Fishing The Big E May 18 Trip

[Capt. Al]

Good Afternoon
Thank you for the nice reports. I REALLY APPRECIATE THEM!!!

It was a long line of hard work to get the boat off the dock for it's maiden voyage and went better than expected because of Capt. Raul and my crew.I did not like fishing with Capt. Raual, I loved it! I can't thank them all enough.

The game plan changed last minute for a couple reasons. One being I wanted to respect the local fleet in a 1 to 2 foot forecast and not put the Big E into the mix of drifting with others fishing the same platforms being I never drift fished a boat of this size. Another reason was after taking a team vote almost all was for heading directly to the Green Canyon, so we headed to Brutus. It was really cool seeing the crew fill up the theater room watching the UFC and Belator fights while in the next room people were watching Shark Tank on the big screen TV's while the BBQ pit was roaring the whole trip. Some of the best food I have eaten ever on a fishing trip.

After the first night of rig hopping and searching for the tuna hot spot we were awarded with a great Saturday morning due to the fact we got into a nice patch of yellowfin.

After the flurry we were scheduled to head for some bottom fishing and again took a vote from my incredible clients and this time it was for bottom fishing.

When heading to the reef fish hole I went over in my head how this would play out being that we were heading for nothing more than a one man AJ limit and a one Warsaw limit for the boat. I was certain that I did not want to be releasing numerous grouper and snapper trying to get one AJ so I made a captains call and headed for Atlantis. I was told after it was a good call by the folks on board because they all had so much fun either catching a yellowfin or watching their neighbor catch one or two or three.

The folks on board were a collection of AWESOME people. We had the pleasure of taking Jeff Mayne of the LDWF offshore. What a cool dude! We are lucky to have this guy watching out for our fisheries but now knowing him as a friend I cant say enough of what an honor it was to have him on the maiden voyage! I also had the incredible pleasure of fishing with long time friend and buddy/owner of Delta Marina, Darren Angelo. He is as cool as ever and I am looking forward to working out of his awesome marina. His staff is bar none and the food is something you have to experience, hence professional chef Burney Young that has a resume that includes most of the finest restaurants on the planet such as Emeril's.

Also aboard were the 360tuna gang like owner TJ and his moderator Han. These guys are animals when it comes to fishing!! The knowledge, equipment and drive they have is why 360tuna is such a great site. These guys don't talk fishing, they live it. The pleasure was all mine! Cant wait to fish with you guys forever.

Let's not forget we had the ultimate experience of watching a master at work. Kilsong is the owner of jignpop.com and the maker of the baddest fishing equipment on the planet. Period end of story. He has fished with me three times but this time he was on the bow in front of me to watch the entire trip. If you consider yourself to be a serious angler and have all the best equipment and you don't have this man's gear, well then you don't have the best. I will post a more formal report about exactly what he was using later. By the time your finished reading the report and have not called the man or ordered his stuff then you will continue to be in the cave man days with the gear you have now. I can and want to go on and on about this man but actually holding this quality stuff in my hand and watching him cast "300 YARDS" and watching his lure take more fish by far than any other was mesmerizing.

Emeric Watson of Wounded Warriors was on board as well. This man is so cool and passionate about the service men and women of our country it would almost be anti-American to not to contribute, donate or join this awesome rodeo. I watched this man dedicate hours into fishing this weekend and he earned every fish. Emeric you are a first class act!

RodnReel.com was out there in full body and spirit. The only thing we were missing was Mike Lane due to his son graduating. I mean what else can I say but rodnreel.com has offered guides to better feed their families due to its professional site and staff. Rodnreel changed my life years ago when I joined and I have never looked back. It was living proof on this trip when I was surrounded by people that I met through this site over ten years ago but now are some of my closest friends. Gino, Lisa, Helmut and Mike, simply put "I Love You".

I mean what can I say, we put people on their first fish, father and son on their first yellow together, father and son on their first yellow limit together, brothers that have fished a lifetime together having their best ever fishing experience. I said it on the trip and I'll say it again, ya'll are the best and I thank you for making my first trip a success!

I also want to thank all the Texas folks that love the Big E for giving me a chance. I hope you feel that me and my boy's worked hard for you and if there is anything you did not like please post or call so I can better your next trip. You guys were some of the hardest, toughest, most relentless fisherman I have ever encountered. Ever!

I want to also apologize for the schedule for June 2 and truthfully I have not worked out the scheduling yet. Thank you for understanding that saving oil rigs is true to my heart and that this IMAX shoot takes precedence over fishing now so we all can fish in the future.

The only thing I know for sure is that this Friday we are running a booked 36 hour trip and then running out Tuesday to stay on the water for over a week filming the beauty of the offshore platforms. Before I leave this Friday I will have the schedule somewhat figured out, I hope.

I do know for certain that we will start taking bookings now for the Faux Pas Rodeo, the Empire South Rodeo and the LDWF rodeo. I will be running a rodeo special and post by tomorrow.

Also please go to www.bigeasysharksafari.com and check out my new pricing, as we will be kicking off the first caged shark dive on August 25 and 26 for a overnight experience you will never forget! I'm going to do it big so come brave the cage or sight see from above.

Sorry for having to slow down on booking the three day fishing extravaganza to where the Big E would be used as a mother ship. A little too much going on and want that to be perfect so those that are biting at the bits to book, I have not charged any cards and you will be receiving a private message from me today. It is a great idea and would work with no problem. During the spill I worked on Duke Universities' R/V Cape Hatteras and learned how to moor numerous boats at one time since there were so many coming and going. Very simple process and learned through experience.

One more thing guys and I think you’re gonna like it. For months I have been working with the City of New Orleans. Yesterday we took a mock river tour. Aboard were Cheryl Rodrigue Director Sales/DMI Conventions and Paddlewheels, Diane Arthur Operations, Janine Dazet of New Orleans Tours, Yvonne Magne and Danielle Magne of DMI Groups and Big Easy Tours.

The ladies loved it! The boat was more than they expected and having chef Burney Young preparing fresh tuna, asparagus, Andouille Sausage pasta, BBQ tuna, grilled zucchini and fresh salad did not hurt a bit.

They are in mix of putting together Casino Cruise/Fishing trip combos, Sunday and Monday Night Football trips all the way to the Super Bowl along with river tours not to mention they and the city are proud to have the only and biggest shark cage diving operation in the Gulf. All I can say is its on and Plaquemines Parish is about to be more than a fishing destination and more like a must see tourist attraction.

It would be my pleasure to bring out Team 2coolfishing on one of our voyages.