Neal lives in north Alabama and had contacted me after viewing
our web page. After a few emails, we decided to meet up at my
usual meet and greet location, Perdido Pass on Thursday night April 15th.

The first order of business was to stop by his condo in Orange
Beach and enjoy some fresh shrimp with his special cocktail
sauce... delicious! He and his wife were very nice and soon we
were off to the dive site.

Upon arrival, we encountered another diver waiting on a friend
to dive the same general area. I encouraged Neal to suit up so as
to avoid the rush. We were ready and on our way in no time.
After all, we didn't have all that cumbersome gear to deal with
like the Scuba dudes did.

The water looked clean from the surface, but once we were in
it really wasn't that great. The current was strong as we almost
got pulled into the channel but managed to stay close to the rocks
and avoid the pull of the incoming tide. The visibility ranged from
2 feet to 8 feet depending on how far away from the jetty we were.

We saw lots of sea life. Cow fish, blow fish, star fish, red fish,
sheepshead, sting rays, mullet and of course flounder. There were
also a few small blue crabs.

Since this was Neal's first freediving trip and a night dive, I did
my best to try and point out some flounders but it was hard for him
to make any out in the dingy water. "Come look at this one" I called
out. "Go ahead and shoot it" came his reply. I accommodated
accordingly as Neal became accustomed to the new diving environment.
I checked on him regularly and he seemed to be doing well so I continued
to hunt.

The water was still a bit chilly but I managed to find a few flatties.
My main goal was to catch enough to give to Neal for he and his friends.
After I had three on my stringer, I focused on getting just one more. I
shoot a decent mullet just in case but as luck would have it, I ended up
with several more flounders. Maybe it was because I was intending on
giving them away. Isn't that what karma is all about?

After our dive, we went back to his condominium and I met met another
friend of his named Gerald. We sit around for another hour telling
stories and getting more acquainted. Around midnight, I head out to
Mobile, getting home about 1:30 a.m.

Uncharacteristically, my wife Robin gets up to see how it went.
We had a great time I explain and we got fish. "Great" came her
reply. With that we hit the sack and I slept in until late the next
morning. Life is good.

Neal is a strong swimmer and catches on fast. I foresee many more
dives together and possibly Stickman material.

Mike Wade
Stickmen
Mobile, Alabama