The Saltwater Magazine for Gulf Coast
  Fishing! 

 
Alabama's Freighter Kings

by Dan Bowling 
Spring 1986 
 
 

 


I breathed an audible sigh of relief as we rounded Mobile Point under
the long-silent gun ports of historic Fort Morgan and headed south into
the open Gulf. The relief was for my crew which wasn't exactly your basic
seafaring types. Offshore experience started and stopped with my son Danny.
His new bride, Libby, and newly-weds Dave and Margie Grigereit were in for
a gentle ride on a beautiful day - if nothing else.

The conditions were tailor made for these Atlantans' introduction to
saltwater fishing. It was a "blue bird" day, the slight ground
swells had a surface chop caused by a five knot north wind which promised
to minimize the heat. The channel between Dixie Bar and Sand Island, which
can be a tiger at times, was a pussycat today.

Fishing was reported to be slow, but my guests had been promised a fishing
trip and Danny wanted to take a shot at the "freighter kings."
Freighter kings is not a rare species of mackerel found in some remote corner
of the Gulf. Fishermen around Mobile, Alabama, know the term well. Here
is where it comes from:

Apparently there are more freighters needing to load and unload cargo
in the port of Mobile than there are berths to accommodate them. Consequently,
some have to anchor offshore to await dock space. This is bad news for the
ship owners, but it is good news for area fishermen.

The ships anchor beyond the fifty foot curve which meanders along the
coast about eight miles south of the mouth of Mobile Bay. They are always
well-spaced and generally anchor to the east of the main approach to the
ship channel.

Located in open water these freighters offer a welcome haven for bait
fish to hide from hungry predators. As all fishermen know, where bait fish
congregate, game fish are not far away. King mackerel, big spanish, blues,
ling, sharks, bonito and jack crevalle are often abundant around the ships
from early June until about mid-October. This combination of anchored ships,
shade, bait fish, and hungry game fish equals great fishing and lots of
fishermen. On some Saturdays and holidays a huge freighter being circled
by much smaller fishing rigs resembles a mother hen with a flock of chicks
playing under her close supervision.
 
 In freighter fishing the early bird gets the advantage of the choice
spot which is usually tying up to the stern of the freighter. The bigger
ship's crew is generally happy to toss down a line or catch a line thrown
to them from the fisherman below. Their willingness to cooperate soon becomes
apparent as the fisherman finds that the line running from the ship's rail
to his bow goes in both directions. The freighter crew expects certain gratuities,
especially cigarettes, and whatever else they can ask for with foreign tongues
and gestures, to be sent back up the line in return for their cooperation.
Be prepared to pass bonito and crevalle up too, because throwing anything
back offends your hosts. This is a small price to pay for securing a choice
spot without having to play out enough rode to have your anchor hold in
50 to 70 feet of water.

It's hard to be an early bird when dealing with newly-weds, so it was
about 8:30 when we put out a couple of test lines to check surface action
son Danny had spotted. There were three freighters on the horizon, but we
weren't going to pass up any opportunities on the way out. Like the reports
had said - things were "slow", so we soon pulled in the lines
and headed directly for the closest freighter, which was anchored about
two miles south and two miles east of the last channel marker known as "farewell
buoy."

The freighter of choice looked lonesome until we topped the earth's curvature
and could see ten to fifteen chicks playing around mother hen. There were
fairly close to the ship, which meant there were probably fish keeping them
there. Fishermen tend to quickly spread out in search of action if there
is nothing to hold them to a spot.

Fish are not always around freighters, not always at the same place around
freighters, and do not always stay at the same place at the same freighter.
Therefore, the fisherman has to take measures to seek out his quarry. There
are basically six steps to finding fish and determining the "hot spots"
around an anchored freighter. A ship at anchor will always have its bow
into the current regardless of wind and wave directions. The fisherman can
bet that this current sweeping along the sides and bottom of the ship will
bring with it careless or injured bait fish which is dinner for gamefish.
For this reason, step number one is to approach from the stern of the ship
as if there were a chum slick coming directly from that end of the ship.

When making this approach, I always begin fishing about three fourths
of a mile away by putting out four king rigs at varying depths. Two planers
are used taking a big spoon and a duster or artificial squid as deeply as
possible. The other two dusters are trolled at medium and shallow depths.
All lures except the spoon trail cigar minnows- or bonito strips. Arriving
off the stern of the ship in this manner, it's time to bring step two and
step three into action at the same time.

Step two is to begin circling the ship by trolling along either side
as closely as possible.

Step number three is to do this very carefully. There will probably be
four or five other boats doing the same thing and two or three more tied
up to the freighter's stern or anchored along the lee side. All will have
several lines out, so number three is quite important. The new arrival can
just fall in with the group and join them in making oblong circles of the
ship. Getting in this pattern is such a natural thing it is almost automatic
- even for the novice.

Step number four is important and is carried out as you are executing
number two (circling the ship) and number three (very carefully). This step
is to closely observe the fishermen who are already there. While drawing
big circles in the water around the ship, keep a very close eye on all activity.
I'm not at all reluctant to put the glasses on the fishermen enjoying a
good catch to see what bait he's using and more importantly, the depth he's
fishing.

Frequently steps 2 and 3 are quite productive and satisfies most anglers
and party boats, but if it is not productive, steps 5 and 6 are where the
fun really starts.

So it was this day. Watching other fishermen had revealed that the "hot
spot" was just off the freighter's stern. Two boats were tied off there
and were getting good kings along with a mixture of bonito and small sharks
- to the delight of the Panamanians lining the freighter's railing. This
told us that step 5 was unnecessary.

Step 5, float fishing, is generally employed to locate fish when they
are spread out over a large area. It is executed by getting in close to
the ship, cutting power and floating down wind up to half a mile from the
ship. This is when the nine to ten foot spinning rods are broken out and
rigged. The reels are generally loaded with plenty of 17 to 20 pound test
line with a swivel followed by a five foot length of wire leader. This terminates
with a large treble hook, single or tandem number six hooks or a cigar minnow
securing device. A frozen cigar minnow or live croaker, mullet or menhaden
is cast out to the sides of the drifting boat and allowed to sink while
playing out line as the boat drifts. The bait is then retrieved just fast
enough to keep a tight line, but with some action. Some of the fishermen
on board should add a small sinker or a split shot or three, depending on
the wind and current, so all on the boat are testing different depths. Once
the proper depth is determined, everyone should copy the successful rig.

When the float is completed, it is repeated until a hot spot is discovered
and it's time to anchor. Float fishing in this manner can be fun and quite
productive - a big king on a spinning rig is great sport. On this day we
went directly to step 6, worked in close on the port center of the small
Panamanian freighter and dropped anchor. Danny played out enough rode until
we were even with the stern of the ship. Like a knuckle head, I had listened
to the people at the boat ramp who insisted that the kings had been running
quite deep and would not hit anything with wire leader. They were half-right.
Three cut 100 pound monofilament leaders within ten minutes had me rerigging
with wire in a hurry.

My inexperienced crew had enjoyed themselves immensely. Now the fun really
started! Despite themselves they landed some fine kings, had a great time
and learned a lot about playing and landing fish from bonito which are excellent
teachers. Our major regret of the day was that a big king Danny was maneuvering
in for the gaff kinked and parted the wire on a last run to get free. The
king was in plain sight just before the escape and was easily a forty pounder.

The steps or methods covered here are not rules. Let's call them "approaches"
because freighter kings often make their own rules. For example, my best
catch of big kings was on a rough day in August. Seas were eight feet as
measured by the markings on the side of the ship. The big ones were on the
windward side of the ship and would strike only after the boat had been
stopped and the trolled dusters allowed to sink. The hit came as the lures
were being pulled up from the bottom. The big kings developed this rule
- we didn't we just discovered it and joined the game.

This was probably just an unusual day because the ideal situation seems
to be when the wind and wave action is brisk from a direction perpendicular
to the current. Under these conditions the wind and waves hit the ship broadside
which causes a "slick" on the lee side of the ship from stem to
stern. This produces maximum fishing area and offers the opportunity to
tie up to the freighter along its entire length - even to the anchor chain.

No doubt the port of Mobile does not have a monopoly on freighter fishing.
Surely busy ports all along our Gulf coast require that some ships anchor
offshore out of the traffic pattern before they are allowed to steam up
the channel and tie up to the docks.

Whether the reason for this is due to shortage of dock space, legal technicalities,
or just bureaucratic paper work the result is the same - it's good news
for fishermen. You might check it out at the port nearest you. You will
probably be glad you did!

Side Note:

The two closest approaches to Mobile's freighter kings are from Dauphin
Island near Alabama Point. Navy Cove Marina is located near the end of Alabama
Hwy 180 after it turns west off Hwy 59 at Gulf Shores. All supplies are
available including block ice and frozen cigar minnows. Overnight boat slips
and two launching ramps are manned with helpful personnel well schooled
in where the fish are most active. Advance information can be obtained by
calling 205-54-236 and asking for the launch house.

Dauphin Island has public launching facilities at the east end of the
Island which is located south of Mobile at the end of Hwy 193.

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