After a Covid inspired hiatus, the Military Appreciation Day (MAD) event was back on in Southport, NC. MAD is an organization that pulls together local captains (and other businesses) to volunteer a day of fishing and fun for active duty military men and women from all branches. With this being the 20th anniversary of 9/11, it added another dimension to the event as well... a clear reminder of what our troops mean to us, and the sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made over those two decades. This was my second time participating in the event, and what a difference from the first one. In 2019, a passing storm system left us with rain squalls and heavy seas. Even when the rain stopped, the seas were just too much, and most of us brought our troops inshore to fish the creeks and marshes. This year, the weather cooperated very nicely, especially as we made our way out of the Cape Fear River mouth into open ocean. Calm seas and a nice, cool morning provided a comfortable cruise, and made it easy to move around on deck. The fishing, on the other hand, was a little tougher. I thought we might start out trolling up a few Spanish mackerel for the cooler, and once we had some meat for the guys to take home, we'd kick it up with something sportier. We were not fishing my home waters, and I was having a hard time finding the fish... although later I heard that all of the captains were having the same challenge. It didn't help that the river had flushed brown water down the beach. I've never had much luck on Spanish in brown water. We managed one keeper and a few shorts, along with a perfect eating-size bluefish. Menhaden (pogies) were schooled up everywhere, so after a while I decided to throw the net and get a few. Maybe we could entice a king mackerel to bite. Soon after I got the bait aboard, I spotted a shrimp boat working nearby. That's often a good opportunity to find a king or a cobia, and almost certainly a chance for some sharks. It wasn't long before we were hooked up on the first good shark, about a five foot sandbar shark, and one of the troops took him on. The shark put on a good fight, especially when we got it close to the boat, but we were able to bring him in for pictures and a clean release. We managed two more big sandbars, so two of the other guys were able to get in on the action. When the last soldier's turn came, the sharks turned off and we ended up with another bluefish... not a big one, but we were all impressed with his tenacity for taking a bait that was almost half his size! Trolling further offshore for the last hour of the trip, we managed a couple of smaller blacktip sharks. The king mackerel bite was slow all around. As far as I know, none of the almost 40 boats in the event landed a king. It seems like the bottom fishing and the inshore boats did well, though. Overall, it was a really great day. I think the guys had a good time, and I know that I did. You can bet we'll be signed up again in 2022!