Alabama Red Snapper season opened on June 1st this year and our first good opportunity presented itself on Friday night. I went fishing with Joe and Tim and it turned out to be a great all night trip. We left the house heading south around 11pm pulling our 17' Cape Horn. It is amazing how much gear you have to pack in a boat for a gulf fishing trip. When we arrived at the launch we heard mixed reviews from the other anglers hanging around and leaving from fishing. A couple of guys pulling out a 25 foot boat reported the seas were choppy and the bite was slow. That's not what you want to hear when your leaving the boat ramp. We decided to press on and hit the water with our hopes of big fish and calm seas being diminished a little. After a ten minute boat ride in the bay we rounded the end of the peninsula and crossed the famed Dixie Bar and entered the Gulf of Mexico.
Entering the gulf we found a bright moon to guide our way across a generally calm sea. With 50 or more oil/gas rigs in sight its not hard to pick a fishing destination. Our target rig needed to be in deep enough water to hold Red Snapper. We picked the fourth rig heading east south east and made a beeline for her. On the way out we had a North wind with us and knew the waves would build the further off shore we rode. We connected with the gas platform by using our homemade rig hook and began fishing shortly after midnight. Within 2 hours we had a 2 per person limit of Red Snapper and had caught a wide variety of other fish including King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Atlantic Spade Fish,
The State of Alabama and the local gulf community has done a great job of building a world class fishing haven just off the coast of our beautiful state. I've fished these waters most of my life in small center console boats and it's a fact that you can catch big fish in small boats. Now if we could only get the Federal Government to leave our season and regulations to the people who build this world class fishing destination it would be better for everyone involved. Alabama has the largest artificial reef program in the world and its paid major dividends.
Shelby Byrd alakingfish@gmail.com
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