Yesterday's fishing in Mobile Bay, for me, wasn't enough to get me to go back today; especially given the wind and what the run back across the bay would be like. I turned the boat east and headed for home turf. Our first stop was an open grass flat, known to hold most of the seven eligible target species. The flat was barren, we didn't see anything more than pinfish, and only a few of those at that. I figured I'd go to the easternmost reaches of today's territory and work my way back towards the weigh in. To the Pass!
Once we got to the pass and began fishing the phone started ringing. most everyone had made it to their first stop and we were all reporting to each other what was going on. The general consensus was...NOTHING. From Fort Morgan to Garcon Point very few people had found fish, and fewer had found legal, eligible fish. We were putting a hurting on the catfish in the pass. The ladies were having a blast just having Mimosas and a bent rod. A few drifts and a bunch of catfish was all it took to get me to move again. Our best opportunity of the day was presented shortly after our arrival; in the form of a Flounder around 3 lbs, that came off the hook before we could get him close enough to net. We pummeled the area with baited hooks for a while, hoping for a second chance that didn't happen.
Our next move was to the Barrs bridge for a flounder or maybe a redfish. We got located and the catching began. A Pinfish and a few small mangrove snappers fell for our shrimp. Margaret lost bait after bait to an unknown thief; somewhere around the 10th bait, she connected! It turned out to be our best fish of the day, a nice Sheepshead. Unfortunately not a target species, but that didn't matter to Margaret, she was all smiles. Rhonda had mentioned the pier at her home in Bear Point held some nice trout, so we made that our next stop.
The ladies wanted to use the restroom. We tied to the dock, they headed for the house, and found it locked. Some miscommunication led to locked doors with the keys still inside. It took them 15 min and a few neighbors to get in. Everyone did their business and without so much as a bite we made our way to Perdido Pass to finish out our time. Perdido pass was as productive as everywhere else we'd been. As our clock wound down we made our way back to Lulu's.
Back at the weigh in the ladyfish division was completely empty. Since we didn't have any target fish to weigh the ladies decided they'd wrap our Sheepshead in a pink feather boa, and tried to pass it off as a ladyfish. Although it got a lot of laughs, they still refused to give us credit for a ladyfish!
All in all a great event. We raised some money for Hospice, I met some wonderful people, and we had a lot of fun, which is what it's about anyway. Thanks again to my crew for making it such a memorable day and thanks to Claudia, Capt Wes, Elise, Natalie, and all those involved for all the work you do to make this happen.
I hope to see more of you at the Pensacola tournament in June! Come out and support these ladies and their cause.
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