![]() The Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the coast of Louisiana in 2010 temporarily cast a dark cloud over the future of Mobile fishing. We’ve created a good habitat, and I think that’s why the fish are so plentiful.” ![]() The state sunk military tanks, WWI warships, and even an aircraft carrier off the coast. Back in the late ‘80s my dad would take an old junk boat, fill it with concrete, put 50-gallon drums on it to make a reef, and sink it. A Dragonfly Friend Drops in to Say HelloĪsked what makes Mobile such a great place for a deep sea fishing tournament, he explains, “Alabama has the world’s largest artificial reef system. We reach our day’s limit before lunchtime. No matter how many Redfish Mary and I catch, Rutland more than doubles us, casting with deadly accuracy and seeming to catch something every single time he puts his line in. Once he locates the fish, Rutland reels in keepers at a steady pace, emphasizing a catch-and-release approach unless he’s fishing for food (which we are). Seabirds hovering and diving en masse are another good indicator that there may be a feeding frenzy, which is often referred to as a “boil,” in the waters below. ![]() He seems to know all the best spots for fishing Mobile Bay by heart, searching for slicks on top of the water, which indicate fish feeding. Upon his return to the U.S., after entering competitive fishing tournaments with his dad, Rutland decided to become a fishing guide. Richard Rutland, a 31-year-old member of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo Executive Committee, has been fishing this area for most of his life.Īs he navigates his Skeeter SX 240 boat into open water, he fondly recalls growing up fishing with his father and grandfather before joining the military and getting deployed in the Persian Gulf. Fishing Guide Richard Rutland (right) and his buddy Kevin Maurin FISHING MOBILE BAY Kayaking in Mobile Bay THE MOBILE BAY AREA TODAYĮven now, these waters remain crucial to the city’s population, with the Port of Mobile and shipbuilders such as Austal USA and BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards employing thousands of locals.Įxecutives from these companies are among Mobile’s wealthy elite, whose kids are crowned King and Queen at private Mardi Gras balls held by the city’s 50-odd “secret societies.” It’s an honor passed down from generation to generation, like a cultural heirloom.īut for Mobile’s working class residents, fishing the waters of Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico is an equally beloved, multi-generational tradition. Archaeological digs of the shell mounds along Bottle Creek, the Tensaw River and Dauphin Island show that Native Americans of the Mississipian period (1100 to 1550 AD) lived on a diet primarily centered on oysters and fish. People have been harvesting this fruitful biodiversity for centuries, with prehistoric inhabitation dating back at least 5,000 years. The region’s copious rain brings silt down these rivers into the bay and ultimately out into the Gulf of Mexico, creating nutrient-rich waters that make Mobile a haven for wildlife, including 300 species of birds, 46 mammals, myriad reptiles and amphibians, and more than 125 species of fish. The Apalachee, Blakeley, Mobile, Tensaw and Spanish Rivers all feed into Mobile Bay, creating a rich marine ecosystem that includes cypress-gum swamps, brackish water marshes, and submersed grass beds. You begin to understand the importance of water to Mobile long before you actually get there. Coming south down Highway 65, you’re surrounded by the 260,000-acre Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, the second largest delta in the U.S., which was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974. Alligator Lurking in Mobile Bay THE MOBILE-TENSAW DELTA Carnival in Mobile, Alabama is over. In this coastal city, where the first American Mardi Gras was allegedly observed in 1703, all the parades and pageantry are done for the year all the beads have been swept from the streets all the Kings’ and Queens’ coronation costumes have been put away into storage.īut just 45 minutes south of the city, on picturesque Dauphin Island, the Mobile Jaycees are already hard at work planning one of the area’s other major events, the annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. Founded in 1929, the ADSFR has earned the Guinness Book of World Records title as the world’s largest fishing tournament, attracting thousands of fishermen to the area every summer for over 80 years now.įor the men who make up the Mobile Jaycees– working class guys who make a living as landscapers, plumbers and police officers– the Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo is every bit as important as Mardi Gras, carrying on a rich maritime tradition that dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years.
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