CCA Florida & Mud Hole Launch Release the East

*UPDATE*

Over 15,000 Juvenile Redfish Released into Indian River Lagoon

CCA Florida and Mud Hole Partnership Helps Revitalize Redfish Population

Cocoa Beach, FL, November 17, 2022 – In its continued dedication to support the health of local fisheries and ecosystems, Mud Hole Custom Tackle again joined with Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Florida for the release of over 15,000 redfish at Ramp Road Park as part of the East Coast Redfish Restocking Initiative: “Release the East”.  This past weekend’s release was the culmination of years of planning and activities, all in an effort to reestablish and grow the redfish population in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon.

“The Indian River is such an important ecosystem to the east coast of Florida, and we are proud to work with CCA Florida to help with its preservation” said Brook Oliva, Mud Hole Custom Tackle President. “It’s been amazing to work with Brian and the whole CCA team over the past two years on this program. From catching the brood stock, to spawning and growing them out at the Duke Energy Mariculture Center, to today’s release of thousands of redfish, it’s been a rewarding effort for the Mud Hole Custom Tackle team.”

To see the official Press Release regarding the release of 15,000 redfish into the Indian River Lagoon, click here.

CCA Florida and Mud Hole Custom Tackle launch the “Release the East” redfish initiative as a collaboration to restock the beloved species on the East Coast of Florida for the first time ever. 

As supporters of anglers worldwide, Mud Hole sincerely cares about our customers and likewise, we sincerely care about the fisheries we all call home. Our local waters are always in need of help and in effort to do our part, we are working with those on the frontlines, namely Coastal Conservation Association.

The Super Fishy Team up to Benefit Redfish Populations

Mud Hole got involved with the CCA about 10 years ago. More recently, Mud Hole and CCA began working together on programs and initiatives to benefit Florida and anglers in general. 

That’s where we came up with the redfish initiative and now, we’re taking the lead alongside CCA to do what we can to produce and stock redfish in the Indian River.

“The more anglers that are on the water that are harvesting fish, that all adds up and that just adds to pressure on the waters and to all of our different fisheries,” reasons Brian Gorski of CCA Florida.

This team-up of extra fishy proportions means expanding our efforts to habitats like this that are in dire need of help.

Mud Hole's goal with working along side CCA and this initiative goes hand in hand with our daily business operations. Mud Hole provides products for anglers to be productive on the water and in order to be productive on the water, companies have to stand up for conservation. CCA along with the help of Mud Hole can make our Florida Waterways a better place for future generations.  CCA has always done a great job on the conservation side. They make sure the fisheries are healthy and striving many years to come, so that anglers can go out and catch the fish of a lifetime.

Release the East is a massive restocking effort born from the concern of CCA and CCA’s devoted members that redfish numbers are seeing a steady decline. A sportfishing favorite, we were devastated to learn about the declines of redfish numbers and wanted to lend a hand to help.

Any new initiative takes funding, and that fundraising is where we come in.

The biggest step in getting started was getting some funding in to purchase the equipment that such a massive redfish restocking effort requires. The tanks, the regulators, the filters and so forth, as well as additional transport trailer and quarantine tanks are all integral to successfully restocking East Coast redfish populations.

“Mud Hole Custom Tackle stepped up with a very large, generous donation and we can’t thank them enough for everything that they do,” Brian Gorski of CCA FL goes on to say, “It’s not only with Release the East, but they also help us on the banquet side, they get our koozies made for us and produced, our hats, T-shirts, they’ve wrapped our box truck for us, any kind of signage—You just name it.”

Our partnership with the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida answers the call to bring countless critical resources to the restoration and conservation efforts in our beloved fisheries. 

“The [Release the East] idea has evolved into what it is today basically because of the Duke Energy Mariculture Center, CCA, and Mud Hole Custom Tackle.” Brian says with a grateful smile.

Mud Hole's relationship with CCA has grown over the last ten years. We support CCA's dedication and it shows through all events, banquets and initiatives. 

Check out the video below to see how it all came together!