Alabama's Gulf Coast Fishing with ProKat Boats and
Phil Mosley
What is Fishability?
 Editor’s
Note: While fishing off Alabama’s Gulf Coast in
May, we ran offshore and fished for bottom feeders around
a gas rig that was 60-miles out in the Gulf of Mexico
and only about 2 miles from the Continental Shelf. I
was amazed at how fast we reached the rig, how smooth
the ride was on the ProKat catamaran, and how fast we
made the trip. When I asked Mike Robinson, the president
of ProKat catamarans with their lifetime warranties
against rot and 10-year limited hull warranty, why he
powered the 27-foot catamaran with two, Suzuki 175 outboards,
he explained, “I like the Suzuki 175s because
they’re in-line 4-cylinder engines, which cause
the motors to be more narrow and lighter than most other
outboards. These engines are very powerful. They have
more cubic inches than any other engines in the industry,
as far as I know. They’re more fuel-efficient
than the C-6s, an d
the two 170s really push these catamarans quickly across
the water. With our boats and the Suzuki engines, we
normally get 2- to 2-plus miles-per-gallon, which is
very-good fuel efficiency for a boat that has a 27-foot,
1-inch hull with a 9-foot, 4-inch beam. Also, the Suzuki
engineers have found a way to drastically reduce the
noise from their engines, making the engine hoods quiet
and a pleasure to use for fishing.
One of the words fishermen use in describing a boat
is fishability. While fishing 350-foot-deep water last
weekend, I wondered, “What is fishability?”
I analyzed why I liked fishing out of the ProKat catamaran.
* The ride was comfortable, quiet and stable, and I
still had all the fillings in my teeth when we arrived
at the rig to fish. There was no bouncing, jarring or
pitching and rolling like I’ve often experienced
on v-bottom boats.
* Each of us seven men fished at once, yet had plenty
of room to fish. We never got a line tangled.
* The cat responded quickly when the captain got close
to the rig and needed to move away from those barnacle-encrusted
pylons where we fished.
* The anglers weren’t thrown side-to-side by rolling
waves as the boat jumped ahead, when the captain helped
the anglers set their hooks by throttling the boat forward.
* My knees and thighs weren’t black-and-blue from
hitting the side of the boat while fishing by the end
of the trip
Many times, while holding a boat on a spot to fish,
a boat will rock back-and-forth in the waves, causing
your thighs and knees to get beat up on the side of
the boat as you brace yourself. With a catamaran, there’s
no pitching and yawing. Too, a cushioned rail at knee
level acts as a shock absorber when your knees come
in contact with the side of the boat.
I didn’t have a sore back and neck from bouncing
over the waves or riding up and dow n
on the waves. Many times, in a fast boat, especially
like the ones tournament king mackerel fishermen use,
you really can get beaten-up in a rough sea. Because
the cat has two hulls, it cuts through the waves better
than a v-bottom boat. When describing the word fishability,
we’re really saying that a boat has fishability
when you easily and comfortably can fish from it and
ride on it. The boat’s only half of a fishing
trip. Currently, the Gulf of Mexico is as hot as a firecracker
with plenty of fish being caught there. This is the
beginning of red snapper season, king mackerel season
and marlin season, and a great opportunity to catch
any kind of fish swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
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 205-763-0231
or visit www.prokatboats.biz.
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