Orange Beach City Marina on hold

Cash-strapped city not eager to start $17.2M project
Friday, December 12, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH — Municipal employees aren't the only casualties of the city's budget crunch: Plans for a public marina that have been on the drawing board for more than three years are also poised to be indefinitely postponed.

Conceived as a home of last resort for Alabama's 301-boat charter fishing fleet, Orange Beach paid about $9.6 million for a storm-battered boatyard on Terry Cove in early 2005 and has since designed a municipal marina complex there.

With the low bid to build the project coming in last month at $17.2 million, elected officials said they can't imagine starting work anytime soon.

Mobile Press-Register

Shelby Supporting Fishing Industry

Shelby Announces $75 Million for Commercial Fisheries Industry

WASHINGTON, DC Thursday, May 15, 2008—U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, today announced that $75 million will be included in the Fiscal Year 2008 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill to aid the struggling fishing industry around the nation.

“As a result of the volatile 2005 hurricane season and the drought that continues to plague the southeastern United States, Alabama fisheries have taken a significant economic and ecological hit,” said Shelby. “These recent events, compounded with high fuel prices and increased restrictions on the fisheries, have created a cumulative effect that has shrimpers and fishermen struggling to stay in business. This funding will provide much needed assistance to an industry that is a vital part of the Alabama economy.”

These funds may be used to alleviate expenses related to fishery failures, fishery resource disasters and regulations on the fishing industry.

Orange Beach Charterboat Captain Rob Gams makes Tuscaloosa Newspaper

By Robert DeWitt

Anglers, charter fleets must adjust to red snapper regulations

ORANGE BEACH | With red snapper fishing regulations, change seems to be the norm. This year will be no exception.

'Part of the problem and frustration the anglers have is that the regulations are always changing,' said Kevin Anson, a state biologist who specializes in recreational fishing.

This year, federal regulators slashed the red snapper season by two months. The season won't open until June 1, more than a month later than usual, and it will close Sept. 30, a month late.

The limit is two fish 16 inches long or longer per person and the captain and crew aren't allowed to keep fish.

In addition, anglers will be required to use a non-stainless steel circle hooks to catch all reef fish. Conventional 'J' hooks will be outlawed for snapper, grouper, amberjack and other reef species.

Orange Beach's charter fleet has staked its reputation on red snapper. Much of the charter fleet virtually quits fishing when snapper season is out. Shortening the season by two months will hurt some charter captains.

But Rob Gams, owner and captain of the 42-foot charter boat Cool Breeze for 17 years, said it's something the charter industry must learn to adapt to.

'I think people are always going to go fishing,' Gams said. 'I think it's going to change the charter industry.'

Click here to read the full article from the Tuscaloosa News.

January's Offshore Bounty of Redfish

Captain Maurice Fitzsimmons

January’s a great month to take a charter and fish for redfish. We’re catching and releasing a tremendous number of redfish this month. You can catch 20- to 30-pound redfish on just about any bait you put in the water. Triggerfish and vermilion snapper (beeliners), which are both delicious to eat, have also really been biting well. During this month, we’re still catching and releasing large numbers of big red snapper.

The big news here at the Gulf Coast is that red snapper season has changed. It doesn’t open until June 1st and closes September 30th, so our Red Snapper World Championship (RSWC) held in Orange Beach that had run for the first 30 days of snapper season now will be held during the fall in September. However, during the spring, we’ll have a salt-water series tournament with 11-different species of fish, including tuna, wahoo, triggerfish, vermilion snapper, grouper, amberjack, king mackerel, speckled trout, redfish and several other species of fish, whether you fish inshore or offshore.

The Spring Saltwater Series, which will run from April 4 to May 26, will award $150,000 in cash and prizes to the winners. The speckled trout tournament will have a three-fish aggregate, and if you’re one of the lucky winners of this tournament, you’ll qualify for the Fall Shoot-off, a really-big tournament with a lot of cash and prizes.

The RSWC this year will run from August 22 until September 30 and award $35,000 in cash for the winning angler and the same amount of money to the boat captain, based on entry fees. So, this year, instead of having only one big tournament with only one or two fish that can be caught for prize money, we’ll have two tournaments – the first tournament in the spring and the Red Snapper World Championship in the fall.

In March, we expect to see our cobia turning-up, depending on the weather. Generally a lot of local tournaments related to cobia are held during this month. Every day, fishermen from Orange Beach and Dauphin Island will be running the beach looking for cobia.

The good news about our tournaments this year is you either can fish in the tournament off a charter boat, or you can fish both tournaments in your own private boat. Tickets for the tournaments will be available at various locations in Baldwin and Mobile counties, particularly on Dauphin Island and at Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. A $10 daily ticket qualifies you to compete in all 11 categories for the prizes and the money in the Spring Saltwater Series.

The RSWC in the fall only will cost $10 for a daily ticket, as it has in the past. In the spring tournament, almost any fish that bites your hook is a potential prize winner. I suggest booking early, if you plan to charter fish in either or both tournaments.


To book the “Miss Celeste,” and fish with Captain Fitzsimmons, call him at (251) 209-9166 or (251) 626-9437, or go to his webpage at www.missceleste.com to find prices and schedules.

Marine Resources Division Receives $50,000 for State’s Offshore Artificial Reef Program

(From left-right: Chief Marine Biologist Steve Heath, Tournament Director Tony Kennon, ADCNR Comm. M. Barnett Lawley, Tom Steber, Gov. Bob Riley, Captain Maurice Fitzsimmons, Marine Resources Division Dir. R. Vernon Minton)

Captain Maurice Fitzsimmons, Tom Steber and Tony Kennon of the Red Snapper World Championship presented Marine Resources Division Director Vern Minton a check for $50,000 on Nov. 26 at Craft Farms in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The money will be used as match for the Sportfish Restoration monies to continue building offshore artificial reefs.

“Since its inception in 2004, the Red Snapper World Championship has been a very successful tournament and has helped generate a lot of revenue for coastal Alabama,” said Gov. Bob Riley. “Their continued commitment in supporting Alabama’s Artificial Offshore Reef Program is very much appreciated.”

In partnership with the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), the tournament has donated $50,000 each year to be used as matching money for the federal SportFish Restoration program. The 3:1 match creates $200,000 yearly.

“This is a great cooperative effort that has produced a tremendous amount of habitat to the benefit of the fishery resources and the fishermen,” said Minton. “The program has been able to place 864 artificial reefs in the permit area, creating excellent habitat for reef fishes like red snapper and grouper.” Approximately 1,200 square miles of offshore waters are included in the artificial reef general permit areas of Alabama, making this the largest artificial reef program in the United States.

ADCNR Commissioner M. Barnett Lawley said, “We look forward to continuing this successful working relationship in the future and appreciate the opportunity to share in this tremendous tournament.” The Red Snapper World Championship is held each spring in Orange Beach, Alabama. Hundreds of anglers from all over the nation participate in the tournament for cash and prizes.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR, visit www.outdooralabama.com.

Cool Weather Means "Red Hot" Redfishing

by Alton Wallace
January 2, 2008- Orange Beach, AL
During the late-fall and winter, charter boat captain Dennis Treigle will often fish for redfish in open water just off the beach in Orange Beach. After cold fronts move through south Alabama, Treigle says it’s usually not difficult to locate schools of redfish within a quarter mile of the beach. “And once you find them, they are lots of fun to catch,” he says.

Click here to read the full article and view more pictures.

Bayou La Batre Moves Toward Waterfront Tourism

Thursday, November 08, 2007
By KATHERINE SAYRE
Staff Reporter

CARRABELLE, Fla. -- For this sleepy fishing village on the banks of the Carrabelle River, the future of waterfront development could mean charter boats, not shrimp boats.

"Our future is going to lie in tourism, and yours might, too," said John McInnis, Carrabelle's city administrator, during a meeting with Bayou La Batre leaders on Wednesday. "The world looks at waterfront communities."

The seafood industry has shrunk considerably in Carrabelle, but city officials said the town of 1,300 has taken control of its future by creating public access to the waterfront, writing a city plan that focuses on small growth, and imposing strict rules on new developments, such as condominiums.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Doctorfish catch a first for Alabama

Thursday, September 27, 2007
By JEFF DUTE
Outdoors Editor

While taking a break from building a new church in Robertsdale, Moldovan missionary Pavel Malancea caught an Alabama-record 10.78-inch, 1.4-pound doctorfish Sept. 13.

The fish would also tie the existing world record, but Malancea has not yet begun the process of filling out the paperwork required by the International Game Fish Association to have it verified.

When Malancea brought the strange-looking fish over the side of David Baggett's 25-foot boat, the local members of his crew had no idea what it was, said Aubrey Grant, who set up the trip for Malancea and his nephew Vikalie Malancea.

Click here to read the complete article from the Mobile Press-Register.