Three Days with Buffalo Burgers – Orange Beach, Gulf Shores 5-3-2012

May 20, 2012 in Alabama, Deep Sea Fishing, Dolphin, Fishing Report, Grouper, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Sportsman Marina, Tuna, Wahoo

Three day fishing trips aren’t the normal overnight trip if all you want is just Tuna Fish and maybe some Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi).  With only six anglers on board we headed out on a Thursday afternoon for a three night, three day trip. It’s not normal to leave that early in the afternoon and then run all night, but when you have three days to do it in, you just don’t need to get in a hurry. We left Orange Beach from Sportsman Marina around four pm and headed south around 10 knots. The seas were between 3-5 ft. with an occasional 4-6 ft. coming out of the south east with a 15-20 knot wind. I know it sounds bad and it was but this was actually better conditions than what they said it was going to be. For the first five miles or so out of the pass it was pretty rough and then it spread out and got a little smaller which made the ride tolerable but not comfortable at all. We just knuckled down and dug in for a slow ride and before you knew it we found ourselves in the dark and the boat wasn’t rocking near as much, Thank the Lord. That was pretty much the worst of the whole trip and it was behind us now. It got nicer and nicer for the next two days till it was as slick as a mill pond with hardly a breeze of air.

We traveled out at night for around eight hour s till we came to one of the offshore rigs that usually hold good fish so we stopped and checked it for some sign of life by Jigging for Tuna under the lights. The rig didn’t show much on the fish finder but we tried it any way and ended up catching one Black Fin Tuna. So, we headed on to the next one further out about 15 miles. Now it’s around 3 am in the morning and everyone is unconscious, except me. Once we got some coffee in us, it was game on! First line out, “Fish On!”  We ended up catching a couple of huge Yellow Fin Tuna on live bait and chunk fishing. The fish bit all day pretty steady, our problem was keeping a fresh and lively angler on the business end of the rod, seems that the ride out and the long hours of the night took its toll on the crew. One of the best parts of these trips is the meals on the Big Green Egg. These guys have some buffalo Hamburger and I’d never tried any before. “Delicious!”  Being the red meat guy that I am, that was awesome, not to mention the Prime Sirloin another fellow brought from Brazil like they serve at “Fogo de Chao” original restaurants. We ate like kings for three days. Sausage on the grill for breakfast, Buffalo burgers for lunch, rib-eye steaks for dinner, and like a good deckhand does, we had some cookies and cream ice cream for desert that he brought just to make sure we had all of the comforts of home, you know!

We wrapped up our trip with some 4-5 lb Mingo’s and a limit of 40-50 lb Amberjack to go along with a box full of Yellow Fin Tuna, Black Fin Tuna, Skip Jack Tuna and a couple of Wahoo in the 40-50 lb range. Yes, we did catch some huge Gag Grouper which do not open until July 1rst. and we properly ventilated  and released them after taking some great pictures. It turned out to be a great trip for everyone, even the couple of guys that didn’t see daylight for about 36 hours. They have already booked a trip in the fall for another overnight Tuna trip.

Fishers of Men

May 25, 2011 in Action Charter Service, Alabama, Fishers of Men Fishing Tournament, Fishing Report, Orange Beach

Saturday morning brought an opportunity to us that we don’t get to often. We took the Gulf Shores Baptist Church out for a small in house tournament of the men of the church. All were welcome to come from any age. Its part of a chance to get fathers and sons together and fellow church goers to get out doors and share the beauty of God’s creation. Not to mention that it’s a chance to catch some fish to eat.

We met at the dock around 6:45 a.m. and left out around 7:00. After some coffee and donuts we were on our way. We only had six hours for our trip so we hurried out to the fishing grounds and before we started fishing we said a prayer…  From the first drop the fish were biting two at a time. Reverend Lloyd even caught two at a time. We didn’t have to move but one time to a different hole a few hundred yards away and they were biting again good.

Then it happened, first one then another and we had two Sharks on at one time. After fighting the one for around 15 minutes or so the line parted. However, the line on the other was as strong as our faith and we fought him for around 25 minutes until we got him up alongside the boat were everyone could see and get a good picture and then we released him to live another day. We resumed our fishing for what little time was left and then headed back to the dock.

It was a very good trip and I think everyone enjoyed it, maybe with the exception of a few who let’s just say took full advantage and then some of their sea sick patch’s, no names mentioned but, Amen.

Cobia Fishing Is Upon Us

April 26, 2011 in Action Charter Service, Alabama, Cobia, Fish, Fishing Report, Gulf of Mexico, Orange Beach, Perdido Pass

Cobia Fishing in Orange Beach, AlabamaWe are in the beginning of Cobia season and have been fishing for them. Cobias are a migratory fish that come through our area usually April and May. They are fished for by sight where you ride in a tower and look for them and then throw a lure or live bait over to catch them. They are very good to eat and usually pretty good size.

The Emerald Spirit was getting some improvements and out of the water for 52 days painting the bottom and re-doing the decks. We also put new railing all around the boat with rod holders and a place for your weights. It looks awesome and we’ll have some photos up shortly. As soon as we got in the water we did a small test run out for some Cobia for a couple of hours and saw 2 Cobia, both with other things on there mind. Then we got to go out the other day on a one-day tournament to benefit Capt. Mo Schavers who owns Mo Fishin Bait and Tackle Shop in Orange Beach, Alabama, There was a one-day tournament with half of the money generated going towards some hospital bills he had incurred so we gladly entered.

We left the dock around 6:00 a.m. and returned around 6:00 p.m. We left out of Terry Cove, through the Orange Beach Pass and fished all the way to the other side of Pensacola Beach, Florida’s fishing pier. (Yep, we’re licensed in both Alabama and Florida so we can go that way!) On the way down there we saw 2 fish that were real nervous and wouldn’t bite. Then a couple of hours later we saw another fish who was a little more interested than the first two but still not hungry. Finally we saw a good fish around 45 or 50 pounds and he was more interested in our baits than all of the other but still wouldn’t eat any thing we threw at him. We did see another fish later, but he was like the rest, not interested.

The weather was great, the sun was popping in and out of the clouds most of the day but we had a great time. I hear there are a bunch more Cobia headed this way and we will get to see soon. First we have a little getting ready for our annual United States Coast Guard (USCG) Inspection. After that you’ll be hearing from us again, hopefully with a better report about how many we put in the box.

2011 Fishing Season – Time to go fishing in Orange Beach!

February 16, 2011 in Action Charter Service, Alabama, Fishing Report, Orange Beach, Orange Beach

Hello from Captain George and Yvonne Pfeiffer. We would like to first and foremost thank you for your business. We appreciate your support in 2010 as well as the previous years and look forward to seeing you again this year.

We are very pleased to announce we have moved both of our boats to the beautiful Sportsman Marina at 27844 Canal Road in Orange Beach, Alabama 36561. We are less than 10 minutes from the Gulf. Sportsman Marina is cleaner, parking closer to the boats, nice dock store with sandwiches, drinks and supplies available for your fishing trip, award winning restaurant, Shipp’s Harbour Grill, to cook your fresh catch, and with a friendlier, more professional atmosphere.

The Gulf of Mexico is clean, clear and ready to fish. Since we didn’t fish last year, the fish are there in record numbers just waiting to be caught this coming year. Our captains and crew are professionals at every level.

Grouper season is closed from February 1 through March 31 and opens April 1. Red Snapper season opens as usual on June 1 and runs until the National Marine Fisheries closes it, an anticipated 50 days or so. The Gulf Council and National Marine Fisheries are discussing a two month closure of Amberjack in June and July but there is no final ruling on this as yet. With the abundance of fish in the Gulf of Mexico, we still anticipate a great season regardless of the decisions made by the Council or National Marine Fisheries.

As you may have noticed, we have not increased our prices in the last two years, however, as you may have seen at the fuel stations, fuel is on the rise and we have no control over those prices. They will, however, directly affect our pricing this year since fuel is our greatest expense.

Remember to call before April 1st for early season discounts on booking your trip.

We are looking forward to a great season. Look at our websites at www.FishOrangeBeach.Net and www.FishEmeraldSpirit.Com for more detailed information or give us a call at 888-558-3889 to schedule your trip today.

Overnight Tuna Trip

April 13, 2010 in Action Charter Service, Alabama, Fishing Report, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Orange Beach

Hey guys, just as I expected we had a great trip. The weather was supposed to be fair on Saturday and then get better on Sunday and it did, but I think it could have been a little better on Saturday, it was a little too bumpy and rolling. The waves were only 1-3 feet but we had to ride out “in the trough.” Sunday was as good as it gets; slick calm, no wind, no current and the fish were biting.

Saturday we started off catching some White Snappers, Triggers, Mingo’s and some Real Nice Amberjacks.  Some were in the 60-70 pound range.  We did troll out and back but the water is still so cold that we didn’t get a bite.  After catching some AJ’s we went on out to the deep water rigs starting with the Petronius. We arrived about an hour before dark and put the Ballyhoo out on the slow trollers and pulled around the rig. Right off jump street, we got a double hook up. Two Black Fin Tuna.  I told my deck hand Eric to pull the lines in and let us try some jigging if they were going to bite this good. He already had the poles out and rigged up so we pulled up to the rig and started jigging. We caught a few kind of hit and miss and decided to go on out to the next rig offshore, (the Marlin) and try it for some Yellow Fin Tuna before it got too late. After high Speed trolling out there it was dark when we arrived so we tried jigging even though I didn’t see any fish on the fathometer. No luck, they just weren’t there. So, we hauled butt down to the next rig (Ram Powell) to see if they were there. The report I got from another captain just the week before was that this was the only place they did any good. So with high hopes we pulled up to the rig and made a pass around it to see what we could see on the fathometer. Nothing! Not a single dot on the meter. No bait on top or fish below. At this point I made an executive decision and decided to go all the way back up to the first rig we left, the Petronius, where they were biting.  We used this time to enjoy the Extra Large Filet Mignon that our customers from Birmingham, AL brought with them along with all the fixin’s from there restaurant. It didn’t last long, as a matter of fact if one of my deck hands hadn’t brought me a few small pieces I wouldn’t have gotten any, it went so fast. After we returned back up to the first rig, we jigged some more and caught several more Black Fin Tuna. However, everyone was spent by then, especially after that good meal. So we pulled out from the rig, dropped a squid over for a sword fish and caught forty winks.  We woke up around 5:00 a.m. and returned back to the rig after having some coffee where we resumed jigging and ended up catching several more fish.  By now the weather was absolutely beautiful. We fished our way back to the dock that evening and celebrated what a great trip we had.

Now the Cobia are running and we are tying on our ling lures. We have Cost Guard Inspection on Monday and right after that, I’M GONE! Check with me next week to get the whole story on the Cobia Run!

More Than Just a Fishing Trip

April 10, 2010 in Fishing Report

Orange Beach Fishing TripEvery day that we get to go fishing is a blessing given to us. The ability to get out and relax and enjoy our friends and the good weather along with some good fishing is priceless. I am pretty sure that we all will look back on these days and say what a great time we had back then, I’m glad we did that.

Yesterday we had a small group of people, almost not enough to go out. Thankfully we did and it was wonderful. The weather was perfect, the seas were calm and the fish are biting like crazy. Yesterday, we had a 6 hour trip with 14 people on a “Walk On” trip on our big boat the 65 foot Bonner, Emerald Spirit. The temperature outside was around 68 in the morning and moved up to around 72 during the day it seemed. We generally ride for about 1 ½ hours out and fish for a little over two hours and then return to the dock after a full 6 hours. Even though it’s still early in the season we did catch a couple of King Mackerels on our last trip down deep on a regular two hook rig for bottom fish. That means they are here but just not up in the water column around the surface yet because of the water temperature is still so cold. Even still we did put out our trolling lines on the way out and on the way in. No bites yet; any day now! As usual the bottom fish were biting great and we caught lots of Vermillion Snapper(Mingo’s), White Snapper, Trigger Fish, Lane Snapper and even though they are still closed Red Snapper that we properly vent and release back. There are more Red Snapper out there than ever before and continue to get bigger and multiply tremendously. We expect a season like never before with huge Red Snappers on every trip in season.

We are going out on a two day trip this weekend and I’ll have a first hand report to give you when I get back. Check back Monday to see what all we caught!

Red Snapper Season Cut – Charter Discounts Now!

February 4, 2010 in Action Charter Service, Fishing Report

Just released on WKRG, Channel 5 News: Red Snapper Season Cut? – Discounts Available Now!

By Pat Peterson

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama – Orange Beach charter boat captain George Pfieffer says if the federal government shortens this year’s red snapper season, he could be forced to find another way to make a living.

CALL NOW FOR AN IMMEDIATE DISCOUNT – 888.558.3889

“In between both of my boats, I’ll probably lose somewhere between 150 to 250 thousand dollars,” says Pfieffer. “We’ve lost a lot of business due to the economy and with the red snapper season being shortened, that’s compounded the problem.”

Federal regulators want to cut the red snapper season from 74 days to between 51 and 60 days. The feds say the cut would help stabilize the red snapper population many believe was over-fished last year. But recreational boat captains say that information is inaccurate.

“Snapper is not an issue,” says Tom Steber, owner of Zeke’s Landing Marina in Orange Beach. “There’s probably 25 times more snapper out there than there’s ever been.”

“It doesn’t just affect the fishermen,” says Pfieffer. “It affects the whole community. Hotels, motels, restaurants, everybody. Billions of dollars up and down the coast are lost due to economic impact and the cutback of snapper.”

Federal officials could make a decision on whether or not to shorten the season later this week.

Whale Shark off Orange Beach – Fishing Charter Report

August 15, 2009 in Fishing Report, Gulf of Mexico, Orange Beach

While returning from a four hour trip on the Emerald Spirit on August 12, 2009, we came upon a rare site. A Whale Shark easing along with seemingly no cares in the world. He had around 30-40 juvenile Cobia swimming around him. I spotted the Shark and announced over the P.A. system to the customers that there was a Whale Shark off the port side and every one rushed over to see as I slowed the boat down and approached with caution as to not spook the fish. We pulled along side and I quickly reached for my camera. It was as if he knew we wanted to look at him and take pictures. He simply laid there almost motionless, every once and a while swishing his tail to keep moving ever so slowly as sharks have to do to breath.

Whale Shark off Orange Beach - Call us if you want to have Fishing Trips like this!!!

Call us if you want to have Fishing Trips like this!!!

Whale Sharks are Plankton feeders and skim through the water for small minnows and other microscopic organisms. This is the time of year that we have lots of little red minnows that swarm in huge schools along our coast. Every thing feeds on them from King Mackerel, Red fish, Spanish Mackerel, Blue Runners, Bonito and Sea Gulls just to mention a few. It was a rare treat to see this fish that day because he was only around 10 miles off the beach. Normally they are known for living far offshore in the extremely clear Blue Water of the Gulf Stream usually located 40 or 50 miles out. However, we have been blessed with some real clean water lately all the way up to the beach. The Wahoo are starting to bite good again with this good water flow. The Whale shark was sighted a few more times by some of the other boats in the following days of our sighting. Maybe he’ll stay around for a while.

Emerald Spirit Arrived at the Emerald Coast

May 21, 2009 in Uncategorized

The newest and most improved boat to the Gulf – “The Emerald Spirit” has arrived and is ready for fun in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama.  The 65’ Bonner has been completely renovated inside and out with all new amenities, including, hot and cold showers, ice machine, cushions in the v-berths to sleep 12, mirrored ceilings, and a brand new large green egg grill.  This girl has all new electronics, twin 600 hp Lugger Engines that cruise about 19 knots.  The boat is certified for 49 passengers; has 70 brand new matching custom rods and reels and is geared up for all types of fishing, including tournaments, overnight tuna and marlin trips, day trip bottom fishing for Snapper, Trigger, Grouper and offshore for Amberjack and Wahoo.  We also accommodate corporate outing trips for a different meeting experience.  When we aren’t fishing private trips, we will have affordable walk-on party boat trips so it’s a very versatile vessel indeed.  Captain George Pfeiffer who was born and raised locally fishing this area will own and operate the Emerald Spirit.  With his reputation and knowledge of the sport, it is sure to be an unforgettable fishing extravaganza.  Check out our website at www.FishEmeraldSpirit.Com.

Fishing Orange Beach – Cold-Front Catch

April 14, 2009 in Action Charter Service, Alabama, Fishing Report, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach

Fishing Orange Beach - Cold-Front Catch

Fishing Orange Beach - Cold-Front Catch

We don’t like it when it gets cold, but the fish don’t seem to mind most times. As a matter of fact, they seem to notice the change in barometric pressure and go on a feeding frenzy. As the high pressure center approaches it draws in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico with low pressure. As the pressure drops the fish sense it and knowing of the impending change begin to feed. This gives us a chance for some great opportunities to catch the big one. We also remember to consider the tidal flow when planning your trip. In our area some of the best spots for bait are, under the bridge at the sea wall, out at the end of the rock jetties, on the point in the grass beads, generally somewhere there is a change in structure to give the bait somewhere to duck in and hide while being washed down stream. Remember, live bait is always preferred for offshore fishing for the big ones. If you have any questions that I can help with please call me @ 1-888-558-3889 or e-mail me CatCharters@FishOrangeBeach.Net.

-Captain George Pfieffer