“It came by way of a dance competition,” Jordan said. “Normally my wife and mother-in-law go to the national dance competition stuff for my daughter. This time we decided to go.<\/p>\n
“The boys looked at me like, ‘Are you crazy?’ ” he continued. ” ‘Yes, I am! But I will make it worth your while. Trust me!’ “<\/p>\n
The dancing occurred in the afternoons and evenings. The men fished early in the mornings and late at night. The first trip was a shark fishing experience on the beach<\/a> from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., with Coastal Worldwide.<\/p>\n Before they fished, Patterson and Keeton attended a mandatory catch-and-release shark fishing class. Afterward, they had to pass a test. The permit cost $35. Other “dance dads” came to watch the show.<\/p>\n “It’s a very communal thing,” Jordan said. “You’re sitting around in chairs waiting for hits. I think most of them came because they didn’t believe what we were doing.”<\/p>\n Shark fishing on the beach is raw, bare-knuckles, hand-to-hand combat with apex predators that rank only below orcas. A big shark also outweighs a teenage angler by a large margin. To fight such big game, Patterson and Keeton wedged their rod butts into sturdy thigh braces.<\/p>\n The group started with four rods in iron frames lodged in the sand. They used heavy duty reels from Penn and Okuma. The rods were Shakespeare Ugly Sticks. Though inexpensive, the Ugly Stick is a premier big game rod. The rods were attached to bait that was set 400, 300 and 200 yards from the beach. Another rod was closer to the beach to catch dogfish and sand sharks. The terminal end of the lines was a 1,000-test, braided stainless steel leader. Cut stingray was the bait.<\/p>\n “They take a kayak out to place the baits,” Jordan said. “They’re trying to get beyond the sandbars. They also have a drone that drops the farthest bait out.”<\/p>\n With the baits set, the anglers waited. When a shark finally took a bait, the tension built slowly.<\/p>\n “You do not set the hook for 10 to 20 minutes,” Jordan said. “You’re waiting for it to swallow the stingrays. You wait for a shark to swallow bait. They grab it and swim slowly, mouthing it. They carry it around slowly, usually parallel to the beach. When they try to ingest it, they take off, spinning out line as fast as I’ve ever seen.”<\/p>\n Jordan said that their guides could determine the species of shark immediately by the way it behaved.<\/p>\n “We hooked 10 sharks — mostly blacktips — and landed six,” Jordan said. “We touched four, including one bull shark and one tiger shark.”<\/p>\n A great white shark bit, but it overpowered the tackle.<\/p>\n “Keeton had the first one on,” Jordan said. “It took out 600 yards of line. The guide said it was a white shark. At 600 yards, the leader snapped.”<\/p>\n Let that sink in for a moment. A fish big enough to snap a 1,000-pound test steel leader.<\/p>\n “The leader was frayed like somebody sawed through it with hacksaw,” Jordan said. “The guides said only a white shark can do that. The leader by itself cost $200.”<\/p>\n Line color indicates how much line a shark takes. The color changes every 100 yards.<\/p>\n Patterson Johnson’s 9-foot tiger shark was a premier catch. Keeton Johnson caught a big bull shark. Jordan Johnson said the blacktips were 4- to 7-feet long.<\/p>\n “Blacktips were the hardest to handle,” Jordan said. “You’re trying to keep them alive, but they’re thrashing. It’s hard to get the hook out. It takes two or three people to hold them to keep them from throwing their head around. The bigger sharks, they’re done when you get them to the beach. They open their mouth for you.”<\/p>\n You can release small sharks from the beach. Waves will strand big sharks. The guides hold the tail and walk the shark out to shoulder-deep water where wave action is not intense. This is done in pitch darkness.<\/p>\n BULL REDS<\/p>\n The second leg of this triple play was fishing for big red drum in the Intracoastal Waterway with Captain Jack’s Guide Service.<\/p>\n “The boys had never had a chance to catch a bull red, so we were gunning for that,” Jordan said.<\/p>\n The tackle consisted of fairly light Okuma spinning rigs with 20-pound test line. They used cut wahoo for bait on bottom rigs.<\/p>\n With a violent storm approaching, Patterson and Keeton both hooked giant bull reds that weighed about 40 pounds each.<\/p>\n “Both boys hooked up within five minutes as the storm approached, and it took them about 25 minutes to get the fish in,” Jordan said. “Patterson landed his fish first. Keeton was about five minutes behind him. I seriously considered cutting his line so we could get back ahead of the storm.”<\/p>\n Jordan relented and allowed Keeton to land his fish. They paid a price for that decision, but ultimately, it was worth it.<\/p>\n “We got SMOKED!” Jordan said. “It was pouring rain and 60 mph wind. The rain felt like needles. The boys held on for dear life, but we had to get back for the dance competition. It was absolutely grueling for 40 minutes. It felt like we were riding on the lightning to get in.<\/p>\n “Thankfully the tide was going in, and we were near a naval base. I told the boys that if something happens, make sure you got off on the port side and drift on the tide into the naval base. I really thought it was going to come to that.”<\/p>\n The Blue Angels aerial demonstration team is based at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. They practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Jordan said it was thrilling to fish while the Blue Angels maneuvered overhead.<\/p>\n RED SNAPPER<\/p>\n The final leg was fishing for red snapper offshore over artificial reefs with Hog Wild Fishing Charters. Joining the Johnsons were Todd Henson and his son Declan, 14. First, the group had to catch bait. They used sabiki rigs<\/a> to catch about 100 pinfish and croaker, and then they went about 35 miles offshore to artificial reefs where big red snappers live. It was a bluebird day with no wind and a slack tide.<\/p>\n The limit is two red snappers each. The party got their limit quickly. Their largest red snappers weighed about 20 pounds. They also caught vermillion snappers.<\/p>\n Despite all of the fishing action, the Johnson men respected their mission.<\/p>\n “We didn’t miss a dance,” Jordan said. “Once we got the dance schedule, we filled out the fishing around it. Dance was our priority, but we had to do something with the boys too. They have been fortunate to do a lot of fishing, but this was extra special. It was an experience they will never forget.”<\/p>\n![\"Patterson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Out0705-2_t800.jpg\")
Patterson Johnson battles a shark in the surf at night near Pensacola, Fla.
\n(Photo submitted by Jordan Johnson)<\/p>\n![\"Patterson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Out0705-3_t800.jpg\")
Patterson Johnson caught this 40-pound red drum in front of an approaching storm near Pensacola, Fla.
\n(Photo submitted by Jordan Johnson)<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Untitled_design_48_IcBcQ8z_t261.png\"\/)
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