Mobile Bay Blog

"I threw it way out to see what would happen, and I felt something hook up. We set the hook and it started running. It jumped probably 30 times."

Well Jonathon McCoy is not lying. We saw his 53 1/2 lb. dauphin at the 75th Annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo on Dauphin Island.

Michael Richardson also earned bragging rights. His crew caught 3 hammerhead sharks, the biggest weighing 171 lbs.

"I got out real early in the morning and just had some good runs. We were real lucky."

3308 anglers were competing in this tournament, and the bigger the fish, the better the chances for winning. Brian Howell's 140-pound yellow fin tuna was his catch of the day.

"I've only caught 2 yellow fin tunas in my life. This one made number three and number three is better than anything I've caught in my life."

Two of the biggest crowd pleasers were a 107 lb. sword fish, and something you never see in the northern part of the gulf.. the yellow fin grouper.

Chris Balsli reeled in a 171 lb. tarpon and thought he broke the previous rodeo record, but the fish was actually 2 pounds shy.

"We knew he was real big. It was kind of shocking to see how big he was. I was just in shock."

Throughout the day, boats came in and fisherman showed off their catch. Judges inspected the fish and each one was weighed.

Monday awards will be handed out at Battleship Park Pavilion. Prizes include 15,000 dollars cash and a chance at a 22 foot Nautical Star Boat.

But for these anglers the biggest prize of all is the catch of the day; something all of them hope they reeled in.