# Private reef



## MissKristy (Dec 1, 2007)

I just bought a reef and had it put out in about 100 ft of water. Just wondering how much better it will be than the public pods and tanks out of orange beach.


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## Clay-Doh (Oct 2, 2007)

If you dont fish it....it will produce 10 times better fish!!!! It is amazing what a small private reef fish ocasionally does compared to a public spot fished by 20 or more boats a week. 



You can also join the RFRA for less than $50 a year, and build all the private reefs you want, with all the tools there at the shop, and more rebar and metal than you have ever seen.



I was surprised at just how simple it was, I built a nice big one in a day. I plan on building at least 20 over the winter months while its cooler.


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## FelixH (Sep 28, 2007)

Private reefs generally producebetter than public spots, with acouple of "if's" involved.

There's really no such thing as a private reef, just reefs that were put down with private funds. A more accurate term would be "unpublished reef."

If you're careful how you fish it, it can be a good producing spot. Try not to fish it on weekends when there are lots of boats out. You want to protect it from being discovered and overfished.

If not too many people find it and fish it, it can be a good producing spot.


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## Bryan Bennett (Dec 29, 2007)

Chris,

Congratulations on doing your part to add to the fishery. Question(s) for you: who did you employ to deploy your reef? And have they dropped it yet? The reason I ask is that hopefully you used David Walters of Reef Maker. He has a great reputation and is trusted by everyone I know. Also, you mentioned that you were building it in 100 feet of water. Obviously it will grow fish, especially if you leave it alone for 18-24 months. It will attract bait and pelagics within a year, along with juvenile reef fish, but if you can resist the temptation to drop on it for two years you will be rewarded. The only problem I see is that 100 feet of water is within reach of most charter boats on a 6-8 hour trip. Running every day in all directions of the pass, I hate to say it, but I think it will be found by one of them. It just happens. If you are able to put it in, say 150 feet or deeper, especially to the south or SW of Perdido Pass, there will be less chance of it being found and there will be more fish on it at any given time. Lastly, guard that spot at all costs...when you go to fish it, don't get caught on it with other boats within sight of you. You paid for it and went to the effort to build it. If you are fishing it and can see other boats in close proximity, do yourself a favor and leave so you don't get "zapped." Good luck.


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

It sounds like he possibly dropped it in AL waters? 

A charter boat MIGHT run over it, but I wouldn't say it is a certainty. It seems like the charter guys I fish with usually run over at least one or two "hot spots" a year, but it usually isn't a small private spot. Usually it is something relatively big that hasn't been fished in a while.


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## MissKristy (Dec 1, 2007)

I did use David and he is deploying it tomarrow.


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## JoeZ (Sep 30, 2007)

Forget about as long as you can.

The longer it sits, the better it gets.

I should write songs.


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## bamasam (Sep 27, 2007)

Let me know where you dropped it Chris and I will keep an eyeon itfor you :letsdrink


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## Instant Karma (Oct 9, 2007)

You will be amazed at how your fishing skills will improve with a private spot or 2. 



Conventional wisdom says leave them alone for at least a year but with all the snapper out there next year it should be holding legal fish. If you are like most of us a few spots is all you need.



David has done several spots for me, including car bodies back in the day.. Nothing held fish like a crushed car...



Only thing, we get another Ivan or Katrina you may be back at square 1, I was.. Good luck.


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## reelhappy (Oct 31, 2007)

if everybody on here deployed 20 reefs a year. the fishing would be awesome all year round! every little reef helps. congarts on your part. keep up the good work. some day we will get our limit of snapper back to four and all year round. fish on!


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

> *P-cola_Native (10/1/2008)*
> 
> A charter boat MIGHT run over it,



I run over reefs every single time I am running the boat while heading out. 99% of the time, I don't mark the spot because I don't care to bottom fish. Someone will find it...just a matter of time. Still a good investment, however.


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## curtpcol (Sep 29, 2007)

The reef will give you many Happy Days of fishing although it is going to be very tuff to keep it a " Private Spot ". With the radars now a days they can sit at the dock and put a cursor on you within 25 miles that is with just a regular radar now and get the numbers where you are at.

I would not stay on it very long at all if you are within range of any radar. There will be some people that will just about throw the anchor in your boat to get the spot.

Fishing a spot over the weekend and I could see people go by and hit there Man Over Board on the GPS so what do you do? Now we were fishing quite a ways from the channel and do you think they would give you some room NOT . Is it worth it ? I say by all means , are you going to keep it private ?My guess is no that is why you should have at least a few more so as you can go by and hit one then another within just a few minutes and should have plenty of fish for a good fish fry.


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## Tuna Man (Oct 2, 2007)

As far as dropping a reef :clap:clap:clap but remember it is only"secret" until you either get caught on it or someone finds it. No reefs are private, hence the term "secret".


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## bluffman2 (Nov 22, 2007)

ilike to use the word "unpublished"


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## pdog (Aug 22, 2008)

What does it cost to drop a reef? Ball park figures and who is the best to do it for you. Im fishing out of orange beach.


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## offshore64 (Sep 30, 2007)

join the RFRA (costs a very small price per year, 35 when i joined i think?) and build your own for free get the permits for 25 bucks through alabama and take them out on your own. they are really easy to build and drop. me and drew redman probably put out 50 last winter


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## pdog (Aug 22, 2008)

thanks for the information offshore.

Roll Tide


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## Clay-Doh (Oct 2, 2007)

What offshore said. The RFRA is located right near Joe Patties Seafood off Brancas Ave. in Pensacola.



For $35 per year, there are all the metalworking tools there, chopsaws, grinders, mig welders, torches, ect. Don't know how to weld? Get a buddy to join with you, or make a friend up there who does know how to weld (mig welding is simple as heck though), and work on reefs together, you cut the metal to the lengths he wants, he welds em on, and make 2 reefs at a time, one for each of ya.



All the rebar, in every thickness you can think off is up there, free....use as much as you want and build away! Standard pyrimad reefs, that will AMAZE you on how they will hold HUNDREDS of fish for a 150 foot radius around them when deployed, are very easy to load up. Throw a couple 2x12 boards across your gunnel, and strap a couple reefs down and go push em over!



If you dont wanna do that....would you believe the RFRA even has a pull behind barge that you can use free of charge (well...for the $35 per year membership) and load about 10 reefs and go drop???



After having a taste of spearfishing on private reefs.....public spots are just not the same. I am fired up...and have built one big one up there...but it was so hot. AS soon as the weather cools a bit, I am gonna start poppin em out like a welfare momma pops out newborns. Your fishing trips will be so much more productive, not just limiting out on snapper, but wouldnt you rather have your limit instead of 16-20 " snapper, a limit of 10-25 pounds??



Contact Capt. Paul Redman on here, he is the president od the RFRA


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## whome (Oct 2, 2007)

> *The Blue Hoo (10/2/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *P-cola_Native (10/1/2008)*
> ...


*Really Blue Hoo? Just 7 months ago you were saying how you don't care to bottom fish. Now it is SO important to you that you have "YOUR" second mate watching the machine when you are not. Which one is it?*

<TABLE id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_tblSearchResult cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=9 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=TableCell_Dark id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_tdPostCell2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=smalltxt width="30%"><SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_lblPostedDate>Posted 3/5/2008 2:31:01 PM</TD><TD class=smalltxt align=right>, <SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_lblForum>In: Offshore Fishing - General Q & A </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=TableCell_Light id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_tdPostCell3 vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=SmallTxt>









Grouper










<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_lblMemberGroup>Group: Forum Members 
<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_lblLastActive>Last Login: Today @ 10:11:44 AM 
<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_lblPostCount>Posts: 1,168, <SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_lblTotalVisits>Visits: 3,073 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD class=TableCell_Light id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_tdPostCell4 vAlign=top width="80%"><DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; OVERFLOW: auto; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; HEIGHT: 200px"><SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_lblFullMessage><DIV class=Quote>*bellafishing (3/5/2008)* <HR class=hr noShade SIZE=1>Try the Chevron rig. It's a public spot about 20miles out that's covered up with AJ's. </DIV>




Hey bob, 

. I cannot stress to you enough how important it is to invest in a good bottom machine and watch it. Myself or my 2nd mate is always watching ours while we're running, whether we're going for marlin or groupers. One little click of the "mark" button on the GPS and we have ourselves a new spot to bottom fish. Generally, when triggers are actively feeding, they will hold a bit higher up in the water column, and in a big cluster. Drop small hooks tipped with squid or cut fish and you should have no problem filling up your box in a hurry. I think the limit on those is 10 fish per person. </DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD class=ShwMessageFooter id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_tdPostCell5>Preview #73349</TD><TD class=ShwMessageFooter id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_tdPostCell6><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=smalltxt><INPUT id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_imgButPrivateMessages title="Send Private Message..." type=image alt="Send Private Message..." src="http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/fishingforum/Skins/Classic/Images/Contact_PM.gif" border=0 name=_ctl1:ctlSearchResultsPostView:ctlSearchResults:_ctl43:ctlPanelBar:imgButPrivateMessages> <INPUT id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_imgButEmail title="Send Email..." type=image alt="Send Email..." src="http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/fishingforum/Skins/Classic/Images/Contact_Email.gif" border=0 name=_ctl1:ctlSearchResultsPostView:ctlSearchResults:_ctl43:ctlPanelBar:imgButEmail> <A id=_ctl1_ctlSearchResultsPostView_ctlSearchResults__ctl43_ctlPanelBar_hypStatus title="User currently offline...">







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## Catchin Hell (Oct 9, 2007)

opcorn Oops!


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## GROUPER321 (Jul 30, 2008)

GOOD JOB ! !:usaflag


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