On another day with my friend from the UK, Mr. Mike we blasted out to some near shore gas wells off of Fort Morgan, AL. We spent the previous day searching in vain for migrating cobia…with no luck at all. Never saw the first one. At least we were not the only ones. Word one the radio was about the same. That day was picture perfect. Very calm, clear water, light offshore breeze so I guess you could call it too perfect. Fishermen always have an excuse, right? Anyway, that was the day before. On this day we ran the 18 miles on very calm water to rigs. I haven’t made that run in my flats boat in over two years but Mike was wanting a big pull that only offshore species can produce. We had success immediately! The red snapper cooperated right off and Mike landed several on strip retrieves and dead drifts on his 12 weight fly rod. He also struggled to control several more that simply would not stop heading for the bottom until breaking off his leader. I t was great fun to be down there again and we basically had it all to ourselves. When we least expected it four cobia did what they do best and swam right up under the boat and refused to eat a fly. One would have tipped the scales at probably 40lbs (US). They popped back up one more time for a few seconds and then disappeared again.
Time flew by and after lunch we headed back stopping by one last time at a single gas pipe and caught a little cobia, 10lbs on the Boga-Grip. Mike’s first cobia, although awfully small. We were happy to catch him…and let him go! Chalk up another beautiful day on our Gulf of Mexico. We are so lucky to live here!
Mike catching Red Snapper on his fly rod
Administrator, April 26th 2011 |
Tags: Alabama Fishing, Florida, Gulf Coast fishing, Gulf Coast Guides, Gulf of Mexico, Sight casting, Southern Oceans, Southern Waters, Sportfishing
Posted in Gulf Coast fishing, Uncategorized
Southern Waters is super excited to welcome Capt. Randy Hodgekiss and the crew of the 78′ Garlington sportfisherman, “Dreamin On” to our pro staff. Capt. Randy and crew will be traveling the South Pacific with the owners of the “Dreamin On” for all of 2010 on a trip that others can only “dream of”. The “Dreamin On” is currently riding piggy back on a ship to be dropped off in Tahiti right around January 25th. From there they will be island hopping the Coral Sea searching out the best offshore fishing in the world. This is a trip that rivals the one made by Zane Grey back in the 1920’s. Truly an unbelievable trip!
Capt Randy Hodgekiss
Check back with us often as we will be following the progress of the “Dreamin On” as they make their voyage across the South Pacific. Capt. Randy and crew will be ambassadors for the Southern Waters brand by helping to field test our products and represent the Southern Waters Ocean Lifestyle.
Administrator, January 6th 2010 |
Tags: Big Game Fishing, Coral Sea, Garlington Sportfishermen, South Pacific, Southern Oceans, Southern Waters, Sportfishing
Posted in Big Game Fishing, Southern Hemisphere, The Tropics
Thanks for checking in on our blog. Our goal is to focus on the way of life that we live, which is based around the ocean. You’ll be seeing stories from our contributors who are living the life around the globe in and on its “Southern Waters”. Fishing, Surfing and Diving in places like Panama, Tahiti, Australia, the Bahamas, and more. We welcome your stories and informative articles too. Feel free to tell us your “Sea Stories” if we like them we’ll post them, and if your really good we may even make you a regular contributor.
So check back in with us soon and we think you’ll like what you find.
Captain Rick Haag
The "Big 80's" on the Tournament Trail
Administrator, December 10th 2009 |
Tags: Big Game Fishing, Diving, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Southern Oceans, Southern Waters, Sportfishing, Surfing
Posted in Big Game Fishing, Diving, Southern Hemisphere, Surfing, The Tropics
