VK251 Diving for AJs and Lions - February 1, 2014© Photos Posted by Mark Miller © Hi-Res Source
This was a trip toward the Southeast with 2 of my sons Paul (18) and Luke (16). Also onboard was Alex Fogg, Bob Brown, and JT Rayburn (Luke's Buddy). The water has been nasty with all the North wind so we ventured to the East for a better shot at clear water and lionfish. We started at the Tensaw Bridge spans (115'deep) but the water was still mucky so we went on about 14 miles to the Southwest to the VK-251 Platform (124' deep). The water was much better there. Paul did some freediving and poked a nice Amberjack to add to the one Luke shot at the Tensaw Bridge Span. It gave him a pretty good ride and I got some photos as I was making my way back to the boat. Alex came up with 3 lions but I told him how I saw about 15 on the bottom so he and Paul went back down and came back with 15 more for a total of 18. Luke and JT didn't see any good Amberjack to shoot and settled for some Lookdowns. Not much challenge but very good eating. It was a great winter day on the water that encompassed 119 nautical miles, 11.5 hours, and an estimated 75 gallons of fuel (Flow Scan totalizer broke on this trip).
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