Alabama's Gulf Coast Fishing with ProKat Boats and
Phil Mosley
Famous Kat Owners
 Editor’s
Note: You may ask why I’m devoting a week’s
worth of information to fishing on a catamaran? The
answer is simple. Having hunted and fished my entire
life, I’ve never fished on a catamaran, except
many years ago, when I was in high school and a group
from our church went to Panama City, Florida, on an
overnight fishing trip. We had 38 people fishing off
a big catamaran that had bunks down below to sleep 40
people and a galley big enough to feed a large group
of fishermen. At the time, this was the first and the
only catamaran boat I’d ever fished from or seen.
It was also one of the bi ggest
fishing boats in Panama City. My second introduction
to a catamaran was when I tried my hand at sailing out
of Destin, Florida. After 10 minutes of instruction,
I rented a sailing Hobie Cat and was off to run into
the wind. I remember the thrill of getting that light
cat up on one keel as I turned it rather quickly. I
also remember the sharp thud on the back of my head
I encountered when I tacked into the wind and forgot
to duck when the boom came over my head to catch the
wind from another direction. I got that funny taste
in my mouth and saw those white spots in front of my
eyes that you see just before you faint. However, I’d
never seen a catamaran truly built for sport fishing
until I rig fished on the ProKat. Apparently, there’s
a large armada of cat enthusiasts out in the salt-water
fishing world. To keep you updated on some of the newest
innovations in fishing boats, I needed first-hand knowledge
of what a catamaran could do.
Question: Mike, who’s using cats today?
Robinson: We sell many ProKats to the government. We’ve
even shipped Kats to Guantánamo Bay. One of the
latest sales we’ve made was to Jimmy Johnson,
the famous football coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson’s
an avid fisherman, as well as a football coach and a
TV commentator. He’s always wanted to try a Kat,
so we took him out on a sea trial. He liked the boat
so well that he traded in two of his v-bottom boats
to buy a catamaran. Captain Norm Isaac, host of the
BXRL Fishing Tournaments on ESPN, runs charters out
of the two cats he owns. Mel Fisher, the treasure hunter
from the Florida Keys who discovered the “Atocha,”
one of the richest treasure ships ever found, purchased
two ProKats because he l iked
the stability the catamaran offered for his treasure-salvaging
operation.
Question: How tough are your boats?
Robinson: One of our customers was headed to Key West,
Florida, for a great fishing vacation with his son and
a friend. He was pulling his boat, when he fell asleep
on Highway 1. He flipped the boat over, broke the trailer
in half and rolled his Pro Kat
over on its side. The boat skidded almost 300 feet down
the highway. He had to get two wreckers to lift the
boat up, and he bought a new trailer to carry the boat.
Even though the hull had some bruises on it, the boat
was still fishable, and the vacation wasn’t ruined.
They caught a lot of fish, had a great trip and called
to tell me about the toughness of the boat. Once I found
out the owner didn’t have insurance on the boat,
we offered to fix it for free. He’s a valued customer
of ProKat, and we take care of our customers. Then last
week, I received a call from the Bahamas. Somehow, one
of our customers had punched a hole in the bottom of
his boat. So, we chartered an airplane and sent some
of our technicians to inspect the boat. We discovered
we could fix the boat and return it to the United States
for him. We want to take care of our customers and get
them back to fishing as soon as possible.
Question: How big are the catamarans you make?
Robinson: We have cats from as small as 20 feet that
are powered by a single engine up to a 36-foot boat
with a 12-foot, 8-inch beam. Every ProKat boat is hand-built
by our employees, who are trained to do a specific job
well. Our employees are skilled technicians.
If you want to know more about fishing Alabama’s
Gulf Coast, visit the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention
and Business Bureau at www.gulfshores.com,
or call 800-745-SAND.
For more information on ProKat Boats, call 205-763-0231or
visit www.prokatboats.biz.
Tomorrow: Speed is What You
Need
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