Tackle for Swords?

[eyefish2good]

Check out these squids.... They are called Psycho squid and are now available at RJ Boyle studios and my wesite.. (They also sell my lightsicks, more on that in a bit)
All my friends are into swording big time. Live, eat, breath kinda thing. So just tinkering around and doing some research I came up with these little(big) jewels.
What really makes them unique is the durability vs. frozen squid. Also easier to change colors, just change lightstick. Keep it on board boat 24/7 with no need to freeze or ice down.
Comes equipped with everything needed for up to 3 nights fishing for $19.99... Flavored with 100% REAL Hombolt Squid imported from Mexico. Depth tested to 900' without a problem and sold out at the Miami Boat show in 2 days.

Nighttime fishing for swords. Our typical spread for swordies is 4 rods. First to go out is live bait on deep rod.(goggle eye, hardtail or speedo gets top choice) Moon phase determines the depth with the brighter it is the deeper you start. Use more weight on this rod, 24 -36 oz. For average lets just say 350' to 275'. Attach balloon with lightstick and set out. Rod #2, rigged squid dyed your favorite color down about 250 to 175' and 24 oz.. Repeat with balloon/lightstick. 3rd rod 150' down and squid here as well. 4th rod- tip bait or pitch bait. Heavy clip-on weight 50' right under boat w/ live bait. In case something cruises up to the boat, just quickly reel in tip rod, unclip weight and pitch at target. Weather and drift also plays a factor on total number of rods.
I only use the lightsticks as balloon markers and in my Psycho squid. Disco lights seem to draw more strikes at night.(my favorite color on strobes has purple in it)

[Satans_Chariot]

So having talked to a few of the neighbors who went out drifting during the last full moon, quite a few stories of guys hooking into very large fish, with 1 confirmed landing of a fish over 600lbs. I developed a few questions. Mind you I am talking strictly the night time, hand cranking manual labor fishery. I know the daytime stuff entails some rather crazy rigging and tackle.


What is the lightest reel class you would be comfortable using while drifting for swords? I have heard of quite a few guys using 30 class standup gear rather than standard 50/80 class stuff. Now obviously these reels are loaded with braid. And they are much more manageable when strapped in to the harness.

Next questions is hook selection.
10/0? Larger? While having had success on them in the past, the last drift I was on, we had 6 bites, 5 hookups and not one landed fish. Now you can blame me for AE all you would like. I can take the abuse. But after watchin 2 other anglers with a lot more experience than I drop fish as well after the initial run, it made me wonder about hook selection. I have heard the claim that swords have very soft mouths, yet the guys near me land them all the time hooked in the mouth, after a knock down drag out fight of 2 or more hours at 30+lbs of drag.
I understand that swords are messy with their food, and will slash at the bait rather then take down, so that would lead me to believe that circles arent the rule when dealing with these. Thoughts?

How are you attaching your weight to your line. I have seen a few methods on this; be it flossing, sacrificial mono (like 10lb test), couple wraps with copper wire.

Im sure we can all come up with a lot more questions. So lets get this one goin again.

[Sea Draggin]

SC,
Lots of good questions here. I wish I knew the answers, because that would have meant that I had been out doing this type of fishing

I wanted to daytime drop out of Morehead last year. I even filled an 80 with braid to do it. But never managed to put it together. We did use the 80 for high speed trolling quite a bit though.

[sportfishingusa]

we have had good luck with swords in the past and normally get atleast one per trip when chunkin up here in nj. not huge fish but we have gotten some decent 150lb fish more than a few times..

i like to use bridles squid because i want it to be able to swim naturally.. i use either the lp stropes or any other light we have on the boat.. normally set the rod as deep as you think you want to.. i like about 50-100ft off the bottom depending on depth.

in 600ft of water i usually go about 500ft down.. i like to use heavier leader and have it a longer lengh.. i tend to use upwards of 300lb extra hard mono leader with a 12/0 jobu circle hook..

you can buy really nice natural squids from baitmasters which work well..

i like to use 2 speed reels and the higher speed being very high do to the fact that these fish can surface so face it is disgusting.. load it up with heavy line.. we use 130lb spectra and i have it spooled onto a 50w alutecnos which holds a TON of line.. i like to use stand up rods and i have dont it tried and tested on calstar stand up rods which have the power and durability..

make 8ft-12ft leaders so that the bill will not rub by the terminal tackle. also i find that with the j hooks they can sometimes get hooked and lodges into an unwanted place. with the circle it does normally catch the side and allows the leader to run directly down the side of the fish and stay away from the bill as much as possible. sometimes if the j hook is deeper in the mouther the mono will actually kink and bend around the corner of the jaw and get all torn up and smoked as we say.

as far as weight up here in the ne we are not fishing 2000 ft of water like the day time guys so i try to stick with lighter weight.. i take 2-3" pvc and quickcrete. make the pvc about 4 inch long and pour in the quickcrete and let it set.. then weight it out and change the length of the pvc accordingly.. when i let it cure i put a small peice wire attached to a cheapy black sea strike barell swivel. then i tie that to my rig with either a rubber band or sometimes i like to use 5-10lb test..

test out the breaking of the mono attached to the weight in a pool or a bay before going offshore so it does not stay attached if you feel the need to do that. sometimes we just fish with 2-4 8ounce egg singers attached the the main line and never had a problem with chaffing either so that is another option.

keep in mind they may be sloppy eaters when they hit the line at first but if they want it they are going to take it.. and with the circle like i said that mono rides down the side of the body of the fish.

also your weights will depend directly on the current down below the surface and the depth..

the more current and the deeper you will obviously need more weight!!

good luck man! they are some tough critters!!

[bigg09]

For you mid-atlantic anglers, we use tld50's at night and a tip rod that is a 80w tiagra. the tld 50 did fine on a 5 hour fight on a 226# fish we caught. all of our rods have a couple hundred yards of mono on the top of 100# pp braid. the 80 which we use for daytime fishing has nearly all 100# pp and a couple hundred yards of mono 100# on the bottom of the spool. i really want some of those squids in the previous post those are cool and would save a lot of rigging at night. all the rods we use are star hand crafted 50-80 and the bent but is a 80-100# i believe. if daytime fishing for swords and you have a chair a little longer bent but is nice with a little limber tip but still a lot of ass. as for hooks, nothing but off-set j's from 8/o-12/0 depending on bait. i prefer the open gapped vs. the southern and tuna. we use 300-350 momoi extra hard leaders. they seem to prevent less twist in the leaders. as for lights, go for the lp's ultraviolet purple is always in our spread and a disco or similar. i like the mardi-gras. the lumna vibe is great, but the damn thing doesn;t last for chit. maybe two trips. my wife got on me for a beeping sound in the tackle closet not too long ago. it is a fish catcher, but i will spend by future money on lps and add a glow rattler to the bottom loop for noise.

[El Capo]

OKAY STORM...........BY READING YOUR FIRST POST HERE....I CAN SENSE YOU GOT SOMETHING INTERESTING TO SHARE WITH US....SO ...ROCK ON AND GIVE US A SWORD STORY! I THINK YOU MAY BE THE FIRST HERE TO EVEN MENTION SWORD SNEAKING IN DAYLIGHT

I WAS TOLD BY A OL TIMER SWORD SNEAKER THAT YOU SHOULD APPROACH A SUNNING FISH HEAD-ON....

TRUE OR FALSE?

STANDIN BY!

Head-on,down swell as much as possible,with the sun at your back,waiting for the head on shot is how I do it.Swordfish do not see forward so you would be in their blind spot so to speak.When they do spook and turn the fish can only turn so sharp and they end up giving you a longer time frame in which you can drive the lily home.Unlike following a fish where when he blows up on you and takes off away from the boat you only have a desperation shot.Good question,I hope that helped.