Sportin’ Life Sets Single-Day Trolling Record in South Carolina

An unforgettable October outing turns into a historic moment for the Sportin’ Life crew, with 30 bites and unmatched camaraderie
A crew of men stand in the cockpit of a sport-fishing boat.
No other boats were able to compete with the record numbers that Capt. Mike Glaesner and Sportin’ Life posted in mid-October. Courtesy Sportin’ Life

Special deliverySign up for the free Marlin email newsletter. Subscribe to Marlin magazine and get a year of highly collectible, keepsake editions – plus access to the digital edition and archives.  

It was mid-October in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, the time of year when the offshore fishing scene in Charleston slows way down. Most teams had already headed south with their boats, gone hunting or tied up for the season to watch college football. The South Carolina Governor’s Cup tournament series had ended back in mid-July, but the sailfish stuck around throughout the end of the summer with a few blue ones mixed in. For some folks who had ventured offshore in the fall, the fishing had been hit or miss, with several boats reporting a few sail bites. Although our crew aboard Sportin’ Life, a 59-foot Spencer, typically fishes a handful of times each fall, we had no idea what we had in store for us that Sunday in October.

After the weather finally cleared that week, some boats fished on Saturday. The bite had been scattered, but there were a couple of boats that had gotten eight to 10 bites. Others had reported fishing was slow with just a few blackfin tuna and wahoo bites. The weather looked good with a light west wind and seas at 2 to 3 feet, so we made the call to go.

Capt. Mike “Glaze” Glaesner and our crew of Boyce Campsen, Will Gredick and Steve Leasure, our same team that had fished the South Carolina Governor’s Cup together, met us at the dock, rigged and ready for a day offshore. We really didn’t know what was to come of the day and didn’t have high expectations. I had invited my good friend Miles Jordan and his son Will to join us. They quickly said yes, even if it just meant they’d have a nice boat ride and knock back a few cold ones. We met up at the boat at 5:15 a.m. and pulled out of Toler’s Cove Marina about 15 minutes later.

We eased out at a nice clip of 33 knots. Glaze had decided to run up to the north out of Charleston Harbor where a couple of boats had been marking bait the day before. At around 7:20 a.m., Glaze pulled Sportin’ Life back to his desired trolling speed. We were in 400 feet of blue-green water that held at 81 degrees. Scattered grass floated all around us.

A sailfish mid-jump out of the ocean.
The 2024 fall sailfish bite off Charleston, South Carolina, resulted in some outstanding fishing to close out the season. Credit The Buckskin Billfish

Within seconds we had set out our spread and were fishing. Bam! “There’s one on the left teaser!” We hooked that sail and then another in the turn. A double-­header to start the day! From that point forward, the frenzy was on.

Glaze continued to mark bait and billfish as we eased offshore with that same body of water as it pushed eastward. We were getting singles, doubles and even triples on sails all day with a few mahis and blackfins mixed in too. We even had a sneaky blue one come in on the teaser and then slide in on the flat line. We had initially called it another sail. But soon thereafter, we thought it could be a blue by the way it fought. After about a 10-minute fight, there he was, a small blue marlin! The action was nonstop. I felt like we were going in a continuous circle.

By the end of the day, at 4 p.m., we had totaled 30 billfish bites with a tally of 24 releases, including 23 sails and one blue marlin. We were all shocked by what we had just witnessed. In my 40 years of fishing out of Charleston with Glaze, it was by far our best day with regard to numbers. I’m sure I can say the same for the rest of our crew.
Not knowing whether we had enough sail flags, we asked our friends on Game Changer for a few extras. They helped us out and floated them over. The ride in was surreal as we recounted every bite and every fish, laughing and joking about the ones that got away. Amid the nonstop action, we even had a zing pow with a nice bird’s nest on a reel. I won’t say any names, but they know who they are.

Read Next: South Carolina’s Marlin Fishing History

I can’t say enough about our crew. They were dialed in for sure. Fortunately, we had just enough baits to get us through the day. Did we have to use a few hangover baits? Heck yeah!

Per local lore and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the 24 billfish we released that day set the unofficial record for most billfish caught with dead bait on the troll in a day off South Carolina. What a great way to end the year!

There is nothing like being offshore in South Carolina in the fall with great friends and family. Having 30 bites was just the icing on the cake. It’s certainly a day we will never forget.

Free Email Newsletters

Sign up for free Marlin Group emails to receive expert big-game content along with key tournament updates and to get advanced notice of new expeditions as they’re introduced.