We cleared Perdido Pass jetties about 10:30 and set a course for the Marlin and enjoyed the slick calm conditions on our way out. We got to the Marlin and flipper was there in force. There were a few yellowfin mixed in with them. We threw poppers for about 20 minutes and had a few fish miss our poppers. The dolphin were following our poppers right to the boat which is something I have never seen...definately an erie feeling. Anyways, we decided we should continue south and headed to Horn Mountain.

We got to Horn Mountain and it was going on to say the least. There were 75-150 pound fish blowing up on squid all around the rig. We started throwing poppers at them and immediately boated a few fish with a few break offs mixed in. Then we hooked two fish in the 120-140 pound range on poppers. One of the other anglers hooked up first and unfortuantely I hooked up with the second fish. I don't think I have ever had my a$$ handed to me like that tuna did. It was awful....I fought the fish for about an hour and a half and had it just out of gaffing range for about 15 minutes but lost it when one of the death circles put the line in the running gear. The other angler was still hooked up though and about an hour later lost his fish in the running gear as well after having the fish just out of gaffing range for about 20 minutes. Oh well!

It was getting daylight at this point so we put trolling baits in the water and managed a 10-15 pound dolphin and a blackfin. The wind started to pick up at this point and within an hour we were facing 4-6 foot seas that increased to about 10 foot shortly thereafter. It was awful! We were in a 54 foot bertram and were still getting pounded. One of the big 300 foot Swess crew boats called us on the radio and asked if we were fishing a tournament with a tone of "those guys must be crazy" in his voice as he told us he was headed in until the weather improved. It took us 12 agonizing hours to get home but did end up with a little meat in the fish box. Final count 3-60-80 pound yellowfin, 1- black fin, 1-15-20 pound dolphin, 46 screws, 1 broken outrigger halyard, 1 very close call electrical fire and several cuts, scrapes, bumps and bruises.

Capt. Tony Blanton

Certified Marine Technician

Powerpole dealer and Outfitting specialist

SAMS SA Marine surveyor

http://powerpole.com/

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Sunday afternoon my cousin Jim Durham asked me if I was interested in going fishing. His boat “The As Is Where Is” was full of fuel which some of the diesel was purchased when the fuel prices was about $5.00 per gallon. The boat is for sale and Jim did not want to sell her with a slam full tank of fuel. The weather was warm and there was not even a puff of wind. Jim said to get on the phone and find any one who wanted to go on a short notice and lets get ready to go. My old friend Chad, his wife Vicki and two of their friends Matt and Karen and Crystal said yes. I called my good friend and deck hand Chris Hood and after a call to his work and said yes. A few more people we called could not go.

The boat, “As is Where Is” and I go back a long, long time. She is a 54 Bertram that was once the “Sheer Bliss”. My first trip on this boat she was the “Risen Star” named after a very famous Louisiana breed race horse that had done very well on the race tracks in the United States and the triple crown. I had fished this boat while it was the “Risen Star” with the past chief of the Choctaw Indians, Chief Phillip Martin. Then she was the “Bill Collector” and for the past four years has been the “As is Where Is”. I have been involved with catching tons fish on this boat including a big dolphin in the Mississippi Billfish Classic worth $86,000.00 and many, many blue marlin including 3 blues in one day which is pretty rare in the northern gulf. It would be hard to guess how many cobia I have spotted from her tower which wound up in the oversized fish box in the cock pit and then to the cast iron skillet and some hungry belly’s. Being a 1984 model she is an older vessel by boat standards but has been very well kept over the years. Being a 54 Bertram I have known her as one of the best fishing platforms that has ever been built. Her hull is wide, cockpit big, the hull is over built and tough. I can recount hundreds of fishing trips on her but I will get back to the trip this past Sunday.

After getting our things ready about 9.00 p.m. we left Sportsman Marina headed for the deep floating rigs south of Mobile. On the ride out there was not any wind and was one of the calmest, clearest nights that I have ever run out. In fact it was so calm you could actually see the reflections of the stars on the water. It was so clear that the rig lights seemed much closer than they were and I had to verify this on the radar several times. Chugging out at 15 knots for 100 miles we got to Horn Mountain at about 2.30. As I approached the rig there was no doubt what we were in for. The flying fish were there and as a flying fish would get air born, a big tuna would crash it when it hit the water. The flying fish were there and the nice tunas were too. Catching a nice tuna on a popper (top water chugger) and a spinning rod and reel is about as much fun as any battle on a rod and reel. The tackle is usually over matched by the tunas you are catching. Until recently with custom designed rods and braided line you would not even try to catch 75- 150# tunas on a spinning rod and reel. Once you catch a nice tuna on a popper and spinning tackle (or see it caught) you would agree that that it is about as much light tackle sport as about any fishing. I’m sure that for my deck hand Chris, popper fishing is one of his favorites. To any one who have seen very aggressive yellowfin chasing and eating flying fish and squid sends the heart rate to a new level. With popping rods in hand Chris, Chad and Matt casting the popping lures and I knew it would not be long before someone was hooked up. Chris hooked up and caught 2 and Chad caught one. Then Chris and Matt threw pretty close to each other where they had seen big splashes and both of them hooked up to big tunas. With two fish hooked up on light tackle handling the boat can get tricky. To me the rule is handle the boat and help the angler that needs the most help. Trust me there is usually a angler that needs more help that the other angler and then it may shift to the other angler. Sometimes you back and spin the boat, sometimes you can do nothing but watch the anglers battle their tunas. After close to an hour fight Chris had his tuna close to the boat to where we could see color in the underwater lights. My first view of the fish I noticed the long Allison fins that I know to be on the older, more mature yellowfin. We did everything we could to get Chris’s fish to gaff but could not get it done before the fish broke off. Then Matt fought his for close to a hour longer before it broke off too. Two hours and we did not catch either of those fish but they had done a great job battling very large yellowfin that we entirely too big to be dealing with on this spinning tackle. By then it was starting to get daylight and we put out the trolling gear and the ballyhoo. We caught a fair mahi and then a smaller tuna that Karen caught. Then had a nice bite that got off that we never identified. The whole we had been at the rig it had been slick calm. Then a little after daylight I felt a slight breeze from the north. I called Jim to the bridge and mentioned that that little wind was not good. We had three very nice yellowfin and some dolphin and smaller tunas in the box and we should be thinking about heading north. The wind was getting stronger the waves were building and getting rougher by the minute. Heading from the Horn Mountain rig north the Marlin rig is about 20 miles. Almost to the Marlin rig Jim and Chris talked to my old friend Manual May who is captain on the Edison Chouest offshore work boat the “Amy Chouset”. Manual checked his weather and said the seas were going to continue to build to 14 feet. We then had to make a decision. It was about 80 miles to Orange Beach and about 50 miles to the mouth of the Mississippi River and South Pass. The seas were continuing to build from the north wind. The mouth of the river would be a better compass heading but heading dead into the wind and waves would only add 30 miles to the trip. If we chugged to south pass then we still had a very long trip to get the boat home. Manual was heading the “Amy Chouest” to south pass and said he had something rolling around on the back deck of the big work boat. After thinking it out we continued north to Orange Beach.

I have been on and around this 54 Bertram for so many trips. Once about 6 years ago in the Isle of Capri Billfish Classic we were caught out in a super bad squall with 65 knot winds. In that squall I was able to turn the big Bertram down sea until the rain and winds died down. But this day was different and we were going to have to take the waves on the nose of the Bertram for a long, slow ride. With the waves getting bigger and stacked closer together and the wind blowing harder we were calling on the 54 Bertram to do what she had done so many times before and the most important task of any boat. GET US HOME SAFE.

I have been is some rough conditions on different boats in my life. “Stuffing the Bow” is what happens when you turn a big boat into big waves and usually high winds under power which makes the bow of the boat go through a big wave. It is something that you do not want to do but sometimes if it too rough you can not help it. I have had to nose into big waves on a 65 Hatteras (in the gulf) and a 78 Garlington somewhere between Isla Mexico and San Andres Columbia. Both times it was very rough and we had no choice but continue he journey. Sometimes you can alter your heading and get the waves more on the side of the boat which makes a better ride. The other thing you can do is get the speed of the boat the best foe the waves. Sometimes speeding up just a little will keep the boats hull passing on top of the waves rather than through them. In all of my fishing time on the “As is Where Is” I had never seen her big bow stuffed. On this day she and we were facing 10-12 foot seas, heading dead into the wind and seas and she was going to have to do this for close to 80 miles. After we got that perfect slow speed into the waves the boat was doing good. Not to say that it was good conditions but the boat was performing very good in these bad conditions. This was some kind of different northern cold front. No rain just bright sunny skies, with one heck of a north wind and the temperature was dropping fast. With Jim at the helm for most of the day the wind just did not let up. It took us about 8 hours to go about 80 miles and was rough almost all the way to the beach. After getting to the dock the temperature had dropped about 25 degrees and it was still blowing hard out of the north. After going through what was the roughest conditions I have been on (in the gulf) there is no question about the toughness of the 54 Bertram. With the boat for sale and who knows what or where the boat will go I never will forget what could have been the last trip on this boat. The super calm, clear, night ride out. The big tunas just busting and going crazy eating flying fish and squid at the rig.

Chris and Matt in very long battles with big tuna on light popping rods. And of course I will never forget the roughest ride home that the big 54 Bertram lived up to reputation as being one of the best rough sea boats ever built.


Tight Lines
Max

Team PrimeTime
Auburn Wakeboard Team

I'm not real sure what the other two guys were tying but I had about a two foot long 100 pound leader. The leader had nothing to do with my two fish though....they both cut the braid when it got in the running gear.

Team PrimeTime
Auburn Wakeboard Team

Campbell Fishing Team "Outta Here"

Sorry, there is nobody in the shop and I'm bored