Whale Sharks In Orange Beach
It's not every day when your cruising along, headed out to go deep-sea fishing when you see something out of the ordinary swimming just ahead of the boat. The huge dorsal fin rising gently above the water cruising just beneath the surface while being pushed along by a monstrous tail is something amazing to see for sure. Summer of 2009 will always be remembered as the year of the Whale Shark.
Numerous sightings from charter boats of Whale Sharks along the Orange Beach, Alabama coastline is certainly an impressive sight. Our water clarity is better now than it has been in years. Blue water is as close as 10 miles south of the Alabama Gulf Coast. It is not every day you get to see a fish as amazing as a Whale Shark.
Whale Sharks are definitely prehistoric. They grow up to 60 feet in length and weigh over 26,000 pounds. They are filter feeders and have no teeth like other sharks. They are definitely no predator. Sightings of Whale Sharks go back as far back as 1849. They have a flat head and three distinct ridges that run the length of their body. They are often gray looking with checker board or spottet patterns on their skin. The ones we see of of Orange Beach are more brown with white spots on them. A Whale Sharks diet is mostly algea, plankton and krill that is found in sub tropical climates. They swim about 3 mph and the ones we see use their whole body to swim.
It is pretty cool to watch them come right up beside the charter fishing boat and pay us no attention. They will continue swimming along without even being concerned about us watching them. The amazing thing about seeing a Whale Shark just south of Orange Beach is that most of them have Cobia fish swimming with them by the dozens. They offer a Cobia fisherman a paradise to have fun on some light tackle angling.
Either way, you never know what you might see on one of our charter fishing boats in Orange Beach, Alabama. Remember, we promise to stop and let you take a picture. We look forward to seeing you soon.