Knot Lucky Fishing

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Battling PTSD with offshore fishing and empowering our warriors with the tools to get back on their

11/02/2026

There is nothing like it when the Tybee Island bull redfish start running in the surf. You stand there with the waves rolling in, line tight, and you know one of these big girls could hit at any second. I never get tired of it. Not once.

They are such beautiful fish. Some come up silver, some that deep classic red, and some glowing bronze or almost pumpkin colored like they were painted for fall. Every one is a little different, and every one is a gift.

And the fight. Man, the fight is one of a kind. That raw bull strength when they put their shoulders into it and peel drag off your reel, then that signature head shake that rattles all the way up the rod and into your chest. That is what people travel from all over the country to feel. I get to live it right here at home, and I do not take that for granted.

Big bull reds are breeders, so we handle them with care, keep them wet, snap the picture, and send them back to make more memories for the next angler. Out of the darkness and into the surf. That is where I find my peace.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

11/01/2026

POV: eye to eye, toe to fin with a great white. There is nothing between me and that shark but a leader and a prayer, and in that moment the whole world goes quiet. You feel the power coming up through the line and you see that black eye looking right back at you. We got the tag in, got it loose, and watched it swim off carrying a name that will never be forgotten.

We named this great white after Cpl. Steven Ivan Candelo. Steven was a Houston kid who grew up dreaming of being a soldier, and he joined the Army while he was still in high school. He served with 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, and on March 26, 2008, he was killed in Baghdad when his vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled gr***de. He was 20 years old.

Twenty. Most people that age are still figuring out who they are. Steven already knew, and he gave everything for it. Now every time this shark pings, his name moves through the Atlantic and his story reaches people who never would have heard it. That is what our White Shark Tagging Program is about. We catch, tag, and release great whites for real research, and every single one carries the name of someone we lost.

If this hit you, send it to somebody who needs to hear Steven's name today. Shares are what push these videos out, and every new set of eyes helps us put the next tag in the water. Big love to Jen too, go check out her video and show her some love.

Drop Steven's name in the comments. Let's make sure he is never forgotten.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

11/01/2026

I still can't wrap my head around this one. Pages with huge followings like Mr Cian Twomey have been sharing this around the world! A few seconds of video from our boat off Tybee, one of our veterans reaching over the side to pet a wild white shark and that shark swinging its head around, has now gone international. A moment that lasted a heartbeat out on the water is being talked about on the other side of the planet. Crazy.

I am still not sure what made her reach out and touch it without warning, but she knows not to do it again, and the shark was released. It sure made for a great video though. These animals are wild and powerful, and they deserve our respect every single time. That is a big part of why we do this work, to learn from them and protect them.

With all this attention on one video, my heart goes out to the people who were not as fortunate this year. Prayers for the family of 12 year old Nico Antic, who was bitten off a Sydney beach on January 18 and passed away days later. Prayers for the family of Steven Mattaboni, a father of two who was killed while spearfishing near Rottnest Island in Western Australia on May 16. Prayers for the family of the 39 year old man lost at Kennedy Shoal on the Great Barrier Reef on May 24. And prayers for continued healing for Greg Wilfert, the 71 year old Maine lifeguard who was pulled under by a great white off Scarborough in August and lived to tell it. The ocean gives us so much, and it can take just as quick. Hold your people close.

On a lighter note, I am stoked the weather is finally cooling down and football season is here. Not because I like football, but because it makes a whole lot more room on the reef with everybody parked on the couch 🤣 Hopefully the wind dies this week so we can get back out there 🙏🏽

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

10/31/2026

I have watched this video about fifty times and I am still crying laughing. Richard Tyree, a hilarious creator over on TikTok, got ahold of one of our great white shark tagging videos and remixed it with the line that "white people will pet anything." Brother, he is not wrong. There we are, alongside a fifteen foot apex predator, and somebody on the boat is reaching over like it is a golden retriever at the dog park.

Here is the truth behind the laugh. We are not out there petting sharks for fun. Every great white we catch, tag, and release carries the name of a fallen Army Ranger or service member, and every tag sends back real research data on where these animals travel and how they live. It is serious work with a serious purpose. But if a guy on TikTok can make the whole world laugh at us while shining a light on that mission, I will take it every single time.

Richard, thank you for the laugh and for the love. You are welcome on the boat anytime. Fair warning though, you might end up petting one too.

Go give him a follow, share this with somebody who needs a good laugh today, and if you want to help us put more tags on more sharks in honor of our fallen brothers, reach out and get involved with Knot Lucky.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

10/31/2026

Watching the sun come up this morning, just sitting still and thinking about God and about life. There is something about that first light coming over the water that slows everything down. The noise goes quiet, the mind settles, and you start to see what really matters.

I am so grateful for this journey. Not just the good days, but the hard ones too, because every one of them got me here. I am grateful for the people God has put in my path, the ones who walked beside me, lifted me up, and taught me something along the way. And I am grateful for the lessons, even the ones that came the hard way. Especially those.

So wherever you are this morning, take a second. Look up. Slow down. Remember to enjoy your breath, because every single one is a gift.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

10/29/2026

This is one of my favorite pictures ever taken on the Knot Lucky. A great white shark boatside, mouth wide open, rows of teeth catching the sun, and every single person on that boat locked in on the moment. Look at the faces. That is pure, raw excitement mixed with a whole lot of respect for what is sitting right there at the gunwale.

People ask me what tagging a white shark feels like, and the honest answer is there is nothing else like it. It is chaos and calm at the same time. Lines everywhere, water moving, everybody hollering, hearts pounding, and somehow in the middle of all that noise there is this focus. Everyone has a job. Everyone trusts the person next to them. For a lot of the veterans who come out with us, that feeling is something they have not had since they took the uniform off.

Every shark we tag carries the name of a fallen brother or sister, and every tag sends back real data that helps us understand where these animals go and how they live. So this picture is not just a cool shot of a big fish. It is science, it is healing, and it is a promise that the ones we lost will keep swimming.

I have seen a lot of things in my life. Very few of them come close to this.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

10/28/2026

TWO THOUSAND POUNDS OF ATTITUDE 🦈

You never forget the moment a great white breaks the surface. The rod doubled over, the line started screaming, and we knew right away he had taken the bait. Then, just like that, he came straight up and pushed his big head out of the water like he wanted the whole ocean to know he was there. Two thousand pounds of pure muscle and attitude, close enough to the boat to count the scars on his face.

He was not happy about it either. He started thrashing and rolling, throwing water everywhere, twisting that massive body back and forth like he was flexing for the camera. Every pound of him was on display. That broad back, that thick tail, those shoulders built like a freight train. He was not scared of us one bit. He was letting us know exactly who runs this ocean, and trust me, it is not us.

Moments like that will humble the toughest man alive. I have been in some wild places in my life, but nothing makes you feel smaller and more alive at the same time than staring down an apex predator in his own backyard. That shark has been cruising these waters longer than any of us have been fishing them, and he carries himself like he knows it.

To all the new folks finding us after yesterday's post, welcome aboard. We are so grateful you are here. This is what we do. Through Knot Lucky and our White Shark Tagging Program, we take veterans out on the water, we catch, tag, and release great whites for real research, and we name every shark after a fallen brother so their names keep swimming long after they are gone. Conservation, healing, and honor, all on one boat.

If you want to ride along with us, hit that follow button and share this with somebody who loves the ocean as much as we do. The more people who see this, the more veterans we can get out on the water and the more sharks we can tag. Drop a comment and tell me where you are watching from. I read every one of them.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

10/27/2026

Y'all, I was not ready. I'm sitting here with my coffee, half awake, flipping on CBS this morning, and there's our great white staring right back at me. I almost spilled the whole cup. I've spent six deployments learning to keep my cool under pressure, and a shark on morning TV is what finally got me.

Big thank you to CBS for sharing our clip and giving these incredible animals the spotlight they deserve. Every white shark we tag off Tybee is named after a fallen hero, so every time this footage plays, their names keep swimming a little farther. That's what this mission is all about.

So if you see a giant shark on your TV, don't panic. It's just one of ours saying good morning.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

10/25/2026

She reached out to pet a great white shark. The great white had other plans. 😳🦈

Watch that head swing. Right off Tybee Island, one second Jen, one of our veterans, is laying her hand on a wild white shark like it's the family dog, and the next second that shark whips around and lunges toward her. Everybody on the boat felt that one in their chest.

Now let me tell you the truth, because I always will. Jen was never in real danger. The crew had that shark under control the whole time, and it never got close enough to do any harm. But that reaction right there is a reminder of exactly what these animals are. Beautiful. Powerful. Wild. They deserve every ounce of respect we can give them.

This is what our White Shark Tagging Program is all about. We catch, tag, and release great whites to collect real research on where they go and how they live, and every shark we tag carries the name of a fallen brother. Science and honor on the same deck. Huge thanks to Starbrite and Gray's FishTag Research for standing with us and making this mission possible. This one didn't get a tag, though. We never had a safe shot, and we will never force it. The shark's safety and the crew's safety come first, every single time, so we let that shark go to swim another day.

And a big shout out to Ambio Life Sciences. Ambio is where I first physically felt God. In that moment I knew serving others was my life's purpose, and three days later I started running Knot Lucky full time. Every trip, every tag, every veteran on this boat traces back to that day. Thank you for saving my life, and for every veteran you keep saving.

Would you have had the guts to pet it? Tell me in the comments.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

10/24/2026

Fifteen feet of great white shark alongside the boat, and she was not interested in going quietly. Thrashing, rolling, throwing water over the gunwale and shaking the whole hull every time that tail came around. If you have never been that close to an animal that size when she decides she has had enough, I can tell you there is nothing like it. Pure power. Pure respect.

This one was caught by Nick Shreves right off Tybee Island, Nick's home waters, the same ocean he grew up looking at. There is something special about pulling the biggest fish of your life out of your own backyard, and Nick handled every second of it like a pro. The crew stayed calm, worked fast, and kept her safe the whole time, because that is the whole point of what we do out there.

We named her after SSG Booker. Every white shark in this program carries the name of one of our fallen brothers, and now SSG Booker gets to keep moving, cruising the Atlantic and sending us data every time she surfaces. His name lives on in one of the most powerful creatures on this planet, and I cannot think of a better way to honor a warrior.

Once the satellite tag was set, we sent her home. She went from going absolutely insane next to the boat to slipping back into the deep like none of it ever happened. Strong, healthy, and wearing a name that matters. Research for the science. Remembrance for our brothers. That is the mission.

All the love. His love. One love. 🇺🇸🪢🍀🦈🙏🏽

Address

Tybee Island, GA

Telephone

+15405358426

Website

http://www.knotlucky.org/

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