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”.

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!

We’re offering $5 off our charter fishing trips if you mention you saw Mullet Toss online!

By Cheryl Lange

April 6, 2011 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – Perdido Key, FL (PKF) – Something fishy at the Flora~Bama is expected to have thousands of tourists, spectators and contestants alike to what has become one of the busiest weekends of the year for the Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Perdido Key resort area.

This spring’s celebration will feature local celebrities tossing out the first few fish at Noon, Friday, April 29th. The event consists of individuals on the beach throwing a mullet, one of the more popular and plentiful fish indigenous to the area, from a 10-foot circle in Alabama across the state line into Florida. The mullet, the only fish with a gizzard, is said to possess mystical properties, which, along with the pristine white sands, has attracted fun-loving folks to the area for decades.

A contribution for each fish flung will go to the Alabama Sheriff’s Boys Ranch a charitable, non-profit corporation providing a home-like environment for abused, neglected and misdirected youths and the Boys and Girls Club of Escambia, which serves the needs of children living in disadvantaged circumstances. The local club is part of a nationwide affiliation of autonomous organizations working to help youth of all backgrounds develop the qualities needed to become responsible citizens and leaders.

The cover charge, starting Thursday evening, will be $10 for those 21 years of age or older and $15 for those under 21 years of age starting on Thursday evening. There will be limited entrance to those under the age of 21 after 6 pm. Membership Cards will be valid for the event and are available for $30 at the Flora-Bama on online at www.florabama.com. These allow FREE admission all year long (except for certain events) for those 21 and older. Get your Membership Card early, since card sales will be limited Mullet Toss Weekend.

There will be a $10.00 charge for parking to be shared with local charities. We will also have shuttles running on both sides of the line. The cost to ride the shuttle is $3.00 per person each way. In Alabama the Shuttle pick up is at the Bruno’s parking lot in Orange Beach. You can also call Yellow Cab at 251-948 TAXI or A-1 Taxi at 251-981-9300. In Florida the shuttle picks up is at the Publix parking lot and the Visitor’s Center on Perdido Key. The shuttle will start at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and run until closing time.

The Flora-Bama Lounge & Package is located on the Gulf of Mexico at the Florida/ Alabama line. For further information call: 850-492-0611 or 251-980-5118.

Via: 27th Annual Mullet Toss Kicks off April 29th.

Remember, $5 off our fishing charter trips if you mention you saw Mullet Toss online until Sunday April 31st!

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!