Party Boat Fishing in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores on the Emerald Spirit.

Today we had a six hour party boat walk-on trip. The weather was a little over cast this morning with a good breeze out of the north, along with a 2-3 ft. swell out of the south southeast.  We left at our usual time of departure at 8:00 a.m. and went out to the area we fish around 20 miles on the natural bottom or rocks of coral. On our way we noticed that there was a lot of the sargasso grass on the beach and in the water. Some of it made up real nice grass lines which hold bait and then draws in other fish like dolphin, Wahoo, tuna, king mackerel and other top water fish. Wouldn’t you know it didn’t take long and there were reports from other fishermen that they had caught some black fin tuna on the weed lines while trolling out to their fishing holes.  We didn’t seem to get a line out to troll, but we did get a drift line out when we stopped to fish. The mingo’s and white snapper were biting real well. After fishing a couple of places and moving around we got a big bite on the drift line and a big fish on a two hook rig at the same time. Not knowing what either fish were till the one on the two hook rig popped up did we know we had two black fin tuna on at once. I guess you could say the fellow with the two hook rig applied too much pressure and lost that one but we did manage to get the other one in the boat. As Murphy’s Law would have it the same fellow who lost the first one, hooked a second one before they got the one on the spinning rod in and he lost the second fish he hooked as well. It was pretty exiting the for several minutes to say the very least, one person going around the boat with a spinning rod and another in the back hooking up and losing them faster than you could tell what was going on. Nevertheless, we are grateful to get the one we did. Now I can’t wait till tomorrow, we’ll be ready.

Our team of deck hands attends to every need of the customers from parking the car all the way thru the day till they get their cleaned fish in a Ziploc bag with some ice for their cooler. This same group of guys work together on the way out and on the way in every day as a team to get somewhere between 15 and 50 rod and reels ready to fish with new hooks on a new rig every day. On the way in they de-rig and re-rig all the rods we used that day and spray and wipe each one down with an anti corrosion lube so they stay in perfect working order.

Also in order for us to have hooks every day and bait in the freezer and bottom sinkers there has to be a team effort to tell someone in charge that we are low on supplies so that person can make sure supplies are provided. Everything has to work efficiently and smoothly, as a team we get it all together and provide a service that resembles a close knit family.

We want your trip to feel like you were out with good friends and family enjoying the day. As I say in the speech each morning, “Believe me, you’re better off fishing as a team”.

Wounded Warrior Deep Sea Fishing Trip

We were fortunate enough this year to be asked to participate in the effort to give back to our soldiers who have been injured, and proudly said yes to the opportunity to take a few out for an outstanding day of deep sea fishing on the Emerald Spirit. Our day started like all the others; get down to the boat early and catch live bait, make sure all of the tackle was ready as well as the boat. The Crew is ready all the time, especially today because they know how important this is to everyone involved. They also know I was going to go to some of my very best holes in the Gulf.

We had a couple of sponsors pay for the Wounded Warrior Project to bring these guys out with us today. It is this kind of dedication as well as the dedication of our troops that really got to me so before we ever left the dock in Orange Beach I gathered everybody in the cabin for our safety meeting and proceeded to share with them my plans for the day. I explained how we normally fish and how I wanted to fish today, which is out of our norm somewhat. I call it “Hero or Zero” fishing. We basically do what you never do and that is go to your poor holes or ones that just don’t have much on them. Then we use the biggest bait you’ve ever seen, so big it would choke your average monster fish. I know, sounds crazy, Huh?

The way I see it, you will probably bomb out and not get a bite at all, BUT IF YOU DO! OH YEAH! Well we didn’t do too well in the Hero or Zero department so we just went to some of my 5 year old virgin fishing holes where the 25 pounders swim around on top and bite like a bass hitting a June bug! We didn’t keep anything less that around 20 pounds or so, and the water was real muddy. We did put out the drift line and finally got a bite, Wow, a 53 pound Wahoo. We also caught an 8 foot Bull Shark and everyone got to pull on him a while. Once everyone was tired I was told to take it in.

As we headed for home one of the warriors of the trip who had fished his tail off all day turned to me and said, “I’m sore all over!” and I thought, what a good job I did putting them on some big fish. Then I talked to one of the sponsors and told him what the soldier said and he explained to me, “You know that 80 % of his bones in his chest, shoulders, arms and back were broken when an IUD blew him up?” All I could say was Oh my God! You would have never known, he fished like he never had a problem and will most likely be stoved up for a week or so getting over the trip, yet all of the guys thanked me personally and that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Hopefully, we can do this again for our veterans. Thank you for coming!

I know what’s for lunch when they come. As usual, we went out Saturday and started with catching our Mingo’s, Triggers and stuff and moved offshore for some Amberjacks. As we went out farther the current got pretty strong on a few holes we stopped on and I heard some of the other captain’s complaining about how hard it was to hold up on the spot. I started to fear the worst for fishing in the deeper water we were headed for, however I noticed a huge tide line on the horizon a mile or so out in front of me and figured I was going to stop just beyond the line.

To my surprise we passed over the line about 500 yards and rounded up on the hole and I darn near ran slam off of the hole thinking it was like it was on the last hole. Thank goodness it was dead still. Cool! What a relief, I won’t have to fight the current or massive tangles in the deep water. After checking the spot we stopped on and catching some big Mingo’s and several huge Triggerfish we went on out for some Amberjacks.

I wish I could say they just jumped in the boat but that isn’t what happened. We had to work for them. Maybe that current wasn’t moving on top but something had them spooked a little. We caught a few here and there and ended up hitting one really good hole by luck in the end. I know you’re thinking, “He was saving that one till last” but I wasn’t. I’d rather be lucky than good on a day like that. All’s well that ends well. We had a great trip when it was over; I just had to work a little harder.

We met at the dock around 6:45 a.m. and left out around 7:00. After some coffee and donuts we were on our way. We only had six hours for our trip so we hurried out to the fishing grounds and before we started fishing we said a prayer…  From the first drop the fish were biting two at a time. Reverend Lloyd even caught two at a time. We didn’t have to move but one time to a different hole a few hundred yards away and they were biting again good.

Then it happened, first one then another and we had two Sharks on at one time. After fighting the one for around 15 minutes or so the line parted. However, the line on the other was as strong as our faith and we fought him for around 25 minutes until we got him up alongside the boat were everyone could see and get a good picture and then we released him to live another day. We resumed our fishing for what little time was left and then headed back to the dock.

It was a very good trip and I think everyone enjoyed it, maybe with the exception of a few who let’s just say took full advantage and then some of their sea sick patch’s, no names mentioned but, Amen.

We arrived with anticipation and excitement of what was to happen next. It certainly didn’t disappoint. As soon as the lines were in the water we were on. A small Black Fin Tuna and then another, and then another and another. After a few laps around the rig we saw what we came for, the Big Yellow Fin Tuna busting the water on top just out from the rig a little and heading right to us. As the tension built up we crossed over the school of fish and all eyes were on the lines. “Fish On, right rigger!” then “Fish on Left rigger!” OH Yea! They were biting! We fished into the night, jigging next to the rigs as the seas built to 6-8 feet. We got up the next morning around 3:30 a.m. and started it all over again. Before it was over we had 4 Yellow Fin Tuna, 25 Black Fin Tuna, over 40 head of Scamp, around 180 head of Jumbo Mingo’s and 24 Amberjacks Totaling a little over 2,000 lbs. Wow!

They brought up Yellow-edge Grouper, Snowy Grouper, Scamp and to my huge surprise some of the most Monster-size Mingos we’ve ever caught. No kidding. They were 5-6 pounds a piece.

So I told them to grab the two hook bottom rigs and drop them for some Scamp right there on the same spot. Sure enough we caught a few but it wasn’t what I knew we could do so we moved to our third hole of the day which was even deeper than the last, now we are in 290 – 310 feet of water.  As I rode down to the next spot I was remembering the last time we fished there last season and it dawned on me that we caught some deep water Grouper there. I told the deck hands to get ready for some of those and we’ll try it. When we got there every one was baited up and ready to drop. You have to be ready to drop when I tell you, especially in the deeper water like this because it’s sort of like precision bombing, everybody has to go down at the same time to avoid tangles and to assure you hit the target. We dropped and it didn’t take long to see we hit the target good. Everyone got fish on and I knew we made the right decision. They brought up Yellow-edge Grouper, Snowy Grouper, Scamp and to my huge surprise some of the most Monster-size Mingos we’ve ever caught. No kidding. They were 5-6 pounds a piece. It was a good thing the deck hands used up some of the other b-liners we had for live bait earlier because I would have died to have to throw those back. That’s when I realized it was time to go home. Three stops and we put the mash down on them. It doesn’t get any better. I can’t wait till next week when we go on our first overnight Tuna trip. The reports are great offshore and there are plenty of nice fish, we’ll check it out.

The Emerald Spirit was getting some improvements and out of the water for 52 days painting the bottom and re-doing the decks. We also put new railing all around the boat with rod holders and a place for your weights. It looks awesome and we’ll have some photos up shortly. As soon as we got in the water we did a small test run out for some Cobia for a couple of hours and saw 2 Cobia, both with other things on there mind. Then we got to go out the other day on a one-day tournament to benefit Capt. Mo Schavers who owns Mo Fishin Bait and Tackle Shop in Orange Beach, Alabama, There was a one-day tournament with half of the money generated going towards some hospital bills he had incurred so we gladly entered.

We left the dock around 6:00 a.m. and returned around 6:00 p.m. We left out of Terry Cove, through the Orange Beach Pass and fished all the way to the other side of Pensacola Beach, Florida’s fishing pier. (Yep, we’re licensed in both Alabama and Florida so we can go that way!) On the way down there we saw 2 fish that were real nervous and wouldn’t bite. Then a couple of hours later we saw another fish who was a little more interested than the first two but still not hungry. Finally we saw a good fish around 45 or 50 pounds and he was more interested in our baits than all of the other but still wouldn’t eat any thing we threw at him. We did see another fish later, but he was like the rest, not interested.

The weather was great, the sun was popping in and out of the clouds most of the day but we had a great time. I hear there are a bunch more Cobia headed this way and we will get to see soon. First we have a little getting ready for our annual United States Coast Guard (USCG) Inspection. After that you’ll be hearing from us again, hopefully with a better report about how many we put in the box.

We are very pleased to announce we have moved both of our boats to the beautiful Sportsman Marina at 27844 Canal Road in Orange Beach, Alabama 36561. We are less than 10 minutes from the Gulf. Sportsman Marina is cleaner, parking closer to the boats, nice dock store with sandwiches, drinks and supplies available for your fishing trip, award winning restaurant, Shipp’s Harbour Grill, to cook your fresh catch, and with a friendlier, more professional atmosphere.

The Gulf of Mexico is clean, clear and ready to fish. Since we didn’t fish last year, the fish are there in record numbers just waiting to be caught this coming year. Our captains and crew are professionals at every level.

Grouper season is closed from February 1 through March 31 and opens April 1. Red Snapper season opens as usual on June 1 and runs until the National Marine Fisheries closes it, an anticipated 50 days or so. The Gulf Council and National Marine Fisheries are discussing a two month closure of Amberjack in June and July but there is no final ruling on this as yet. With the abundance of fish in the Gulf of Mexico, we still anticipate a great season regardless of the decisions made by the Council or National Marine Fisheries.

As you may have noticed, we have not increased our prices in the last two years, however, as you may have seen at the fuel stations, fuel is on the rise and we have no control over those prices. They will, however, directly affect our pricing this year since fuel is our greatest expense.

Remember to call before April 1st for early season discounts on booking your trip.

We are looking forward to a great season. Look at our websites at www.FishOrangeBeach.Net and www.FishEmeraldSpirit.Com for more detailed information or give us a call at 888-558-3889 to schedule your trip today.

Saturday we started off catching some White Snappers, Triggers, Mingo’s and some Real Nice Amberjacks.  Some were in the 60-70 pound range.  We did troll out and back but the water is still so cold that we didn’t get a bite.  After catching some AJ’s we went on out to the deep water rigs starting with the Petronius. We arrived about an hour before dark and put the Ballyhoo out on the slow trollers and pulled around the rig. Right off jump street, we got a double hook up. Two Black Fin Tuna.  I told my deck hand Eric to pull the lines in and let us try some jigging if they were going to bite this good. He already had the poles out and rigged up so we pulled up to the rig and started jigging. We caught a few kind of hit and miss and decided to go on out to the next rig offshore, (the Marlin) and try it for some Yellow Fin Tuna before it got too late. After high Speed trolling out there it was dark when we arrived so we tried jigging even though I didn’t see any fish on the fathometer. No luck, they just weren’t there. So, we hauled butt down to the next rig (Ram Powell) to see if they were there. The report I got from another captain just the week before was that this was the only place they did any good. So with high hopes we pulled up to the rig and made a pass around it to see what we could see on the fathometer. Nothing! Not a single dot on the meter. No bait on top or fish below. At this point I made an executive decision and decided to go all the way back up to the first rig we left, the Petronius, where they were biting.  We used this time to enjoy the Extra Large Filet Mignon that our customers from Birmingham, AL brought with them along with all the fixin’s from there restaurant. It didn’t last long, as a matter of fact if one of my deck hands hadn’t brought me a few small pieces I wouldn’t have gotten any, it went so fast. After we returned back up to the first rig, we jigged some more and caught several more Black Fin Tuna. However, everyone was spent by then, especially after that good meal. So we pulled out from the rig, dropped a squid over for a sword fish and caught forty winks.  We woke up around 5:00 a.m. and returned back to the rig after having some coffee where we resumed jigging and ended up catching several more fish.  By now the weather was absolutely beautiful. We fished our way back to the dock that evening and celebrated what a great trip we had.

Now the Cobia are running and we are tying on our ling lures. We have Cost Guard Inspection on Monday and right after that, I’M GONE! Check with me next week to get the whole story on the Cobia Run!