Depending on who you ask, Pecks Lake is either overlooked, or a well-kept secret.
By Terry Gibson
About ten years ago, my longtime friend and teacher, the marine ecologist Dr. Ken Lindeman, called me to ask a most important favor. Ken’s two older sons, Brian and Eric–teenagers then—were in the process of earning their SCUBA diving certifications. Ken asked if I would take them out to “Pecks Lake,” the shallow reef tract south of the St. Lucie Inlet that is the northernmost reach of the Florida Coral Reef Tract, which rises in a 360-mile, northbound arc from the Dry Tortugas, to Stuart.
Given calm, clear conditions, Pecks Lake, state park waters adjacent to the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, can be the perfect place for new divers to do their checkout dives. The deepest ledges rise out of about 30 feet, in calm conditions currents generally aren’t strong, and the trip out to the reef is so short that only those that suffer from severe motion sickness feel at all queasy. Most importantly, good conditions on Pecks Lake offer an initiation that will make competent, diehard enthusiasts out of novice divers. It’s a great place to practice underwater navigation, master buoyancy, and learn fish identification.
I typically tie up to the mooring buoys on the outside of the reef, which were place there to keep folks from damaging the reef with anchors. I did not want to start at 30 feet, preferring to make our way out there as the boys got comfortable in their gear. So we anchored up inside the reef crest. While it’s important not to anchor on the reef, it’s also important not to have to go swimming after your boat. So I hopped in first to make sure the Danforth anchor had a strong bite in the sand.
The visibility was exceptional—probably sixty feet or so—and in the distance on the reef edge I saw what looked like a swarm of silver sparks. I swam over and discovered a large school of early juvenile fish called “grunts” swimming high in the water column feeding on plankton.
Ken is one of the world’s leading experts on grunts. Some affectionately call him, “Dr. Grunt.” He even created drawings for divers of the juveniles of the many species of grunt, since some, especially tomtates and sailor’s choice, are extremely difficult to tell apart in early life stages. When Ken and the boys kicked over, Ken pulled out a dive slate, pointed at the school of fish, and wrote down a one-word question:
“Sp.?”
That’s scientific shorthand for “species” in the singular. I had a fifty/fifty shot at guessing the answer right, guessed tomtate, and was left to enjoy the rest of the dive wearing the proverbial dunce cap.
I tell this story because the ranges of the two species of grunts overlap in range, as do many tropical and subtropical species do along the Treasure Coast, which creates an incredible diversity of species to enjoy. New divers, such as Brian and Eric, are usually instantly awestruck. For fish counters and photographers, especially those looking to add cryptic and closely related species across many fish families, you owe it to your diving career to spend some time on this unique reef system. Waves and excavating fish such as goliath groupers create all shapes and sizes of caves and crevices, which an astounding diversity of plants and animals call home.
Now, our reefs do not have as much of the colorful coral cover found along the more tropical reaches of the Florida Reef Tract. But as noted, Treasure Coast reefs such as Peck’s Lake offer some of the highest diversity of fish species among shallow reefs Florida. You’re virtually guaranteed to see sea turtles and moray eels. And if you’re a lobster hunter, the lobsters up here, or “bugs,” are enormous.
Though calm, clear conditions do occur between weather systems year round, conditions are typically best in the spring and summer months when the warm, clear, sapphire-blue waters of the Gulf Stream current swing into the beach. Many of Pecks Lake’s coral-studded ridges tower of out the sand from depths ranging from about 12 to 35 feet.
Sidebar: Biodiversity Hotspot
Whether it’s your first dive or your 5000th, Peck’s Lake is a fascinating and unique reef ecosystem to dive. The interconnected systems of reefs and estuaries in Martin County support more biodiversity than any other coastal region in the country. For example, more than 800 fish species have been documented here.
Geography plays a huge role in this diversity. The resources in this area straddle the line between the tropical and temperate climate zones, so it is just cool enough to support the species that are more associated with habitats such as the vast spartina grass marshes of northeastern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, than with the mangroves that line the shores of the St. Lucie River, Loxahatchee River and the Indian River Lagoon. Some fish examples include black seabass and red snapper.
Yet, thanks to the Gulf Stream’s warming influence, the coastal ocean here is comfortable enough that much of the tropical fauna and flora you’d expect to find the Keys and the Caribbean also occur here. The brain and star corals on Pecks Lake are a great example. Plus, the Gulf Stream carries larvae from myriad species that spawned as far away as Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. They settle down in the nursery habitats and find food they need in the Treasure Coast’s shallow reefs and in the estuaries.
Also, the abundance of food and habitat here invite a great many migratory predators to visit on their ways north and south. To mention a few, those species include Spanish mackerel, sailfish, and gag grouper.
Honestly, I’ve added more species to my life list of marine life viewed underwater on Pecks Lake than any other spot in the U.S. or Caribbean. There are dozens of other dive opportunities off Martin County and a short drive south. And there’s no more relaxing, accommodating or friendly place to hang out.