Going swordfishing on a fun trip this weekend... this will be my first swordfish trip ever... Rigging, etc i am fine on... however... hooking swords is where my question lies...
I have heard that when hooking swordfish... not to "feed" the fish like you would when hooking a white or sail or like you would tuna chunking but rather reel as fast as you can when you know you are having the bite with the drag engaged? Is this the truth on the best way to do this, or are hooking swords the same as you would any other dead bait fish with no drag and "feeding them and letting them take it..."
Im not a expert at any damn thing but I did fish with someone in South Florida who stayed at a few Holiday Inn's. Double D charters used a #18 circle hook with a spanish Mack flossed to its nose and the hook was fully exposed. end of story. I tried this in the Baltimore and had good "LUCK" on my first try
Ever see a humming bird ? That's the way a sword fish moves.
He's left, he's right, he's up and he's down. Put your drag on strike until the fish is hooked, after and hour push it up a little bit.
I know circle hooks work fine but I like 10/0 Jabu's for squid and Gorilla's for lives.
Author, writer, marine artist, charter captain, lure manufacturer, ind. consultant
Whether you use J or circle hooks (my preference being the latter for night fishing...it's a different story for daytime fish on the surface, but the same circles for deep drop daytime fishing), I have never "fed the fish the bait", nor do I know anyone who has or does. The basic rule of thumb is to fish the reel in gear. When the fish eats, rather than billing the bait (which he will do if it's too big), the pressure from the heavy sinker and water pressure on the line will usually at the least get the hook started and in most cases with circle hooks, wrap it around its target, the jaw hinge.
When they feel a hook or the pressure from one, swords generally head for the surface for some reason. Here too, the weight of the sinker and the loop in line that they are pulling does a good job of setting hooks. Just watch for that "nothing", or "slack line" bite or a properly lit float that "lays over". When any of those things happens, reel until you feel the fish, then keep reeling. If you see the cyalume light mysteriously heading for the surface, it's because a fish has the bait and hook, is usually hooked, and is heading up top.
Giving line to a biter, or fishing a big bait that he has to mess with are sure formulae for having them get tangled in leader and at best, snagged and at worst, spooking the hell out of them. Neither is a good thing when it comes to successfully landing swordfish. Their long, non-retractable dorsal and pectoral fins and that long bill can make them virtual porcupines as far as picking up and getting tangled in leaders and getting snagged.
Some fishermen set a lighter-than-usual stike drag. We generally use 80# with a drag of 20# or so...whatever is comfortable for the angler, especially if he is standing up. Some will tell you that light drags must be used or you will pull hooks. I am from the school that says that if a sword isn't well hooked, the hook is going to pull sooner or later. That being the case, I'd rather pull it sooner and get back to trying for another while I'm in the zone and they are biting.
There is a lot more to catching swordfish, instead of just fishing for them. The right gear, hooks, baits, and drag settings, etc., being just parts of the overall game.
Be careful at the end game...swords are dangerous as hell when they get up close and personal!
I fish with 50# line and 17#'s of drag at strike. Never drop back, in most cases you will be reeling as fast as you can just to keep up and get tight. I also like using a noodle on my deep lines, it's lets me know when a fish has picked up the bait and swimming to the surface. Then it is reel, reel and reel as fast as you can.
I also believe the longer the fight last the less chances of you winning. After a hour of 17#'s of drag it's time to get it over with. If you are not making head way it's "TIME FOR SOMEBODY TO TAKE CONTROL". Crank up your drag and get it over with.
Author, writer, marine artist, charter captain, lure manufacturer, ind. consultant
Capt Rick...roger all. We obviously fish very much the same way, except I prefer the heavier line class and if I were still fishing I'd stay with it because of the large size of our average swordfish out here and the fact that there are good numbers of very large ones.
While twelve pounds of drag versus seventeen or twenty might sound like big differences, I don't personally think so when it comes to hooking up. In the final analysis, the pressure caused by the amount of line out and the sinkers, etc. probably even out the drag pressure playing field during the early stages of bite time, so in effect, everybody is probably right.
However, I'm with Capt Rick when it comes to the fighting part. Give me a well-hooked fish that I can put the boots to (as much as you can put the boots to one of those things!), or let's be rid of him instead of delaying the inevitable, especially if it is going to happen at the end game when the line is short, the stretch is out of the leader, and the swordfish decides to really do some end game ass kicking, which so many of them do. Good riddance to a poorly hooked one and lets get back in the zone and hook another one right.
Good luck out there and most important of all, be careful!
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