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If there was a type of fishing that proves variety is the spice of life, bottom fishing is it. This past week I finally got a chance to head offshore with my bud Don McCarthy aboard his boat the Manatee Mac. Our crew of four left the dock thinking of bottom fish -- the other white meat.

Like Don, bottom fishing has long been my passion. So many fishermen scoff at those of us who prefer bottom bumping instead of trolling for kings or chumming up a cobia. But that's fine by me because ounce for ounce, the pure white flesh of bottom fish is the créme de la créme of seafood. Another reason I enjoy bottom fishing is that every time you set the hook, it could be just about anything. It might be a 30-pound gag grouper or red snapper that will take you to your knees, or it might be a 3-pound triggerfish or nothing at all, because if you don't swing fast you miss the ball. Nearly every inhabitant of our offshore reefs and live bottom has teeth and in the blink of an eye they can strip your hook bare and that means reeling up from 100-plus feet and starting all over again. If you are lacking in stamina, bottom fishing definitely isn't for you.

This particular day, from the moment we started catching bait with Sabiki rigs to the last fish of the day, we saw a hodge-podge of fish. We caught pinfish, cigar minnows, slippery dicks, beeliners (vermillion snapper), red snapper, silver snapper, ringtails, black sea bass, gag grouper, gray triggerfish, sharks, scamp grouper, king mackerel, spanish mackerel, a mangrove snapper and one nice cobia. That's why I love to bottom fish!

Don McCarthy and I get along like peas and carrots out there. Friends for years, every time I have fished with him we catch, we laugh and we respect this precious resource by never taking more than is necessary for a few meals. Don is probably one of the best bottom fishermen I know. Harry Morales, though relatively new to our area, also has adopted this philosophy and he heads out bottom fishing whenever the chance arises.

Our day was perfect in about every way. The seas were calm, the water gin-clear and as we drifted over live bottom there was always something to catch your attention, from a loggerhead turtle checking you out only a rod length away to a school of flying fish skimming over the water using their tails as rudders. We had giant remoras following us all day, gobbling up scraps of squid thrown overboard, and whenever we made a move hundreds of spotted oceanic dolphins would try to run us down, riding the boat's bow waves. There was always something going on, another reason this type of fishing excites me so much.

While we fished, we could hear counterparts on the radio all talking about the number of cobia they were catching on and around the artificial reefs. But here we were, all by ourselves with nary a boat in sight. We didn't have to watch for other boats' fishing lines or put up with boats trolling within inches of our transom. The ocean was our oyster and the pearls were slowly filling the fish box in the form of delicious snapper and incredible filets of triggerfish that were destined to be slowly sautéed, then served on a bun with tartar sauce that night.

As the summer progresses and the ocean temperature rises, bottom fish often move farther offshore and though you may not catch quite the variety that we did, it is still a blast. As much fun as it is now, the fall is even better. Grouper school up, snapper go on the feed and Lord knows what you might catch -- African pompano, red grouper, speckled hind grouper, snowy grouper, goliath grouper and other fish that I need a book to identify.

It's hard work but at the end of the day there is a sense of satisfaction that is hard to beat. You get home, get a quick bite, take a shower and sleep like you have never slept before. Even in that night's deepest dream I'll bet you'll be smiling.

Peace, love and bottom fishing!