by Richard Julylia
We all know the story of the great nighttime sword fishery in Florida during the 70's and 80's.Then the longliners showed up, and the rest is history. After a ban on commercial longlining, the fishery started a slow come back. Nighttime sword fishing picked up to the point, were some tournaments were again being held.
At that time, a small group of anglers in the Florida Keys have been quietly catching, daytime, swordfish on the bottom, and they were big. There charter customers could no longer keep their secret. As the word got out more anglers up the Florida coast started to test these unchartered waters. This tight-lipped society wanted to keep this fishery to themselves, and stay unnoticed for as long as possible. Time went by and more, and more anglers started catching daytime swordfish on the bottom. Before long a brand new technique developed and a new fishery was borne.
The size of the fish caught at night were smaller fish, a lot of them in the 30-to 100-pound range with the occasional 200 to 300 pounder being landed. Daytime caught swords are much larger—150- to 350-pound fish with some reaching up to 500 pounds.
To understand why more of the larger fish are caught on the bottom, we can thank NOAA for some scientific data they have provided. First, swordfish are a highly migratory species staying in one area for a short period of time. A sword was tagged in West Palm Beach, with a satellite tag and the tag was recovered in Puerto Rico. Female swordfish tend to grow larger than the males. Most resident fish are the smaller variety. As the fish grow larger, they develop a heating element in the brain that allows them to tolerate the colder water tempeture. With this “brain heater” they can search for food in very deep water. This single factor might explain why larger fish are caught on the bottom. Their primary diet is squid, but being a predator they will eat just about anything available.
About six years ago the Swordfish Club was started in Pompano Beach, Florida. One of the founding fathers, Bobby Boyle of R.J. Boyle Studios was instrumental in developing a lot of the rigs that are used to this day. Skip Smith is president of the club, and Skip has sailed around the world setting many IGFA world records. Captain Peter Wright will be one of their guest speaker's. The club members range from commercial fishermen, to charter captains, to weekend warriors. The biggest surprise at the meetings is that they share the same passion—swordfish information—information on how to catch swords, all the while practicing conservation. Keep in mind, you will need an Atlantic HMS Angling Permit to land and keep a swordfish. The club also has a Web site were a lot of great info is available, check it out at www.swordfishclub.org.
Now that we got that all out of the way, let's explore some of the rigging methods that have evolved around this new fishery. Keep in mind, the targeted species are big fish in water that's anywhere from 1,400 to 2,200 feet deep, so large capacity reels are needed with a no-stretch lines. Eighty pound tackle with no-stretch 80-pound Spectra line is the gear with the proper line capacity needed to do the job correctly. Break-away weights are also used to get the baits to the bottom, and then will break free after a strike or when pulled to the surface. The break-away weights average between 6 to 15 pounds and are called sleds. These weights are created by filling corrugated or PVC water pipe with concrete, or by cutting construction reed bars to size . Weights that are retrievable and not used to break away, are made of lead.
At that time, a small group of anglers in the Florida Keys have been quietly catching, daytime, swordfish on the bottom, and they were big. There charter customers could no longer keep their secret. As the word got out more anglers up the Florida coast started to test these unchartered waters. This tight-lipped society wanted to keep this fishery to themselves, and stay unnoticed for as long as possible. Time went by and more, and more anglers started catching daytime swordfish on the bottom. Before long a brand new technique developed and a new fishery was borne.
The size of the fish caught at night were smaller fish, a lot of them in the 30-to 100-pound range with the occasional 200 to 300 pounder being landed. Daytime caught swords are much larger—150- to 350-pound fish with some reaching up to 500 pounds.
To understand why more of the larger fish are caught on the bottom, we can thank NOAA for some scientific data they have provided. First, swordfish are a highly migratory species staying in one area for a short period of time. A sword was tagged in West Palm Beach, with a satellite tag and the tag was recovered in Puerto Rico. Female swordfish tend to grow larger than the males. Most resident fish are the smaller variety. As the fish grow larger, they develop a heating element in the brain that allows them to tolerate the colder water tempeture. With this “brain heater” they can search for food in very deep water. This single factor might explain why larger fish are caught on the bottom. Their primary diet is squid, but being a predator they will eat just about anything available.
About six years ago the Swordfish Club was started in Pompano Beach, Florida. One of the founding fathers, Bobby Boyle of R.J. Boyle Studios was instrumental in developing a lot of the rigs that are used to this day. Skip Smith is president of the club, and Skip has sailed around the world setting many IGFA world records. Captain Peter Wright will be one of their guest speaker's. The club members range from commercial fishermen, to charter captains, to weekend warriors. The biggest surprise at the meetings is that they share the same passion—swordfish information—information on how to catch swords, all the while practicing conservation. Keep in mind, you will need an Atlantic HMS Angling Permit to land and keep a swordfish. The club also has a Web site were a lot of great info is available, check it out at www.swordfishclub.org.
Now that we got that all out of the way, let's explore some of the rigging methods that have evolved around this new fishery. Keep in mind, the targeted species are big fish in water that's anywhere from 1,400 to 2,200 feet deep, so large capacity reels are needed with a no-stretch lines. Eighty pound tackle with no-stretch 80-pound Spectra line is the gear with the proper line capacity needed to do the job correctly. Break-away weights are also used to get the baits to the bottom, and then will break free after a strike or when pulled to the surface. The break-away weights average between 6 to 15 pounds and are called sleds. These weights are created by filling corrugated or PVC water pipe with concrete, or by cutting construction reed bars to size . Weights that are retrievable and not used to break away, are made of lead.
