# ? Swordfishing For Dummies ?



## marlin50lrs (Apr 12, 2010)

:question: I've been fishing out of Port A for many years but never fished for swords. I have plenty of range and an arsenal of TLD 50s. I was wondering where to fish for them. Is squid the only bait that works? Do you fish on bottom or stagger you baits at different depths? Also is the preferred leader a lagre circle hook on a long mono leader? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks....Wes


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

www.swordfishingcentral.com has a lot of those answers, the rigging page has a lot of good info


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

Need deep water usually over 200'. Try a leader like one of these, and snap a glow-stick at the top of the leader:

http://www.terminatortackle.com/pin-rigs.php

I can tell you it's definitely not bottom fishing ... there's plenty of advice on 2Cool and the inter-webz.


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## REELING 65 (Aug 18, 2009)

Swells said:


> Need deep water usually over 200'. Try a leader like one of these, and snap a glow-stick at the top of the leader:
> 
> http://www.terminatortackle.com/pin-rigs.php
> 
> I can tell you it's definitely not bottom fishing ... there's plenty of advice on 2Cool and the inter-webz.


X2


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

First off you need to be around 1000' of water or more in shallower than that and you catch a lot of sharks most of the time. We have caught swordfish in 650'-10,000' but the magic # I think for night fishing is about 1200'. Start with 2 or 3 rods fish one off the tip and float the other two out away from the boat. I like to fish with a moon 75', 150', 200, and with no moon 100', 225', and 300' thats just me everyone has a different opinion on that. I will fish squid, blue runners, spanish mack., and small tuna, or bonita. squid being the most used but bigger fish the last 2 years on reversed bonita all will work but start out with squid. you will need 1,2,and even 3lb wieghts depending on your drift and current dont be afraid of your line scoping out a little they will come up and get it !!! Get 300lb mono floro. is to stiff to me reg. mono is best cut it to 25' windon is best if you are not set up for that then just use reg leader (swivel at one end, 10/0 or 11/0 mustad make sure they are very sharp at the other end rig squid to hook stitch the squid and make sure it runs true through the water a spinning squid is not worth a D###, get a rubberband and tie your lead on at the top of the leader, get about 7'-10' above your bait and rubberband your lightstick. Let bait down to the depth you want SLOW or you will tangle set the rod in strike (about 12-15lbs of drag and get ready if you get a bite mark it on your GPS and go back to the same spot and get another. Call jim with swordlight in florida and order you a blue, white or green light this is very basic but it is enough to get you started. For an easy start try the hilltops the fish are scattered in pockets all over them and you should get some shots there !!! One more thing I like green or white lightsticks good luck and be carful when you get the fish to the boat a big one can realy do some damage ! Capt Ahab BRETT


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## nelson6500 (Jun 8, 2007)

Very useful information Capt. Brett

:brew2::brew2::brew2::brew2::brew2::brew2::brew2:

Matt


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

HOPE TO SEE YOUR PIC LIKE THIS ON YOUR FIRST TRIP!!!!!! NOTICE THE LAST PIC 2 AT A TIME SO LEAVE ONE OUT WHILE YOUR FIGHTING ONE IF YOU CAN!!!


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

Well that's the straight skinny from a seasoned pro. Many might have other opinions, but deep structure is what you want - he mentioned the Hilltops. Sea mounts and humps can be productive.

My buddies set two or three lines at between 150 and 400 feet deep mostly, maybe 600, and you have set a slow drift over your structure you watch on GPS and the depth finder. It is slow fishing but hey, the crew gets to sleep until all heck breaks loose.

Welcome to the Dark Side.


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## Bill Fisher (Apr 12, 2006)

things been pretty well covered....... all i'd add is to take your time, watch your GPS, and figger out your drift before dropping all your rigs

you wanna make sure you're gonna drift right over the structure you've chosen and you might wanna use that time to determine how much weight'll be needed for the current ya got going


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## "THE SPANISH MACKEREL" (Mar 2, 2010)

broadonrod said:


> First off you need to be around 1000' of water or more in shallower than that and you catch a lot of sharks most of the time. We have caught swordfish in 650'-10,000' but the magic # I think for night fishing is about 1200'. Start with 2 or 3 rods fish one off the tip and float the other two out away from the boat. I like to fish with a moon 75', 150', 200, and with no moon 100', 225', and 300' thats just me everyone has a different opinion on that. I will fish squid, blue runners, spanish mack., and small tuna, or bonita. squid being the most used but bigger fish the last 2 years on reversed bonita all will work but start out with squid. you will need 1,2,and even 3lb wieghts depending on your drift and current dont be afraid of your line scoping out a little they will come up and get it !!! Get 300lb mono floro. is to stiff to me reg. mono is best cut it to 25' windon is best if you are not set up for that then just use reg leader (swivel at one end, 10/0 or 11/0 mustad make sure they are very sharp at the other end rig squid to hook stitch the squid and make sure it runs true through the water a spinning squid is not worth a D###, get a rubberband and tie your lead on at the top of the leader, get about 7'-10' above your bait and rubberband your lightstick. Let bait down to the depth you want SLOW or you will tangle set the rod in strike (about 12-15lbs of drag and get ready if you get a bite mark it on your GPS and go back to the same spot and get another. Call jim with swordlight in florida and order you a blue, white or green light this is very basic but it is enough to get you started. For an easy start try the hilltops the fish are scattered in pockets all over them and you should get some shots there !!! One more thing I like green or white lightsticks good luck and be carful when you get the fish to the boat a big one can realy do some damage ! Capt Ahab BRETT


 I have been with these guys and caught 13 swordfish in one trip we lost 6 its not slow with the boobyttrap


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## crownroyal76117 (Jul 31, 2009)

broadonrod said:


> First off you need to be around 1000' of water or more in shallower than that and you catch a lot of sharks most of the time. We have caught swordfish in 650'-10,000' but the magic # I think for night fishing is about 1200'. Start with 2 or 3 rods fish one off the tip and float the other two out away from the boat. I like to fish with a moon 75', 150', 200, and with no moon 100', 225', and 300' thats just me everyone has a different opinion on that. I will fish squid, blue runners, spanish mack., and small tuna, or bonita. squid being the most used but bigger fish the last 2 years on reversed bonita all will work but start out with squid. you will need 1,2,and even 3lb wieghts depending on your drift and current dont be afraid of your line scoping out a little they will come up and get it !!! Get 300lb mono floro. is to stiff to me reg. mono is best cut it to 25' windon is best if you are not set up for that then just use reg leader (swivel at one end, 10/0 or 11/0 mustad make sure they are very sharp at the other end rig squid to hook stitch the squid and make sure it runs true through the water a spinning squid is not worth a D###, get a rubberband and tie your lead on at the top of the leader, get about 7'-10' above your bait and rubberband your lightstick. Let bait down to the depth you want SLOW or you will tangle set the rod in strike (about 12-15lbs of drag and get ready if you get a bite mark it on your GPS and go back to the same spot and get another. Call jim with swordlight in florida and order you a blue, white or green light this is very basic but it is enough to get you started. For an easy start try the hilltops the fish are scattered in pockets all over them and you should get some shots there !!! One more thing I like green or white lightsticks good luck and be carful when you get the fish to the boat a big one can realy do some damage ! Capt Ahab BRETT


very cool of you to give him some pointers. i dont use j's anymore, i started using circle hooks about 2 years ago and have never looked back. I agree the hilltops is a good starting spot and if set up correctly then will be a good place to land his first swordfish.


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## DRILHER (Apr 4, 2010)

Would Dutra or the 500 fathom hump be any good?


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

DRILHER said:


> Would Dutra or the 500 fathom hump be any good?


I don't see why not, although I am no expert who has a black book full of swordfish GPS numbers. How deep are those rocks? Seems closer in than the Hilltops, although smallish. When you go out to Boom Vang, you probably drove over a dozen swordfish honey holes - I forget who said this on 2Cool. And I don't think swords have any affinity with a particular reef, since they tend to roam around, so you're guess is as good as mine. Some observations:


if you have a "bathy" map of the Gulf, you can see the canyons, humps, holes, sea mounts, salt domes, and structure that could be nice for swords.
Swords like temperature breaks, not only surface currents but ones down deep, and rip currents are good for this
Bait, marked on your death finder (haha)
No bait, no swords. If you have bait signatures it could be sharky or in some rat tuna, for example. Could be AJ or even those endangered snapper. But it is mid-water you want to mark your bait. Drift over your structure and bait and look for rips. Repeat as necessary.

So if Dutra is about 350' deep (check that I've had a few beers), you might set poles at somewhere between 100' and 250'.

Now all the squid I've seen here off Texas is quite small, and those swords are eating something. Yes, squid imported from Florida or California is good, but I think that a 100 to 300 pound swordfish has a much bigger appetite than these cute little baby offshore squid we got. I'm talking large blue runner, rat tuna (smallish bonito, blackfin, etc.), and similar.

Tight lines.

p.s., one thing I always wanted to do was to get a nice big squid and put a glow bulb in its mantle. Some have used beer cans but I like the idea of a dead squid that glows like a lava lamp.


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## marlin50lrs (Apr 12, 2010)

Really appreciate all the info. I feel pretty lucky to get a crash course from the man himself. Also I think Dutra is in over 1000' and I'm assuming the 500 fathom hump would be in 500 fathoms so 3000'.


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## MakoT (Feb 22, 2005)

broadonrod said:


> First off you need to be around 1000' of water or more in shallower than that and you catch a lot of sharks most of the time. We have caught swordfish in 650'-10,000' but the magic # I think for night fishing is about 1200'. Start with 2 or 3 rods fish one off the tip and float the other two out away from the boat. I like to fish with a moon 75', 150', 200, and with no moon 100', 225', and 300' thats just me everyone has a different opinion on that. I will fish squid, blue runners, spanish mack., and small tuna, or bonita. squid being the most used but bigger fish the last 2 years on reversed bonita all will work but start out with squid. you will need 1,2,and even 3lb wieghts depending on your drift and current dont be afraid of your line scoping out a little they will come up and get it !!! Get 300lb mono floro. is to stiff to me reg. mono is best cut it to 25' windon is best if you are not set up for that then just use reg leader (swivel at one end, 10/0 or 11/0 mustad make sure they are very sharp at the other end rig squid to hook stitch the squid and make sure it runs true through the water a spinning squid is not worth a D###, get a rubberband and tie your lead on at the top of the leader, get about 7'-10' above your bait and rubberband your lightstick. Let bait down to the depth you want SLOW or you will tangle set the rod in strike (about 12-15lbs of drag and get ready if you get a bite mark it on your GPS and go back to the same spot and get another. Call jim with swordlight in florida and order you a blue, white or green light this is very basic but it is enough to get you started. For an easy start try the hilltops the fish are scattered in pockets all over them and you should get some shots there !!! One more thing I like green or white lightsticks good luck and be carful when you get the fish to the boat a big one can realy do some damage ! Capt Ahab BRETT


For a man to share all that I have to share this.

JUST GOT MY NEW HOLDEN ROOF INSTALLED AND THE QUALITY AND CREW PERFORMANCE WAS OUTSTANDING. NOT TO MENTION THE HELP THAT THEY GAVE US GETTING IT ALL DONE.

Stop by Holden Roofings office and see the Booby Trap trophies everywhere. Great stuff Brett. Thank you.


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## marlin50lrs (Apr 12, 2010)

What is reversed bonita?


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

marlin50lrs said:


> What is reversed bonita?


You can tell because of the back-up beeper


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

I started fishing for swords out of matagorda years ago and I have spent alot of time on dutra and the 300 FH only a couple of nights on the 500 FH. Yes there are swords on the 500 but I would focus night fishing for swords to the west on the 300, the dump, and for sure Dutra rips are good but hard to stay with them nightfishing there are a lot of swordfish on dutra but it is a small rock and with a hard current requires you to reset your gear alot. I have done best on the 300 with a full moon the squid seem to stay alittle higher in the moon. You will find tinkers, runners and squid on dutra there is some other good stuff in that area when trolling keep your bottom machine on and mark anything that comes up to go back and fish at night. The reversed baits are fish rigged with the leader run from the tail to the head with the hook coming out of the head trim the tail run a hollow needle through the fish from tail to head run your leader trough the needle crimp th hook pull the hook trough the mouth tie the mouth shut tight on the hook them put a crimp 1" above the tail tie with wax line to the trimed tail then to the crimp. A small bonita, mackrel, tinker, or runner work great and all make a pretty bait !!! every sword I have ever cut open has had the fish they have eaten head first in their stomach that is why we rig them from tail to head. You can find squid for bait at the chinese markets in houston cheap from 1lb to 2.5 lbs some nights they want big squid some nights they want little ones so try both. Capt Ahab- *BRETT*


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## great white fisherman (Jun 24, 2008)

Brett, I noticed you do not have email contact info on your user information. How does someone go about emailing you?


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

broadonrod said:


> I started fishing for swords out of matagorda years ago and I have spent alot of time on dutra and the 300 FH only a couple of nights on the 500 FH. Yes there are swords on the 500 but I would focus night fishing for swords to the west on the 300, the dump, and for sure Dutra rips are good but hard to stay with them nightfishing there are a lot of swordfish on dutra but it is a small rock and with a hard current requires you to reset your gear alot. I have done best on the 300 with a full moon the squid seem to stay alittle higher in the moon. You will find tinkers, runners and squid on dutra there is some other good stuff in that area when trolling keep your bottom machine on and mark anything that comes up to go back and fish at night. The reversed baits are fish rigged with the leader run from the tail to the head with the hook coming out of the head trim the tail run a hollow needle through the fish from tail to head run your leader trough the needle crimp th hook pull the hook trough the mouth tie the mouth shut tight on the hook them put a crimp 1" above the tail tie with wax line to the trimed tail then to the crimp. A small bonita, mackrel, tinker, or runner work great and all make a pretty bait !!! every sword I have ever cut open has had the fish they have eaten head first in their stomach that is why we rig them from tail to head. You can find squid for bait at the chinese markets in houston cheap from 1lb to 2.5 lbs some nights they want big squid some nights they want little ones so try both. Capt Ahab- *BRETT*





great white fisherman said:


> Brett, I noticed you do not have email contact info on your user information. How does someone go about emailing you?


 [email protected]


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## DRILHER (Apr 4, 2010)

Brett you may have changed my whole aproach to a fishing trip for good or bad. I'm already putting together list of things I need to buy. The areas you mention are some of my favorite trolling areas out of Port A. I'm thinking I might leave a little later and troll till close to dark and then set up and try to sword fish at night when its cool. 
I'm totally amazed that someone would be nice enough to teach us how to fish for what I thought was a secret or something.
I have a few more questions tho. What is the best time of year? Do frozen baits from Bait Masters work well? Do transom lights help enough I need to buy some? And hope soon I'll be asking you for recipes.
Thanks for destroying the learning curve for me. 
Vance


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## DRILHER (Apr 4, 2010)

Brett and Swells thanks again.


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

DRILHER said:


> Brett you may have changed my whole aproach to a fishing trip for good or bad. I'm already putting together list of things I need to buy. The areas you mention are some of my favorite trolling areas out of Port A. I'm thinking I might leave a little later and troll till close to dark and then set up and try to sword fish at night when its cool.
> I'm totally amazed that someone would be nice enough to teach us how to fish for what I thought was a secret or something.
> I have a few more questions tho. What is the best time of year? Do frozen baits from Bait Masters work well? Do transom lights help enough I need to buy some? And hope soon I'll be asking you for recipes.
> Thanks for destroying the learning curve for me.
> Vance


I THINK WE WERE THEIR FIRST CUSTOMER IN TEXAS BAIT MASTERS GREAT BAIT GREAT GUYS ! UNDERWATER LIGHT GOOD IDEA IF YOU DONT WANT TO MOUNT THEM CONTACT JIM AT WWW.SWORDLIGHTS.COM BLUE ,GREEN, OR WHITE ALL WORK GREAT, AND WE HAVE CAUGHT SWORDFISH IN THE GULF EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR BEST TIME REALY DON,T KNOW BUT I THINK THAT WE ARE FISHING IN A SPAWNING GROUND AND THATS COOL IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A GRANDER ( LETS GET TIGHT ) !!!! RJ BOYLE OUT OF LIGHTHOUSE POINT FL. CAN HOOK YOU UP WITH SWORD TACKLE THATS HIS SPECIALTY !


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## crownroyal76117 (Jul 31, 2009)

meton tackle (andrew or tracy) and tom greene(tom) are other great sources for sword gear. If you have time you can buy some really fresh squid from Mr Fish in lighthouse point area, if bait masters is running low. I also agree, i think were in the middle of some great swordfishing grounds and as long as everyone stays kind to the all mighty broadbill, they should stick around for a long while but if it people start fishing extremely heavy and killing everything, then we will end up like florida's broadbill population, which is getting smaller at a very fast rate. Good luck to you and be careful messing with these beasts..


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## fishtruck (Aug 9, 2004)

Looked good but got no Love.


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## fishtruck (Aug 9, 2004)

*.*

try again


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## Always-Gone-Fishing (Feb 20, 2006)

Tinker tools - nice 

One word of advice for those purchasing squid at the Retail Asian Markets - Don't admit you are using them for fishing since many take exception to selling for that reason and may only sell a few or none at all. Generally the wholesalers don't care.

Now wind stop it,
AGF


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