FOR SALE: Historic, Mediterranean-style waterfront clubhouse on tony Hibiscus Island. Two lots, 11,000 square feet of living space, with kitchen, dining room, bar, dance floor, dock . . . and 79 years' worth of fishing tradition.
The Miami Beach Rod and Reel Club headquarters was put on the market last week for $15 million -- a victim of rising property taxes and shrinking membership.
''It's sad, but what are you going to do?'' said Steve Tunstall, a 20-year member and club attorney.
With 53 equity members and another 150 or so associate members, the club's $200,000 annual real estate taxes -- not to mention insurance, upkeep and salaries for a half dozen full- and part-time workers -- got to be too much, according to Tunstall. He said equity members are paying $2,000 annually in dues, while others pay less.
''We just couldn't afford it anymore,'' he said. ``We were starting to have to assess everybody, and there wasn't enough support there to keep doing it.''
Tunstall said a listing agreement was signed Wednesday with waterfront specialists Jill Hertzberg and Jill Eber.
The clubhouse is closed until Labor Day, so members are holding meetings at restaurants around South Florida.

STORIED HISTORY

One of the oldest and most prestigious fishing clubs in the state, the Rod and Reel Club was formed in 1929 with eight anglers who got together at the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. The members purchased the Hibiscus Island clubhouse -- formerly the Club Lido -- in 1934. With matching turrets, copper domes and a mechanical roof that opened the dance floor to the sky, it made the ideal party venue in the days before central air conditioning.
But Rod and Reel Club members were all about angling -- not just partying. They incorporated, adopted bylaws and developed stringent regulations for fishing tackle used in tournaments, which formed the basis for rules used by the International Game Fish Association today.
By the 1930s, the membership had grown to about 400. In the '40s, the anglers got involved with conservation causes such as restricting netting in Biscayne Bay, designating snook as a gamefish and establishing Everglades National Park.
In the 1950s, several members -- including James L. Knight, a founder of the Miami Herald's former parent company -- traveled the world in search of big fish. Knight's 585-pound blue marlin, caught in 1964 aboard the Rerun, still hangs on the wall. And one of the heaviest fish ever caught on rod and reel -- an 1,182-pound swordfish taken in Chile by Lou Marron in 1953 -- dominates the dais.

IN-HOUSE COMPETITION

In between fishing in international and local fishing contests, Rod and Reelers were big on competing against each other, holding annual angling contests and advancing through a badge system from novice to ''gold-badger,'' awarded to the angler with the highest number of points based on tackle, line and fish weight.
The clubhouse hosted weekly Wednesday dinner meetings, plus art shows, holiday parties and special events.
In recent years, membership waned, according to Tunstall -- but not because of a lack of interest in fishing.
''There's a lot more people fishing, but people don't have much interest in joining clubs,'' he said. ``People belonging to clubs are older people; you don't see many younger people joining clubs.''
In 2005, Hurricane Wilma caused extensive damage to the interior and exterior. Members and staff made repairs, but property taxes kept rising. This year, they made the reluctant decision to sell.
Club past president captain Dan Kipnis, a longtime member, vows to keep the club alive, even as it looks for a meeting place.
''I will not let the club die,'' Kipnis said.
``There will be some form of it.''