David Biron, recently relocated to Pensacola, Florida from
Rhode Island, becomes the latest addition to the Stickmen dive
team today and it was a day to remember.

The plan was for David to launch his 26' Mako named appropriately
the "Free SPEAR-IT", at Ft. Morgan, Alabama and motor seven miles
across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island where Rick Pinegar and myself
would be waiting at the dock. The time to meet was 8:00 a.m.

Rick and I got there early and watched as boats 21' and under
would go out and come back in. All the fishermen we spoke with
said it was too rough to get out. Some didn't even unload their
boats. I wondered why I passed so many boats going north while
I headed south to the Island as I sipped my coffee on the ride down.
The marine forecast had called for 2 foot seas and building to 3 feet
by the afternoon. It should have been a good day. Weather wise, this
would not be the case.

David arrived and we loaded our gear to go and take a "look see".
We motored past the light house with overcast skies and 6' to 8'
choppy seas. We discussed the conditions but it didn't keep us
from continuing south albeit at a slow pace. David's boat took
the waves with relative ease and an hour and a half later, we were
on our first rig. This was David's first time to dive on this type
of structure and he was eager to get in.

I guess in David's haste to get ready, he forgot the lower half of
his Picasso wet suit, so he had a fashion faux pas by wearing his
Joe Boxers as a bottom. Lucky thing for him they happen to be
black but it looked like he was wearing a wet suit thong with the
beaver tail of the wet suit over his drawers and riding up the
crack of his butt. He was pulling them out of his ass all day
long and he kept complaining about his gonads getting squeezed out.
I'll bet his memory improves after this trip. hehe:)

We tied off and began to slip into the water, David and me first.
The visibility varied according to depth. The top 25 feet was
murky with 10' vis, the middle of the water column had a
thermocline but gave us a good 25' to 30' and the bottom
was murky. Perfect for spearing.

Before Rick could get in, I shot a 25 lb. amberjack and was back
at the boat for Rick to put it in the cooler. Meanwhile, David
swims up with a broken shaft. While he is regrouping, I swim
back and quickly nail a 25 lb. cobia. I swim it back to the boat
and Rick is still available for deck hand duty. Begrudgingly, he
takes my fish and I get out for a breather while Rick gets in. Soon,
Rick returns with an amberjack of his own about the same size as
mine and I return the favor as deck hand. Rick goes back and brings
in a nice 20 lb. red snapper. By this time the area is lacking any
more good fish. David swims a little longer and we decide to relocate.

Our next spot was already taken by some guys fishing. "Hey Mike",
I hear one of the fisherman yell. "Yeah", I reply. It was a buddy
of Bob Kelly, one of our boat captains. We ask how each other is
doing and suddenly he asks, "Do you want to dive here?" "Sure",
came my reply. They relinquish their spot and we pull in. David
gets a 25 lb. cobia immediately. We swim around the rig a little
longer with little results so we decide to try another spot.

The third and final spot was a charm, although it looked like a
washing machine under the rig. There was no way to dive the
middle of the structure with the seas so rough. David gets in and
yells "Cobia!". By this time, I am looking at 25 to 30 big red snapper
below me. I dive down and shoot a 20 pounder. Looking up, I see
Rick is still in the boat. Yep, you guessed it. "Here Rick". He takes
my fish. He gives me my gun back and I go right back and shoot another
one. "A little help Rick". He takes the fish and stows it in the
cooler, then returns my gun. I swim up to the rig and see three
cobia going by. I want to stop hunting red snapper and chase the cobia
but I fight the urge to do so. Every time in the past I have changed my
priorities, I end up spooking everything. I focus on the snapper and
dispatch one more. I swim back to the boat and by now it is empty.
Rick has finally figured it out. I throw my gun in and climb into the
boat. I work my fish all the way up to the surface and it pulls off.
"Crap!". "Mike, a little help"; David is at the back of the boat
with Rick. Dave has shot a 56 pound cobia that measured 56" total
length. I drag it in the boat and dislodge his shaft. Rick gets back
in the boat and I get out. I swim back to my honey hole and shoot
another snapper. Back at the boat, it is once again empty. I climb
in and pull my fish up. This time successfully. While I'm in the boat,
David swims up with a snapper and I take care of it. It was assholes
and elbows for a while. Exhausted, I stay out and take a break for
peanut butter toast and something to drink. Before long Rick returns
and we sit around talk a while. With a limit of four red snapper,
I needed one more to max out. I get back in and accomplish my goal.
By this time I am dog tired and it is almost 3:30 p.m. David returns
soon enough and we all take a well needed pause. "Let's call it a day"
we all agree. "We've got to take some pictures before untie", I remind
them. I could tell by their expressions that it was not something
anyone wanted to do. "Come on, let's get with it", I coaxed. The
deck was slippery as we tried to grab our best fish for some pictures.
We were getting tossed around by the waves and each of us hit the
deck at least once. Rick was bleeding on both knees and one elbow
but couldn't remember exactly how he got hurt. I crashed right in
to a ten gallon bucket face first as I attempted to pose for the camera.

It amazed me how I'd rather smash my face than drop my fish. "Ouch!"
We manage to get a few good shots and head back to shore. Who'd a
thunk we'd have so many BIG fishes to show for such a rough day!!!

As we get closer to the Island, the seas become even rougher.
We all watch as a 10' wave crest right beside our boat. Unreal!
I try to grab my camera for a shot but was too late. I take a
picture of the lighthouse instead; or at least tried.

Back at the dock, we share some ice with David, help rearrange
the fish and settle up on gas. We hang around and talk about the
days trip and promise to do it again. With that, Dave heads east
and Rick and I head home.

It took me 2 hours to clean my fish and fill 6 gallon bags with
fillets. One of which contained snapper throats. My day winds
down by 11:00 p.m.

David tells me that he had his boat out of the water at 5:00 p.m.
and was back at the marina in Ft. Morgan by 6:00 pm. Finished
rinsing his gear and washing the boat by 7:15 and was home by
8:00 p.m. Long Day for him.... most of which was spent getting
too and from our fishing location. He also says it was nice to see
so many different fish in one spot and kept the fish on ice until
the following morning. His small cobia was 24 lbs. and his
snapper were were 9 lbs. each. David figures we had well
over 200 lbs. of fish and can't wait to do it again.

Mike Wade
Stickmen
Mobile, Alabama