Fishing Trip to the Ram Powell - July 20, 2008© Photos by Mark Miller © Hi-Res Source
Well, the weather was right, so it was time to make a scout trip to Tuna Waters. With Snapper regulations cutting off my charter trips to 2 months out of the year, it was time to explore some different options. The crew consited of me and my boys Ben, Paul, and Luke, along with their friend Alec Newton. We headed out Saturday evening at about sunset and worked a few places along the way, eventually getting to the Powell around 2:30AM. Surprisingly there were no boats to be seen,even with the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo (ADSFR) going on. There was also not much activity going on besides Blue Runners. We did chum up a few blackfins, but they were quite small. We saw 3 Yellowfin get air borne which pumped us up, but they would not take our live bait offerings. We did get a couple decent hookups, but never saw the fish before they broke off. We decided to head north and do what we know better, like reef fish. We picked up a nice 51 pound AJ at Rig 206 in about 300 feet of water. It was Alec's first big AJ and he was Stoked. Although it was a nice fish, it apparently took 84.88 pounds to place at the ADSFR with 111.52 pounds taking first place. It looks like big Amberjacks are making a come back. My boys and I then went scuba diving at nearby MP280 which was absolutely beautiful with visibilty passing 200 feet down below. Lots of tropicals and even lobster. I took some great video which I may post later when I can make some time. Paul got a nice 15 pound Gag Grouper at Sugar Hill and we boated a few Red Snapper there and on the way in. I am sure we could have done more, but everybody was exhausted, we accomplished our scouting goal, and we had enough meat. Total trip encompassed 201 miles, 22 hours, and 113.7 gallons ($460) of precious fuel. My previous Honda would have been around 90 gallons for this trip.
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