Joe Shuford III, or "Little Joe" as his friends and family know him, decided to end his fight with cancer on March 1 of this year. As many of you know, Little Joe is the son of longtime Palmetto Longrodders member Joe Shuford Jr, who is also the head of the East Cooper chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). Appropriately, it has been decided that an artificial fishing reef will be established in the Charleston area to honor the life of Little Joe. The Little Joe Shuford Reef will be located out at the existing Charleston 60 reef complex, which is approximately 12 miles from the end of the jetties in 60 feet of water. This location was chosen so that many of Little Joe's fishing buddies could, with relative ease, fish and enjoys the benefits of Joe's reef. The artificial reef will be built of concrete reef balls.
According to Mike Able, the reef will be built in stages, with the first portion scheduled to be put in place by the end of this summer. Again, this time frame was chosen with Little Joe's friends in mind, allowing them to personally witness it's beginning prior to returning to college. subsequent
reef balls will be added over time as funds become available to purchase more reef balls. To date, 100 reef balls have been ordered, but the reef has the capacity for approximately 50,000 reef balls.
While a single reef ball only costs about $140 each, many are required to make the reef sustainable and productive. However, once established, the reef balls will last for over 500 years. This equates to a lot of fishing enjoyment for many generations to follow. But, in order to fund the subsequent stages of the reef, monies will need to be raised. One such fundraiser is the blue rubber wristbands which will soon start appearing in the local tackle stores. Each wrist ban is engraved with the words “Joe’s Buddy” and will be sold for a nominal donation. However, if you would like to make a personal donation to the reef fund, you may contact Mark Davidson at (843) 884-8475 or at marked1223@aol.com, or you may contact Mike Able at Haddrell’s Point (843) 881-3644 or Greg Miller at (843) 881-1421.
The planners of the Little Joe Shuford Fishing Reef sincerely appreciate your support, as will all the local fishermen who will soon benefit from this worthwhile project. And, I know Little Joe is smiling from ear to ear knowing he will soon have a fishing reef named in his honor.
