Miami - Haulover to Fowey Light
Capt. Dean Panos
May 30, 2002
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
5/30/02 - SWORDFISH
Fishing all week has been very good, but this report will deal with the ultimate fish and the ultimate fight. We’re talking swordfish! Last night the swordfishing off of Miami was good. The night started off uneventful for the first hour .Setting up well east of Miami, we put out five rods with live blue runners for bait. We set our baits at different depths and used glowsticks on all of them. The tackle used (Penn International 80’s and 50’s), fishing at night in the middle of the Gulfstream, large live baits, harnesses and flying gaffs, all make this an experience that will not be forgotten. This is big game fishing for big game predators.
Our first strike came after we had set up for about 45 minutes. While I was focusing on my radar to see the course of a freighter that just past us, I noticed the middle rod tip bounce violently. It was obvious that there was a swordfish attacking the bait. No sooner had we noticed the rod tip, when the green cyalume stick started rising to the surface quickly. We attempted to get tight onto the swordfish and did get one run out of him, when the hooks pulled. Swordfish have soft mouths and are notorious for billing and killing a bait but not actually eating it. A few minutes later the shallow rod started bouncing and soon the green cyalume started rising. We got on the fish quick, got tight on him and soon had a solid hookset. We fought the fish on the 50Wide and after about 25 minutes had a nice swordfish boatside. Estimated weight was around 75 pounds, and although it was definitely a legal fish, we decided to release it.
As we pulled in the other lines, two of the remaining rods had the baits picked off clean with one leader severely abraded. At this point we were definitely 1 for 2 or possibly as high as 1 for 4.
We ran back North and reset for another drift. As the trip was approaching the end, I joked with my charter and told them that as was customary for most of my trips this week, we will probably hook a large fish with about 5 minutes left. Right on queue, we reeled in the shallowest rod, when the farthest rod started bouncing and the cyalume stick started coming up fast. We didn’t need to get tight on the fish, since drag was screaming off the reel. After about 45 minutes we got the fish to within 100ft of the boat. With an unexpected burst of energy, this swordfish then pulled out at least 150 yards on line within seconds. It was obviously a big fish and everyone on the boat knew it. A full one hour and 10 minutes later we brought a 200-pound plus swordfish next to the boat. The last run this fish made must of really tired him out. When he was next to the boat he was practically dead and would not have survived if released, so since this was a big fish and conditions the way they were, we hit him with the flying gaff and brought in. In all reality we did the right thing in releasing the smaller fish and keeping one for the table. We ended up the night with a definite 2 out 3 swordfish, which could have been as high as 2 out of 5 (counting those bites that were not seen but were pretty assured of being swordfish). Emotions were high and you could feel the excitement and electricity. The ride home felt short, as everyone knew we just did battle with a magnificent creature.
If you would like to experience this style of big game fishing, give me a call and lets set up a swordfish charter.
Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Capt. Dean Panos
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