Hoping for some Red Fish action, Ben called me as we pulled into the parking lot. He said his morning trip produced no Reds and asked if we would rather go out into the gulf for some near shore fishing instead. I agreed since my main goal was some fish to take back home and cook.

We boarded with Ben and Tim his deck hand and they were very patient with me as getting in a boat is a challenge due to some knee issues and balance issues.  We actually pulled out a little ahead of schedule and headed to the fishing grounds.

Almost immediately, my wife hooked in to something big.  She fought it for 15-20 minutes and it went around the boat to my side where she gave up the rod since she was worn out from the fight, so I took it over.  Another 15-20 minutes later, we had the 36 inch Cobia at the boat, but he slipped off the hook just as Tim was about to clamp the boga grip on him.  No pictures and he was on the border if being legal to keep, but we were excited to have started off with such excitement!  And I appreciated them not gaffing the fish since it may not have been a legal catch.

We continued to fish the reef and managed to boat only a Mackerel.  So off to try a different structure.

All in all, we managed to boat three species to eat and several other fish.

Ben and Tim were great and tried their darndest to get us on some fish, but I knew the moon phase wasn’t right and the graph on the boat proved there were lots of fish, but the bite was sparse.  But we had a great time with these two gracious, helpful, and friendly guys.

I hope to get a trip for some Reds this fall and will book with Great Southern making sure the timing is better.  You won’t be disappointed with fishing with them!

Ben is awesome and my wife and I really enjoyed our 4 hour trip with him.  The first place we went was fairly crowded so realizing we were not comfortable there, Ben shifted course and brought us to a location where we were the only boat out there and the fish were visible and biting!  We caught our first Sheepsheads!  We also caught some red snapper which was awesome but out of season.  After that we went inshore to fish some structures.  My wife and I are local and love to fish but have the worst luck.  Ben was free with the advice, tips, tricks about fishing and local shops and facilities to help us out.  Although we have our own boat we plan on fishing with Ben again and we recommend him to any that are looking for a down to earth Captain that is patient and knowledgeable.

I booked a trip with Captain Ben to take my daughter (12)  and niece (13) saltwater fishing for the first time and they had a blast!  Captain Ben is a true professional, everything ready to fish right out of the gate, with nice gear and a clean boat. Ben and First Mate Tim were great with the girls, getting lines set in the right spot to get them on some nice fish.  We ended up with a good haul of Mackerel and Sheepshead and brought them back to our condo for dinner.  Next time we’re in Orange Beach we’ll definitely be booking another trip with Ben!

Me and my two adult sons had a great day of fishing with Captain Benjamin.  The boat was just the right size for the three of us to fish together.  We caught several different species of fish.  Captain Benjamin was fun to fish with and worked hard to find fish to catch.  I highly recommend him to anyone!  We would love to go fishing with him again.  Thank you Captain Benjamin!

Capt Ben and Tim were great treated our kids really well. They put us on fish early and we came away with a nice mix of Mangrove snapper, Sheepshead and a Spanish Mackerel. When it slowed in one spot we moved on to a few others. He also was very upfront in communication when the forecast called for rain and rough seas. We lucked out and the weather cleared up but he let us know what would happen if it didn’t. I would recommend him to anyone looking to have a laid back time catching some inshore fish.