Once again fantastic fishing conditions are giving anglers all the fish they can handle off the coast of Dauphin Island. The 27th annual Sertoma/Pepsi Family Fishing Rodeo got off on a record setting pace yesterday as the first day of the tournament drew to a close.
Sertoma opener ends with flurry
DAUPHIN ISLAND -- The anglers in the 27th annual Sertoma/Pepsi Family Fishing Rodeo from a ho-hum Saturday afternoon into a fish-weighing frenzy as many boats lined up at the scales with only minutes left before the 6 p.m. deadline.
And the fish brought in to Dauphin Island Marina at the last minute were worth the wait.
Tyler Kennedy had a 26.09-pound red snapper, which crew mate Bill McRae had a 35.48-pound grouper.
The largest fish of the day was a 67.27-pound amberjack hooked by Michael Pierce.
"We were fishing rocks on natural bottom about 40 miles out with hardtails," Pierce said. "I pretty much knew what I had when he hit. It took about 20 minutes to get him, and they will wear you out. You've got to fight them all the way to the boat."
Mark Kennedy, Tyler's dad, pulled into the harbor with only a couple of minutes to spare and a box full of fish.
"We were 50 miles out an hour and 20 minutes ago," Mark said. "We had her skin't back. I had half the St. Paul's defense on the boat and we had a pretty good day. We've got about 450 pounds of fish. We were on my favorite spots on natural bottom about 50 miles out. We fished the rocks all day. The water was beautiful and there wasn't much current. I figured there would be a lot fish weighed in."
However, the late flurry provided most of the big fish.
Michael and Jay Eubanks weighed in the second- and third-place snapper, respectively, at 24.43 and 22.96.
"We beat around natural bottom, trying to pick up a grouper," Michael said. "We couldn't catch a grouper, but we got lucky and caught these snapper back to back."
Sharon Markow got a little help from her husband, Gerald, Saturday, but it was mainly taking her flounder off the hook.
"I told her to cast on one side of the boat and sure enough she had a fish on right away," Gerald said. "Then she got another one on. I fishing out the other side of the boat, but I switched to her side. And guess what, I get snagged.
"Then she said, 'That's where they are, around that snag.' She wore me out today."