – noon, Castaway Point Park, Palm Bay
• June 25, 10 a.m. – noon, Howard Futch Park at Paradise Beach, Indialantic
• June 29, 10 a.m. – noon, Howard Futch Park at Paradise Beach, Indialantic
• July 10, noon – 2 p.m., Enchanted Forest, Titusville
• July 31, noon – 2 p.m., Enchanted Forest, Titusville
• August 21, noon – 2 p.m., Enchanted Forest, Titusville

Schedule a Mat-making Session: Civic groups, schools, clubs, boating groups, recreational clubs, church groups — any group looking for an easy and fun way to help the lagoon.

A Nature Conservancy representative will bring all materials and give a presentation to your group about oyster reefs, the lagoon environment and instructions on how to create the oyster mats. Conservancy staff will then collect the completed mats to be “planted” in the Mosquito Lagoon.

Contact Michelle Peters-Snyder at (321) 543-6127 to schedule a mat-making event. Volunteers must be 12 years of age or older, accompanied by an adult, able to follow instructions carefully and work with their hands.

Partnership Information:
The oyster reef restoration project is coordinated by The Nature Conservancy, University of Central Florida and NOAA, and is funded by a grant from the National Partnership between the NOAA Community Based Restoration Program and The Nature Conservancy and partners throughout the Indian River Lagoon.

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The East Coast Florida Aquatic Preserves Office is responsible for the Indian River Lagoon (Malabar to Vero Beach), Banana River, and Mosquito Lagoon. The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) is a 156-mile long estuary that spans from Ponce de Leon inlet in the north to Jupiter Inlet in the south. Located on Florida’s east-central coast, the IRL is America’s most diverse estuary. There are over 400 species of fish, 260 species of mollusks and 479 species of shrimp and crabs. The Indian River - Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve overlaps temperate and the subtropical zones creating a highly diverse system. Because of this diversity, it was included in the EPA’s National Estuary Program.

Established
The Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve was established in 1970 by the Governor and Cabinet by resolution. In 1975, the Florida Legislature established The Florida Aquatic Preserve Act as codified in Chapter 258, F.S. The Aquatic Preserves are administered under Chapters 18-20 and 18-21, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.).

Location
The preserve stretches from the southern limits of New Smyrna Beach to the southern extent of the city limits of Edgewater.
Counties - Volusia and Brevard.
Towns - New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater.
Roads - US 1 and AIA

Size
When the preserve was first dedicated in 1970, Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve totaled approximately 36000 acres. Between the years 1962 and 1986, various state-owned submerged lands and uplands were dedicated, conveyed or sold to the U.S. Government. The present surface water area of the preserve is approximately 3500 acres.

Watershed
The USGS watershed designation is the Indian River Lagoon.

Habitat
The Mosquito Lagoon is long, narrow, shallow estuary that is bordered on the east by a barrier island and on the west by the mainland and is connected to the Indian River via the Haulover canal. The major community types are marshes or swamps, salt marshes, marine grass beds, drift algae, oyster bars, tidal flats, deep-water areas, and spoil islands. There are several community types that border the aquatic preserve: coastal strand, secondary dunes, floodplain forest, hydric hammock and urban areas. During the 1950’s and 1960’s most marshes were impounded for mosquito control purposes. Impounded marshes restrict tidal movement making them very susceptible to human impacts. Pollutants that enter this water body often remain there for extended periods of time without the aid of proper flushing.

Ecological Importance
The Indian River Lagoon generates over $800 million in revenue annually to the local economy. The reconnected mangrove marshes and seagrass beds act as nursery grounds to recreationally and commercially important species, such as snook, grouper, snapper, seatrout, tarpon, and lobster. These are just a few of the many species that spend a portion of their life cycle in the lagoon.

The Indian River Lagoon is a wintering home to many species of migratory waterfowl.

Archaeological Features
The Ais Indians occupied the shores of the Indian River Lagoon for several thousand years before the first Europeans arrived. They depended on the lagoon for transportation and for food. They left behind many burial mounds and trash mizzens. While many of these mizzens were used as fill material for roads earlier this century, some were studied extensively.

Uses
Recreational:
Recreational uses include, but are not limited to, fishing, claming, swimming, boating, and nature appreciation.

Commercial:
Commercial uses include fishing, aquaculture, commercial marinas, and ecotourism.

Education:
Educational uses include field trips conducted by staff and volunteers.

Research:
Research in Mosquito Lagoon is greatly varied. Ongoing research focuses primarily on seagrass health and ecological functions.

Adjacent Land Use:
Adjacent land uses include urban areas, mosquito impoundments, and publicly owned conservation lands.

Management Status
The Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas is the lead management agency. The Governor and Cabinet, acting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, approved the management plan on July 9, 1991.

Major management issues currently being addressed are stormwater inputs from canals and other point sources, marsh reconnections, dredging, muck accumulations, spoil island enhancements, seagrass surveys/transects, and invasive exotic plant removals.

The continued improvement of the Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve will rely on controlling the freshwater inputs to the estuarine environment. The timing, quantity, and quality of the stormwater input will be of the utmost importance to restoring this estuary of national significance.

References
Indian River Lagoon Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Plan. South Florida Water Management District and the St. John’s River Water Management District. September 1994.

Indian River Lagoon Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program. November 1996.

Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve Management Plan. Florida Department of Natural Resources. July 1991.

Wood, Don. Florida’s Endangered species, Threatened Species and species of Special Concern. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. April 1996.

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University of Central Florida
Research in Mosquito Lagoon
Dr. Linda Walters
Department of Biology
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL 32816
Mosquito Lagoon is the northernmost body of water in the 250 km long Indian River Lagoon (IRL) system. Biological diversity in this beautiful, yet fragile, ecosystem is extremely high. This is in part because Mosquito Lagoon is located in a biogeographical transition zone where temperate and subtropical species reach the limits of their physiological tolerance ranges. Thus, both tropical mangrove trees and the temperate salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora can be found growing side by side here. During the course of a year, water temperatures in Mosquito Lagoon range from near freezing to over 90 degrees F. Additionally, since the water is quite shallow (mean depth: 1.5 m), evaporation in warm months can cause the salinity to exceed 45 parts per thousand (ocean salinity is 36 parts per thousand).

To date, most research in this incredible ecosystem has focused on the southernmost regions of the IRL in close proximity to research facilities associated with Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce and Florida Tech in Melbourne. Realizing the importance of better understanding the unique conditions of Mosquito Lagoon, in March 1990 the Superintendent of Canaveral National Seashore entered into an agreement with the University of Central Florida (UCF), providing faculty in the Biology Department with a building in the northern section of Canaveral National Seashore to use as a base for teaching courses and conducting field research. Presently, a number of classes from UCF (including Marine Biology, Marine Ecology, Mammalogy, Herpetology, Ichthyology) have used these facilities as have a number of groups from other Florida colleges and universities.

Estuarine research by UCF scientists is presently focused on two themes. The first theme is biodiversity. We cannot protect these dynamic waters without knowing what plants and animals are present in Mosquito Lagoon throughout the year. Bi-weekly monitoring of invertebrates and algae began in the fall of 1997 and continues to the present. To better understand the physical parameters of the aquatic environment, salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen have been monitored continuously since June 1998 with a computerized sampling device provided by Dynamac Corporation. Rainfall, wind speed and wind direction are also recorded. Not only will this data provide us important information about the seasonality and distribution of each organism, it will be an invaluable reference to determine the impact of major natural disasters such as hurricanes, point source and non-point source pollution, or the evolutionary impact of a species invasion or extinction.

Our second research goal is to better understand the biology and ecology of some of the local economically important invertebrate species. The oyster Crassostrea virginica is an important food resource, and the barnacles Balanus amphitrite and B. eburneus and the polychaete tubeworm Hydroides elegans create serious biological fouling problems, rapidly covering all unprotected submerged surfaces. Understanding the factors that influence the settlement and survival of these organisms will enable us to address related questions on how to increase oyster harvests and how to reduce biological fouling on ship hulls. Oyster larvae are known to respond to specific chemical cues and settle exclusively on shells of the same species. In June 1998, we began a large trial to study oyster recruitment (settlement and survival after attachment) on empty shells. There were distinct differences between our field sites; oyster settlement in some areas was much greater than in others. Likewise, survival of newly settled individuals varied between sites; survival ranged from 0% in some locations to over 70% in other areas. Predation by crabs and oyster drills and overgrowth by barnacles were major sources of mortality. Sedimentation may also play an important role and we plan to examine this factor in the summer of 1999. Our present research on fouling organisms involves determining how many marine algae and animals keep themselves free from overgrowth by other organisms. In doing this research, we hope to better learn how to keep boat hulls free from biological fouling.

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As you travel the canoe trail consider that you are taking a quiet ride through an area that is considered to be the Cradle to the Ocean, treat it gently.

Estuaries occur in areas where fresh water meets and mixes with salty ocean waters. You may not see it, but this estuary is full of life. Many of the fish, shrimp, clams and oysters spend part or all of their lives in this estuary. The shallow waters, salt marshes, sea grasses and mangrove roots provide excellent hiding places from larger predators. Some species grow in estuaries for a short time; others remain there for life.

Larger animals depend on the waters for various reasons. Sea turtles spend their adolescent years, growing up in the lagoon. Manatee come to eat the tender grasses that grow on the lagoon’s floor. Birds nest in the mangrove trees. Dolphin feed on the schools of fish that are here. Many marine and land animals depend on the lagoon for food, shelter, breeding and nesting.

Red, Black and White mangroves thrive in the salty environment because they obtain fresh water from salt water. Many animals find shelter either in the roots or branches of mangroves. The Red Mangrove grows at the water’s edge. Because of its root system it appears to be standing or walking on the surface of the water. The roots of the mangroves and marsh grasses hold the soil in place and keep the shoreline of Mosquito Lagoon from eroding.

Mosquito Lagoon is a special place. Help protect it by learning how the lagoon plants and animals depend on each other, disposing of your litter properly, and abiding by the fishing limits.

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Volunteers’ labors yield new crop of water-filtering oysters

BY JIM WAYMER • FLORIDA TODAY • June 22, 2009

CANAVERAL NATIONAL SEASHORE — Centuries ago, American Indians piled oyster shells into mounds to form high ground. The shells later served as beds for some of the region’s earliest roads.

Today, plastic mats lay the foundation for an oyster-reef revival in northern Mosquito Lagoon.

Wakes, pollution and overharvesting left the reefs here a shell of their former health.

But after almost three years in the water, the oyster mats that University of Central Florida biologist Linda Walters conceived and volunteers weave are now indistinguishable from nearby natural reefs. These zip-tied habitats have yielded unexpected results, including new seagrass beds and more than 315,000 new oysters.

“Just the water-filtering capacity we have added here is huge,” Walters said, as she stood knee-deep next to one of her mat reefs, where adult oysters clean up to two gallons per hour. That’s 15 million gallons per day from the new oysters.

Walters and other reef revivers hope Walters’ vision can win $4.2 million in federal stimulus funds to place the mats elsewhere. The Nature Conservancy applied for the money through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to expand the oyster-mat restoration project to Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach.

“A lot of other people are talking to us,” Walkers said. “It is a big commitment to do all of this. You have to have somebody with the heart to run this.”

Decades of channeling the St. Johns River and Lake Okeechobee into the Indian River Lagoon added too much fresh water at the wrong times, and also muck that helped kill off oysters. Overharvesting and pollution played a role, too.

But in this remote stretch of Mosquito Lagoon, studies proved boat wakes, more than storms or pollution, eroded the reefs. Near frequently traveled channels, constant wakes also prevent free-floating oyster larvae from attaching to the reefs.

Oyster reproduction here is all about getting the “spats” to the mats.

Biologists say the empty shells put out chemical cues that trigger oyster larvae to attach. The tiny ones that do, just a few centimeters long, are called “spats.”

Walters’ mats now number at least 10,000. They provide a shell foundation for 29 reefs that restored about an acre each of oysters, seagrass and other habitats.

Volunteers on land make the mats, each with 36 shells.

Initially, volunteers on water spent hours raking out hardened mounds of shell to create proper elevation for the mats. But this year and last, Volusia County Mosquito Control offered its amphibious excavator to rake the mounds and backhoe shell to a barge.

“We call it the ‘marginator,’ ” said Anne Birch of The Nature Conservancy, major sponsor of the project. “It has transformed the restoration.”

Students, Boy Scouts and even big corporations get in on the oyster-mat action.

This recent day in June — prime “spat” time — Debbie Kelly of Rockledge and Bill Hosch of Merritt Island, both Boeing Co. employees, raked and tied under a sweltering sun. The company already had been involved in latching the mats on land.

“We wanted to see the next step,” Kelly said.

While oyster harvesting is allowed in Canaveral National Seashore, with proper permits, Walters’ reef is off-limits.

“What we’re trying to do with this project is try to restore habitat rather than create oysters for commercial harvesting,” said Troy Rice of St. Johns River Water Management District. “I think it’s been very successful. I could see it working in other areas in the lagoon.”

Rice’s program gave $37,500 to date in federal and license-plate revenue toward the project and has budgeted another $82,500 in plate money for next year. They also await word on a $50,000 state grant.

The $305,000 effort so far — about one a third of it federally funded — is one of many ways scientists and volunteers hope to help eastern oysters regain a foothold in American estuaries. Oyster harvests in the United States declined nearly 99 percent since the late 1800s.

Elsewhere, biologists have tried oyster shells in mesh bags, clamshells, even crunched-up porcelain from old toilets, anything to help larvae take to the reef.

Tampa Bay uses “reef balls,” concrete structures oysters can cling to. Others in Estero Bay use oyster shell in bags to bulk up reefs.

All the efforts seem to be paying off, says Aswani Volety, professor of marine science at Florida Gulf Coast University.

“I’m optimistic. Would we be able to wind the clock the back 100 years? Probably not,” Volety said. “But could we make it much better than it is today? Absolutely.”

Contact Waymer at 242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.

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Scrimped for money, they travel less

BY PATRICK PETERSON • FLORIDA TODAY • June 21, 2009

Fishermen bring millions of dollars into the Brevard economy, but as the U.S. economy weakened, their spending power diminished.

“The people who used to scrimp and save their money for one or two trips a year, they can’t afford us anymore,” fishing guide Capt. Mark Wright, 50, said.

“I’ve been hurt tremendously by it. My last good year was in 2006,” added the veteran of 13 years of professional guiding who fishes the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon. His business dropped 30 percent in 2007, 50 percent in 2008 and continues to decline.

“I think they’re still fishing by themselves,” Wright said. “They’re not spending the money to go with a guide as frequently. We’re kind of a luxury item.”

The fishing itself is still good, even if business isn’t, so Wright plans to stay in business until things pick up. His wife has a steady job in the aerospace industry.

The economy has stopped nearly 20 percent of the charter fishermen who fish Mosquito Lagoon in the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, according to Dorn Whitmore, chief ranger.

Only 85 guides now are registered to fish one of the world’s most famous redfish grounds.

“That’s one of those discretionary purchases,” Whitmore said. “When times are good, you spend $300 to go fishing for a day.”

The refuge’s surveys, however, do not show a decrease in the 100,000 or more 000 recreational fishermen who visit the refuge each year to fish. “You could make an argument that it probably has increased in these hard economic times with people putting food on the table,” Whitmore said. “There’s certainly people taking fish.”

Fishing, as a facet of the ecotourism and recreation economy, will be enhanced greatly by a pair of flooding projects that will create up to 17,000 acres of fishing and boating territory. A $15 million project to flood 7,000 acres at the end of Malabar Road will be complete in two years.

And the Fellsmere Joint Venture will flood 10,000 acres by 2016, with approximately 6,000 acres to be flooded by 2010

“It’s still really in the early stages of construction,” Ed Garland, spokesman for the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Though charter fishing has slowed, bank fishing seems to have kept pace.

“People still are going fishing,” said Julius Gelabert, who works at Capt. Mullet’s Bait & Tackle on U.S. 1 in Melbourne. “It’s a cheap way to spend their time.”

Sales of expensive gear have slowed a little bit, but sales of bait and tackle are strong.

“People are usually pretty hard core about their fishing,” Gelabert said. “With the offshore fishing, it seems like with gas prices going down a little bit more people area starting to go again.”Contact Peterson at 242-3673 or ppeterson@floridatoday.com.

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Mosquito Lagoon was about three miles wide and three feet deep. Within eyesight of Kennedy Space Center launch pads, the apex of the Indian River was a haven for speckled sea trout and shrimp.

Boat docks were on the mainland side. Sometimes the fishing hot spots were on the other, forcing fishermen to navigate the width of the lagoon – a 10-minute boat ride beneath sun-kissed central Florida skies.

We caught a few trout, which loved to feed on schools of shrimp on top of the shallow salt water. Hoping to hook the larger redfish in the depths of Haulover Canal, my dad and I prepared to make the trip back across the lagoon.

Except the boat’s motor wouldn’t crank. He flipped the starting switch over and over again, but that Johnson outboard refused to comply. There we were, floating nearly three miles from the docks, isolated from civilization. Paddles wouldn’t work; the current was too strong.

My dad figured there was only one thing left to do – jump out, grab the rope and pull the boat back to shore through the shallows. Hard-soled shoes protected against oyster shells or any other sharp objects, but this was a journey that required one step at a time in a race against the sinking sun. My dad persevered and got us back to land, which is good because we didn’t want to be stranded at sea even if it was just the river. The man literally pulled a boat three miles.

That’s just the way my dad is. He’s determined and selfless.

I remember him spending hours every weekend with 2×4s and plywood, building our Cub Scout pack’s pinewood derby track. He was also crafty building a car, as the trophies I for some reason have and not him, can attest. We built one more car together in March. Can’t wait to put it on the track next year.

The only way I could purchase my first car, a 1975 Monte Carlo, was if my father co-signed on the $1,550 loan. He did, and he never had to pay a cent for it. He taught me a thing or two about responsibility.

My dad still serves as my car maintenance confidant, and I’d put his knowledge up against today’s mechanics, who rely too much on computers.

Like most fathers, mine did whatever he could to put food on the table, make the necessary house payments and ensure that his family was cared for. They should always be appreciated for that.

The night I came home with a note from Mrs. Satterfield, my sixth-grade teacher, about how I foolishly tossed a broken pencil across the classroom in an attempt for it to land on David Rector’s desk and cause a distraction, my dad didn’t lash out at me for my stupidity. We talked about my actions, why they were foolish and that I wouldn’t do it again. I learned more of a lesson from reasoning than I would from the wrath of a belt.

My father has always put others first, rarely thinking about his own wants, which possibly included sleep and a tomato sandwich from time to time. Come to think of it, he just wants to make other people happy.

And he’d still drag a motorboat across Mosquito Lagoon each day to make that happen.
Joe McAdory is editorial page editor for the Opelika-Auburn News. He can be reached at 737-2549 or
jmcadory@oanow.com

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