Lisa Methenys Orange Beach Fishing Article for May 28, 2010

Shut Up and Reel Baby!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today, Lisa Metheny continues her series of personal reports from the Gulf of Mexico. Today, Lisa provides a personal insight into the quality of fishing, despite the overshadowing ecological challenges posed by the Deepwater Horizon accident.

The alabaster beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama slowly faded into the distance as the 41 foot Hatteras boat motored further out to sea. The warm salt spray against my face felt refreshing as the Distraction Charters vessel headed towards a favorite reef of Captain Troy Frady. The fact that I was enjoying the warm gulf waters might surprise many who have tuned into media reports on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But mile after mile, I scanned the ocean, looking for oil, contaminated sea life and toxic waters. Thankfully though, the waters were calm and all I saw was the beautiful emerald water for miles in every direction.

Captain Frady invited me to join him at the wheel to drive the boat and as I steered, I listened carefully to his first-hand account of the last several weeks. As Frady spoke of the oil spill, the uncertainty became clear. Despite his soft-spoken, thick southern accent, I could sense that his emotions were somewhere between the fear of the unknown of what might still happen to the gulf waters and disgust over what has already transpired in the media. And in between all that, the fear of the loss of business loomed large.

Frady explained to me that the media's sensationalistic account of the oil spill disaster was inaccurate as to the true state of Alabama's water. "There are no physical effects of the oil sick here in Alabama water. Our waters are beautiful and oil free. The only effect that we are seeing right now is the negative national media."

That negative attention Frady was referring to were the daily reports of contaminated waters and toxic fish on the national news. While those effects are devastatingly being felt in many waters in the Gulf of Mexico, not every beach is a cesspool of toxicity. These inaccurate reports are quickly damaging many beach towns way of life: tourism.

And the lack of tourism has a direct effect on local businesses and attractions. Frady went on to share a little bit of his local perspective with me: "They are out here looking for the gloom and doom stories. When the oil slick first happened the media was down here talking about the oil getting ready to come ashore, talking about the dead marine life and we were all standing around watching them do their news stories and it was not the truth."

Sometimes covering a story involves actually getting into the action. Metheny with the 20-pound snapper she landed while researching the Gulf fisheries. Photo by Capt. Troy Frady

Finally, we arrived at the reef the Captain had been telling about and First Mate Lem Allen began rigging up the multiple rods that we would be using. According to Allen, the fishing has even been better than normal. "The fishing has been great the last four or five weeks. This time of year we are typically fishing for King Mackerel, Cobia, Amberjack, Grouper and Spanish Mackerel, plus you can also catch and release Red Snapper," he explained to me just moments before the fish began to bite. I was suddenly struck with the excitement of deep sea fishing and realized why everyone was sporting shirts that simply said "Shut Up and Reel." This rookie deep sea angler was getting schooled in the art of deep sea fishing and experiencing the thrill of the fight.

Fish after healthy fish were caught and our exciting morning charter, complete with a visit from a family of dolphins, regrettably had to come to and end. As we reentered the bay, I noticed the clean, oil-free, bright orange booms strategically placed to protect the beaches and the inland waterways should the oil arrive. I also noticed a staging area near the bay bridge with nearly 75 Haz Mat looking officials in orange safety vests, t-shirts, jeans, gloves, boots and all carrying empty trash bags. What caught my attention more than the orange vests were the fact that many of the folks seemed to be doing very little. At first I thought we had passed at break time, but after three days of "break time," I continued to see a pattern of people standing around doing nothing. Some of the locals, who asked to not be identified, expressed frustration at the government. Many thought money was being wasted as the area was still unaffected by the crisis in the gulf. It was suggested that a better use of these resources would be to position these cleanup teams further to the west where they could actually use the additional manpower and clean up materials.

The situation in the gulf is being monitored second by second. The weather will continue to play a major factor in whether or not the oil slick will creep closer to Gulf Shores, Alabama or not, as only God knows the answer to that. But in the meantime, there are still plenty of charters, including Distraction Charters, eager to take you and your family out for an adventure. The waters and beaches are still clean and ready for your visit and yes, the fish are healthy and fighting mad. So "Shut Up and Reel!"

--Lisa Metheny