The Battle of Mobile Bay Commemorative Day will be celebrated on Aug 5th, 2006 at Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island.
The fort is located on the east end of Dauphin Island overlooking Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. At precisely 9:45am, 12:24pm and 3:45pm on August 5th, a cannon salute will be fired to commemorate the Battle of Mobile Bay. Following the salute the story "The Battle of Mobile Bay" will be recounted for all to hear. The resident Blacksmith will be demonstrating his craft in the Fort's original Blacksmith Shop. Fort Gaines is open to the public from 9am-5pm.
The Records just kept falling through the final weigh-in Sunday at the 74th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. Sunday saw a rodeo-record scamp weighed in, along with the winning king mackerel and a couple of very nice bull sharks.
As was predicted, sea and weather conditions combined for a near perfect fishing experience. This year's tournament will be remembered for that terrific combination which resulted in four rodeo records:
For final tournament results check the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo web site results page.
Mobile man shatters rodeo record with 27.39-pound scamp to go with record vermilion snapper from 2003
DAUPHIN ISLAND -- A rodeo-record scamp, the winning king mackerel and two big bull sharks highlighted Sunday's final day of competition in the 74th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo.
Chad Robbins, who is already in the rodeo record book with a 5.26-pound vermilion snapper caught in 2003, put another fish in the book -- a 27.39-pound scamp, which shattered the previous mark of 19.34 set last year by John Salter Jr.
"I was fishing natural bottom about 55 miles out with a dead cigar minnow," Robbins said. "There's a band of rocks that runs east and west about 70 miles. We found a new rock on it and it was hot. The scamp bite was good. We also had a 14 and a 13. We had a mixture of red snapper, amberjack, gag grouper and a lot of sharks. We lost several rigs to the sharks.
"For some reason, when you catch a shark in that deep water it's just like reeling up dead weight."
Robbins said the key to catching the big scamp and groupers is perseverance.
"They're world famous for pulling you in the rocks," he said. "But if you negotiate, keeping your rod tip up to keep their heads up, a lot of times you can work them out of the rocks. Then you've got to get two or three good cranks on them to work them up. And you've got to use 125-pound monofilament leader."
Quietus brought the winning king mackerel to the scales early Sunday, a 59.50-pounder, a career best for the crew of David Rogers, J.J. Gilmore and Jason Andrews.
"We missed a big one Saturday morning," Rogers said. "He skied on a bait, but we didn't get the hook-up. We stayed in that area all day long and fished spots within a mile or so. Then at 6:30 (p.m.) a 30-pounder skied on a bait. On the very next lap, the big fish hit. He skied on the bait, and he must have come 10 feet out of the water."
The big king hit a hardtail about 65 miles off Dauphin Island in 180 feet of water.
"We knew it was a big fish when he skied on the bait, but we weren't sure how big," Rogers said. "Jason, the Steel Man, gaffed him. When he threw him on the deck we realized how big he was. I knew then it was the biggest fish I'd ever caught."
After Friday's blazing start Saturday was a relatively slow day at the 74th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo scales. There was, however, one remarkable exception, a rodeo record 29.25-pound blackfin tuna.
Record blackfin tuna caught
DAUPHIN ISLAND -- In an odd twist, the 74th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo was as calm Saturday as it was frenetic on Friday.
With only a couple of exceptions, the fish on Saturday didn't match those brought in on Friday. One of the exceptions was a rodeo-record 29.25-pound blackfin tuna, caught by Van Wilson on Capt. Don Walker's Lady D.
With weather and sea conditions nearly perfect for anglers, the 74th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo is off to a huge start. Right from the start the weigh in station has been busy as anglers bring in the big fish. And lots of them too. This year's tournament looks like it will be one for the record books.
You can keep up to the minute with the day's catch and complete tournament standings at the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo web site's live tournament results web page.
For more reading, here are a few of the stories so far about the tournament.
Records get reeled in
The fishing begins today in the 74th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. Weather and Gulf of Mexico fishing conditions are expected to be excellent. We'll be looking for a record event with lots of fun and lots of the old records falling.
Speaking of fun, yesterday's Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo Cellular South Liars Contest must have been a real hoot to see. Read on for the story in today's Mobile Register.