Sometimes, a swordfish breach look like nothing. You catch a glimmer of light. You witness a silver arc. And then you see the bill cut through surface. This fish are one of the fastest animals in ocean.
People don’t understand the true size of these fish. A hundred pound swordfish is heavy. A five-hundred pound swordfish redefines your boat. Get a mental picture of size. It’s good for your choice of equipment. It’s good for treating animal with respect once you get it hooked.
Respect the Giant Swordfish
This means that as you can see in the chart, length convert into weight. Why that matters? Swordfish aren’t just square lumps of meat. Each has its own sex and age. Males is smaller than females. And when anglers estimate a catch using only bill length, they’re frequently underestimating the size. A fish might appear as an average-sized male, yet be full of female bulk. This explains the difference. The guide break down where a fish fall on the spectrum.
Where does a juvenile under fifty pounds differ from a sub-adult pushing one hundred? Knowing those stages allow for predicting behavior. Younger fish swim faster; stay nearer to the surface. Older fish dives deeper and hold their ground more powerfully.
Swordfish differ from other predatory fish because of speed. Sixty miles per hour. That’s fast. It takes a form to go that fast. A crescent shaped tail for effective thrust. A flat bill instead of a round one so they slices cleanly through baitfish without much resistance. And it works. Then you’re hooked up and fighting momentum and weight. Hydrodynamic perfection.
So what do you do? How do you win? It’s in your head. Because as soon as this fish starts accelerating, you have to remain calm. If you lose your mind, you lose your hook and break off.
But rules is made for a purpose. There’s a minimum size limit on swordfish along most of the US coast. For example the US Atlantic has it at roughly forty seven inches. Why? It’s to make sure they reach maturity before being caught. Swordfish mature quickly but they has to get there first. So by throwing back smaller ones we preserve the cycle and as a result the total amount of fish caught. The larger fish you catch now mean more in the future. Sport and conservation meet here. The more large female fish you catch, the more you will catch in years to come.
To catch these giants takes some muscle and a lot of patience. They are spending their days hiding out in cooler water. Three thousand feet is not unheard of. Then they rise up at night to feed under boat lanterns or moonlight. The game is to either drift at night to target different depths or deep drop during the day.
The best baits is whole mackerel and whole squid. They move well in current and resemble naturaly forage. Using circle hooks will minimizes gutting issues. If you intend to release smaller fish safely, this is important.
Of all the billfish, swordfish hold a special place. Sailfish are fast; blue marlin are heavy. Swordfish fall somewhere in-between. They are endurance and brute force rolled into one. Pelvic fins dissapears in adults. It’s one more way they streamline themselves. How do they resist? And landing one is something you won’t forget quickly. The silver arc will remind you of strength and speed. Treat it like the fish that it is. Respect the chart. You’ll have a better day on the water.