Panama City Beach, FL
Artificial Reefs
The Secret Fishing Spots of Kelley Girl Charters
Charter Fishing Company
We Build "Fish Hotels" & Tow Them Offshore to Our Secret Spots
Here we are loading chicken transport coups for reefs
To keep our fish right where we like to find them, we create artificial fishing reefs and tow them out to see to our secret spots. We sink them and GPS pinpoint-locate them for tracking, so we can find them each time we run a fishing charter. This is how we maintain “Secret Spots”.
These are from a several years ago - a different set of reef construction photos
How private reefs get built in Florida
When captains talk about “building a reef,” it’s not a casual drop-some-stuff-overboard situation. In Florida, a private reef is a real project that has to be planned, permitted, deployed properly, and documented so it’s safe for the Gulf and safe for boaters.
Here are the big steps most captains/companies have to handle:
Permits come first.
Before anything touches the bottom, the project has to be permitted through the right agencies (often starting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, plus state coordination when it’s in Florida waters). This is what keeps reefs legal, environmentally responsible, and properly recorded.
They choose a location that won’t cause problems.
A reef site can’t be placed just anywhere. It needs to be in an area that:
- won’t damage sensitive habitat,
- won’t interfere with navigation,
- won’t conflict with pipelines, cables, shipping routes, or other restrictions.
They use reef-safe, approved materials.
Florida reefs are built with clean, stable, durable materials—commonly engineered concrete structures or other approved reef material designed to hold up in currents and storms. “Random debris” reefs are exactly what regulations are meant to prevent.
Deployment is usually a contractor operation.
Most reef drops are done with a barge/crane crew or a marine contractor who can place material accurately, safely, and in the permitted footprint—so it ends up where it’s supposed to be (and stays there).
Everything gets documented and reported.
After deployment, the reef location and materials typically have to be verified and reported (GPS coordinates, what was deployed, and confirmation it was placed correctly). That’s how reefs end up in the official systems and how managers keep track of what’s out there.
There’s ongoing responsibility.
Building a reef isn’t just a one-day drop. Reef builders often plan for monitoring, future additions, and long-term stewardship—because a good reef is an investment that should improve habitat for years.
Many “private” reefs happen through partnerships.
A lot of captains and fishing companies work with local reef programs (county/state partners) because those teams already have the permitting pathways and deployment experience—while the captain/company helps fund it, support it, and promote responsible fishing around it.
