March Madness Rum Runner Trip

This trip followed what was a poor excuse for a Winter but winter nonetheless. We were chomping at the bit after months of leader building, gear preparation and online scouting. My new buddy Matt actually lives here in SE Ohio so we rolled out together after a half day at work. Neither of us slept during our 17 hour drive d/t our excitement and interest in planning for the days ahead. Matt and I have had a blast getting together numerous times to build leaders, swap stories, and make plans. Still, I felt really lucky that he turned out to be a great guy to fish with and a real asset.

We slept a couple of hours then got right to making bait Sat. afternoon. We were running baits by right about sundown. Still pretty exhausted, but full of anticipation, we settled in. I got the first run on a legal flounder I had caught earlier and hooked up with what turned out to be my first bull, 6,2” (new species #1 for the trip).



Matt was up next with a real beauty…. I think they are hideous and might stab one in the head if it were legal for a day (not really), he thinks they are beautiful, to each his own. In any case, it was a really nice fish. We had a few more runs but no takers. We crashed and hit the back waters for bait again the next day.



It is a good thing that Matt is pretty proficient with a cast net because the rays just were not around. We logged a lot of time wading and in a canoe, no dice. Most of our bait early in the trip came from Matt’s net and fishing cut bait.

Night two was fairly similar. I lucked up and got a small bonnet on my surf rod. It produced this 5’ BT for me. We were very happy to see this guy.

Not too much later Matt’s 12/0 was rolling again. He made short work of this 5,9 Bull (new species #2 of the trip).

We had made plans to meet up with Jason and headed South to pick him up the following afternoon. It was really great to see my wonderful and hospitable “Tommy Boy” sharking buddy again. We celebrated our reunion and Jason commenced to psychologically torture the new guy on the crew (that means he likes you). Following a great reunion/introduction we got some rest and got back on the road. I think our destination was the furthest South any of us had fished. We had to yak our gear and bait to the final destination before we got to it.


Bait one goes out on my 80W and within 15 mins.it was on

I had committed myself to fishing 80W on my new Bone Island Rod “Procinctu” and wondered how it would do if the real deal presented. We got our answer as you can see. I am grateful to Jason and Matt for providing additional ballast when necessary.

Fishing an unknown area and wondering about species I tried to stop this fish hard. Strike on the 80W brought the initial power run to a fairly quick halt. Still, I was in my braid and eager to get back to the 150 mono! The fish turned a couple times and took a little line but low gear with someone hanging off my back turned him back quickly. This fight lasted about 15 mins. But left me quite sore. When I heard Matt yell “HAMMER” I absolutely tingled I swear. I have wanted one for what seems like forever (new species #2, PB #1 for the trip, 10,1). As you can see, our friend appears to have had another fight with one of his own recently.

We did not go crazy getting poster type pics. and prioritized getting this very green and angry fish back in the water. He would not hold still for a second and nearly left a wake on his way home.

Matt put the cherry on the top of the evening with a 5,6 bull (new species #3 for the trip). He stomped this fish handily on his 12/0. I think we were all so stoked about what we had accomplished together already.


We celebrated thoroughly with a melee that culminated in multiple wrestling matches and even some sparring. Yes…. Our friend Jerry the sailor was present. We awoke and debriefed, trying to match bruises and sore limbs with specific incidents. Then, it was back to making bait.

Jason started us off this time with a nice 7,10 lemon on his 30W/Sailor Jerry rod combo. After a nice little fight it was sharks on the sand once again. Jason put so much effort into seeing that us “travelers” caught fish, it was amazing to me that he caught anything. He was a great sport providing us with guidance and stored bait he brought along when we ran low on fresh-Thanks Tommy!!!!



Matt followed with a monster lemon that resulted in a note next to the catch in his shark log “buy Avet 80W”!! He landed the fattest lemon I have seen to date,(8,10, new species #4 and PB #2 for the trip)!!! This fish gave him a nice tussle, leaving him both elated and sore. It was awesome to see my buddy land such a pig of a lemon. Jason also gave Matt a quick biology lesson, OK two… One was with a remora!



The following night we headed back North to our original spot and spent a lot of time hunting bait. We gigged a few fish but still no rays there. We ran baits late as high tide approached. It was not too long before my 80W rolled and I was hooked up to a fish that fought a lot harder than it should have. This 7,2 lemon truly surprised me on arrival, a nice fish, but man did it pull like a bigger one.

Next I hooked up with a nice little BT that had us all quite excited. I think it surfed in!!!

Jason had to get home so Matt and I decided to go for it and fish an untried but promising spot our last night. We were met with a shallow beach, lots of shell and plenty of current. We had one good run on my 80W. In this case my 150 mono. was promptly shredded by shell, bummer. The rest of the night was pretty quiet except for the occasional piercing shark alarm set off by current and a small amount of weed. This may have been good as we actually got some rest for the long ride home. We did not sleep indoors a single night on this trip.
It was amazing trip and one I don’t expect to duplicate anytime soon. Fishing great water with two really great guys and catching some really exceptional fish…. I am really grateful.

Chris