Conquering swordfish by day - it's a deep, but not a dark secret
It's far offshore, very specialized, and not easy to do. But the angling for broadbill swordfish available in the deep, dark depths of the Atlantic Ocean far east of Jacksonville is world class.
That's the word from Ponte Vedra's Matt Bridgewater who had a once-in-a-lifetime swordfish trip recently with a crew of anglers aboard his boat Gemlux, a specially rigged 39-foot Yellowfin fishing machine.
Bridgewater and his buddies hooked five swordfish one day, boating three of the regal and brutal-fighting billfish. They weighed 120, 150 and 300 pounds.
Even more impressive is this remarkable fishing was done during daylight hours, not at night when swordfishing is traditionally done.
On the Gemlux that day were area anglers Matt Onorato, Jerry Gutzke, Brian Ferrel and Mark Boyer. Also on board was Drew Kettelhut, a veteran swordfisherman from Boca Raton who made the trip north to help Bridgewater and crew learn the specialized techniques of daytime broadbill angling.
"There is no way anyone can succeed in deep-water, daylight swordfishing without getting expert advice and tips from someone like Kettelhut," Bridgewater says. "I always believed we had plenty of swordfish off Northeast Florida, and that we could catch them in the day. So I learned how to do it from R.J. Boyle fishing videos, and over time met Drew Kettelhut.
"Drew came up to show us how he catches them in South Florida, and those techniques work great in Northeast Florida, as well. In fact, our fishery is virtually untapped, because it's so far offshore where swordfish live during the day, that almost no one fishes for them.
"We're running 70 to 90 miles offshore, and soaking baits for swordfish 1,200 to 1,700 feet down."
Swordfish are deep-living billfish, and angling for them has been a night time deal for many years because they rise in the water column after the sun sets. But over the last decade or so anglers have learned that swords can be caught during the day, but fishermen have got to ply deep, abyss-like water, where swordfish retreat after the sun rises.
Bridgewater and his fishing crew have been chasing local daylight swordfish for three years. In that time they've made eight trips, had over 30 hits from swordfish, boated five fish and released one juvenile sword. They've also caught some wild and strange creatures in those deep, offshore waters where most anglers fear to float. One of the strangest was a rare and endangered bigeye thresher shark, measuring 30 feet from nose to tail tip, with an estimated weight of 700 pounds. It was released unharmed.
The most recent trip offshore out of St. Augustine was the most successful for swordfish. It began at 8 a.m., and after catching live baits and running offshore, they began fishing at 12:30 p.m.
The bottom configuration on the far side of the Gulf Stream is a series of huge mountains and deep valleys. Bridgewater says it looks like the Grand Canyon, full of seawater. There are underwater peaks, ledges and drop-offs that undulate from 1,200 to 2,000 feet, and then suddenly fall again. It's this jagged underwater mountain range where swordfish live. And Bridgewater says they are abundant throughout that area. He believes almost any day can offer fast swordfishing in that mountainous bottom region - which stretches from just off Cape Canaveral to North Carolina.
Using a 15-inch bonito bait strip, a 10/0 hook, 60-pound test line with 150 feet of 300-pound test monofilament leader, they fish a single line at a time to avoid tangles and problems with a bait 1,700 feet below the surface. To get a bait down, a 15-pound weight is used. It's specially rigged to allow it to be disengaged from the fishing line once a swordfish strikes.
Electric fishing reels are used, and Bridgewater insists it takes consummate angling skill to battle a tough swordfish using such gear. Close attention to a bottom fathometer is required, because baits must be fished 50 to 200 feet off bottom. And with a bottom that can rise 300 feet almost immediately, snags occur, and $200 worth of terminal tackle can be lost quickly.
The first strike came after only 15 minutes of "bump" trolling into Gulf Steam current. Mark Boyer was on the rod (for all three swords), and after 20 minutes the fish was lost. The anglers returned to area where the sword struck via GPS, and quickly hooked a second sword, which also was lost.
The third strike came quickly, and after a 45-minute battle Boyer boated a 120-pound sword.
They ran to the hot fishing spot again, and within 10 minutes hooked the 150-pounder. After a one hour battle it was landed.
Returning to the incredible swordfish location yet a fifth time, the anglers soaked a bait for 30 minutes, and the 300-pound swordfish took. The fight lasted two hours, and fought longer and tougher than 600-pound blue marlin that Bridgewater has caught.
At the surface, near the boat, the swordfish jumped cleanly, then charged the boat. Next the fish sounded to 1,000 feet, against 20-pounds of reel drag.
The swordfish did that four times, before tiring near the boat. At boatside a stainless steel harpoon with breakaway head fitted to a rope was driven into the fish and it was hauled into the Gemlux.
"It was all we could do to pull that fish into my boat," said Bridgewater. "Some of the crew wanted to make another drift to catch another fish. But we already had 600 pounds of swordfish in the boat, our ice was melting fast, and we were pretty beat. So we headed in for St. Augustine and home."
bob@mcnallyoutdoors.com