As a former editor of three national magazines that cover angling, I’ve been on more than my share of fishing trips.
I’ve found that most of your typical guides fall into a few categories: curmudgeon captains, screaming skippers, and taciturn top dogs.
So used to trips where nothing at all is caught, I only packed two cameras on this gorgeous Alabama autumn morning – a Canon D50 and a point-and-shoot Sony.
Not expecting much of anything out of the ordinary, my husband Doug and I arrived with two other anglers at the marina while the first rays of the sun were peeking over the horizon.
Captain Troy Frady greeted us as we climbed aboard the Distraction, a fine specimen of a fishing boat. Right away, I noticed how friendly he was - my first glimpse of how different the day would be. Captain Troy went over a checklist of rules, explaining safety. He told us he would be guiding the boat to a reef area to fish.
Before we even reached the reef area, we hit a few fish while trolling. But when we finally reached the first designated spot, that’s when the fun really began.
I was the appointed photographer for the day, so when the first fish was hooked, I climbed up the ladder to a convenient perch – and didn’t set the camera down for the remaining time. Bite after bite commenced, leaving little time for the three fishermen below to breathe.
Captain Troy decided to move to a new spot (to save some of those snappers for another day, he said) and the hook-ups continued just as fiercely.
I took a short break to step inside the bridge. Captain Troy was the most personable guide I had ever come across – and that’s saying quite a lot.
He pointed out the video monitor and the camera rigged on the back of the bow, pointing downwards capturing all of the action. All of his customers received a free video of the fishing trip, he said. Just how cool is that?
Captain Troy explained how he was the forerunner in the Alabama Gulf Coast on fishing conservation – ideas not quite popular with other area fishing guides. Nevertheless, the Captain loved to expound on his sound views on preserving the indigenous fish species – and I loved listening to it.
The Captains’ mates, Jeremy Perry and Stephen Schwent, proved to be first-rate too. They both rigged rods, captured hooked ones, released the catches and rebaited the lines – all with frightening efficiency. I felt like I was looking at a fishing assembly line, as the action never stopped.
Some of the fish to catch you ask? Speckled sea trout, red fish, trigger fish and much more await the adventurous angler. So much variety, that I literally did not set down either one of my cameras, and leaving me wishing I had brought more cameras along.
Towards the end of the afternoon – a startling surprise – a pack of porpoises appeared. Even with their arrival, the hook-ups continued. And we watched the mesmerizing mammals leap and jump while catching even more fish. Of course it’s now all on video, too!
For more info, visit http://distractioncharters.com or http://gulfshoresfishing.com.
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