Tuna Battle of the Big Boys
John E. Phillips 09.20.12
Tuna fish doesn’t always come in a can and served rolled-up on a cracker as sushi. Now’s the time to catch the best tuna of the year off Alabama’s Gulf Coast that weigh from 40 to 200 pounds, with the average being between 50 and 80 pounds. You can catch tuna on the edge of the Continental Shelf and near deep-water oil wells. The big yellowfin tuna is only one of the prize fish you can catch in the fall in deep water, off Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
“On a 2-day trip, we usually stop and catch vermilion snapper and white snapper in about 200 feet of water,” says Captain Johnny Greene (251-747-2872, intimidatorcharters@yahoo.com, www.fishorangebeach.com) of the charter boat “Intimidator” out of Orange Beach Marina in Orange Beach, Ala. “Our next stop usually will be for scamp grouper, gag grouper, red grouper and amberjacks – fish that weigh from 10- to 40 pounds. As we continue offshore, we put-out high-speed trolling baits for wahoo that weigh from 50 to over 100 pounds. When we get out to a bottom of 700-feet deep or more, we use our electric reels to fish for coldwater grouper, like snowy grouper, yellowedge grouper and tilefish. We reach the offshore rigs right before dark and fish for yellowfin tuna and blackfin tuna by anchoring-up the boat and jigging for them. At first light of the second day of fishing we’ll have our best chance to catch the biggest and the most yellowfin tuna. These big, hard-fighting fish will strip your drag and give you the fight of a lifetime on stand-up tackle. On the way in to shore, anglers can troll for wahoo, catch more grouper and snapper or just sit back and eat some of the delicious food served on the boat.”
Although tuna is a primary target in the Gulf of Mexico at this time of the year, all the bonus fish you’ll catch on the way out to the deep-water oil rigs and back make a 2-day trip from Alabama’s Gulf Coast to the Continental Shelf, the trip of a lifetime.
For more information on saltwater fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast and for an opportunity to meet the captains that you can fish with, get the new Kindle ebook “Alabama’s Offshore Fishing: A Year-Round Guide for Catching Over 15 Species of Fish” by John E. Phillips. Go to http://www.amazon.com/Alabamas-Offshore-Fishing-Year-Round-ebook/dp/B008VT4FBM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344718855&sr=1-1&keywords=alabama+offshore+fishing. Go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the names of these books, and download them to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, Smartphone or computer.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
