Paul G. Mains Reef was built in 1967 with approximately 300 tons of concrete culvert pipe 2 1/2 feet to 6 feet in diameter plus 200 old automobile bodies.
As new volunteers like Bob Engel, Ed Kalakauskis, and Royal Van Horn became the club’s “Reef Experts”, their efforts were bolstered by the club’s first $25,000 federal grant which was used to build up the Paul Mains reef.
One half mile Southeast of PG. This bottom made up of concrete culverts, which have created good fishing from sailfish to mutton snapper.
The PM Reef was named for one of the club’s most supportive members, Paul Mains. Paul worked in the sporting goods department at Finkelsteins, located on West Bay Street between Broad Street and Jefferson Street. In its day, Finkelsteins was somewhat like a Sports Unlimited and Wal-Mart rolled up into one.
Paul also wrote a fishing article for the Times-Union. Working in the sporting goods department was an excellent place to gather information on where the action was and who was catching what. Any day, around Noon, you could go into Finkelsteins and find several club members swapping tales, giving their reports to Paul and making plans for the coming weekend.
Paul, and his wife, Gunshy (who was always with him), were extremely supportive of the Offshore Club and seldom missed a meeting. His articles about the club and their activities helped build interest and membership. He always managed to slip the time, date and place of the next J.O.S.F.C. meeting into his article.
Another gimmick he used was to print the angler’s name and give the number and type of fish that the angler caught. When you gave Paul a report, you couldn’t wait to get the paper and see your name in print. This was equivalent to being recognized on a statewide basis.
If someone came into the store to buy fishing tackle, you could bet your last dime that Paul would talk them into going to the next club meeting. Many times he would convince them to join the club, on the spot.
Paul Mains was a fine man and a close friend to the club. It is just that his memory be preserved in the form of an artificial reef that bears his name.
