It's not every day when you get to go Deep Sea Fishing in Gulf Shores, Alabama and see something as magical as a Sun Fish. Deep Sea fishing near Orange Beach is usually filled with Dolphins swimming beside the boat, marine birds flying near you, looking for food and marine reptiles sunning on the surface of the water. That's normal by our standards. Fishing is what we do on our deep sea fishing trips, but getting a glimpse of something majestic can be life changing.
This morning's fishing charter got underway about 8:45 am. We headed through Moron Straits when a cow and calf dolphin swam right up behind the charter boat distraction and rode our current. The momma dolphin kept her calf out and away from the center of the propellers. It was pretty amazing to see her teaching the calf how to have a little fun.
We took Dr. McKenzie's group from Albuquerque, NM on about an hour and a half ride offshore before we started fishing. The seas were a little choppy but none of the waves were above 3 ft in height. Most of the waves were about 2 feet. It was a pretty comfortable ride.
We began fishing over an artificial reef and because of the 64 degree water temperature, the fish were scattered at best. After a little while, the Red Snappers started biting and then they really sparked off and began to feed. We must have caught 8 snappers when we looked up and saw a huge fin sticking out of the water. I was thinking Shark, Whale Shark or Mola Mola. It is the spring of the year. Mola Mola or Sunfish are usually seen each year cruising along the Alabama Gulf Coast. What could it be? I asked our guest if they wanted to go and see what it was. It was unanimous and we reeled up our lines and moved forward until we caught up with this monster fish.
It was a Mola Mola and it was about 600 pounds. It was swimming along and feeding on Portuguese Man o War Jelly fish. It came up to one big jelly fish and stuck it's mouth out of the water and sucked it in. Just as the Sunfish sucked the fish down his throat, it spit a huge gush of water upward, almost as if he was trying to spit it out. He wasn't. He was forcing the stinging tenticles out of his mouth and chomping them off. I guess the only thing good to eat on a Man o War Jelly fish is the body?
We ended up fishing 5 more reefs and caught a number of reef fish like Red Snapper. We did hook into something large that fought for a while but cut the line. We expected it to be a shark or a big King mackerel. But, when you can't see the fish, you can use your imagination and come up with something. Using your imagination is one of the best thing about deep sea fishing. Remember, the big one always gets away. The stories you can tell about it will last forever.