Captain Joe Mott Gathering at Hillsboro Inlet to celebrate life of fisherman Joe Mott Photo Taken at Hillsboro Inlet During the Memorial Service
Mott, Captain Joe, the legendary fisherman, died February 2, 2008,
after a long hard battle with Parkinson's Disease. Joe was a world renowned
sport, commercial and pleasure fisherman in the waters around the globe.
He held many titles and records. Joe was one the first fisherman to long line
for swordfish along the southeastern seaboard. Through his knowledge and
skill he was the first to introduce the fish Cobia to the local seafood market.
Joe's numerous titles and records were on an international level. In addition
to being a fisherman, Joe was also an avid duck hunter. Joe was a 60 year resident
of Pompano Beach and also resided in Lorida, FL. He was predeceased in death
by parents, Pegg and Crawf Mott. Joe is survived by his wife, Carol Ann Mott of
both Pompano Beach and Lorida; daughter, Peggy Sue "Suzi" Mott of Sebring;
son, J.C. "Buster" Mott of Pompano Beach; grandson, Devin J. Mott of Pompano Beach;
brother James A. "Jamie" (Lois) Jamieson; nephew, Jim Jamieson and niece,
Jan (Steve) Shoop all of Scottsdale, AZ; brother-in-law, Glen Courson of Lorida, FL
and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. In lieu of flowers, the family requests
that donations be made to the National Parkinson Foundation, 1501 NW 9th
Avenue/Bob Hope Road, Miami, FL 33136-1494. A Memorial Service to celebrate
Joe's life will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at the Hillsboro Inlet City Park.
Reserved parking at the old Pelican Pub. Friends and family will gather from
3:00pm - 4:00pm with the formal service beginning at 4:00pm.
Arrangements by: PANCIERA MEMORIAL HOME 4200 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, FL 33021 954-989-9900 www.panciera.com
Published in the Sun-Sentinel on 2/15/2008.
By Robert Nolin
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 22, 2008
(Reprinted with permission from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.)
His well-to-do parents wanted him to be a doctor or lawyer, but he lasted only about six months in college before returning to the docks, boats and life he loved: fishing.
Saturday, an expected 100 friends and family will gather at an inlet park to celebrate the life of fisherman extraordinaire Joe Mott, who died Feb. 2 at age 69 after decades of out-fishing most competitors in local and international waters.
"His real passion was to be on the water fishing," said Mike Black, 53, of Parkland, a self-described protege of Mr. Mott's. "He was just one of the most remarkable fishermen I ever met."
The water Mr. Mott so loved, along with an adjacent lighthouse, will be the backdrop for his memorial service at Hillsboro Inlet Park in Pompano Beach. That's the site of the marina where Mr. Mott started his career as a boy and later docked his boats. An urn containing Mr. Mott's ashes will be in the center of the park.
"It was Joe's wish to be right there, looking at the inlet," said Libby Baxter Santos, a family friend organizing the service.
Amid the music, photos and salt breeze, attendees will recall how at age 9 Mr. Mott moved from Indianapolis to a big house nearby with his mother, Pegg, and father, Crawf, a Chrysler executive. When not at school, the boy was at the inlet marina, an eager dock monkey who eventually wheedled his way aboard the charter boats as mate. Except for his brief stint in college, Mr. Mott never strayed from the sea.
"That's where he started, and that's where he retired from," his widow, Carol, a high school sweetheart, said of the inlet docks.
As a young man, Mr. Mott got his own boat and was soon running sportfishing charters. He hunted game fish across the Caribbean and offshore Mexico and Australia. "Rich Texas oilmen" were his clients, his widow said.
He accumulated trophies, plaques and walls of mounted fish through the 1950s and'60s and forged a reputation as a legendary fisherman.
"He was just one of the best out there, he was the guy to beat all the time," said Roy Merritt, who went to high school with Mr. Mott and later worked with him at the seafood market Merritt once owned.
Black, who now owns a seafood business, said Mr. Mott defied the stereotype of the lucky fisherman.
"There was a reason, a purpose, for just about everything he did on the water," he said. "With every type of species of fish he caught, there was a reason behind the method."
Bigger than life when it came to catching fish, Mr. Mott was an average-size man who favored polarized sunglasses and a khaki cap with nautical insignia. He was quiet and modest.
"Very cerebral," Black said.
"He was never one to blow his own horn," said Merritt.
Mr. Mott also spent months at a time duck hunting with his wife in Ontario.
In the 1970s, Mr. Mott turned his talents to commercial fishing. Adding to his fame � or infamy, depending on one's point of view � he established long-line swordfishing off Florida's east coast. Using lines of a mile or more long, and dozens of hooks, Mr. Mott caught numerous swordfish to sell at market.
"They were bringing in thousands of pounds of swordfish and that caught on," said Baxter Santos.
The method caught on too well and over the years depleted the swordfish population. In 1998, at the urging of sport fishermen and environmentalists, long-line fishing was banned inside a 200-mile limit.
Mr. Mott and two partners in the early 1980s opened a seafood business, buying catches from local fishermen and marketing it across the United States and overseas.
"He used to send giant tunas to Japan," Carol Mott recalled.
Mr. Mott later worked at Merritt's seafood business, retiring around 1997 to move to Lorida, a small town near Sebring by the shores of Lake Istokpoga.
"He left the deep sea for the lake. He retired to fish for bass," Carol Mott said. "He'd get as excited about a little 10-pound bass as he did about a 1,200-pound marlin."
Parkinson's disease struck Mr. Mott in 1999. He was planning a move back to Pompano Beach when the illness took him earlier this month.
His ashes will be scattered offshore, on Lake Istokpoga and in Ontario.
Though his parents saw Mr. Mott deviate from their career plans, they nevertheless were pleased with their son. "They were very proud in the end," Baxter Santos said.
Copyright � 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
