Swordfish landed on fly Maldives

[liambrouillette]

I've only heard of one other caught on fly from shore and it was much smaller  

[jerseystriper]

Damm- some good eating there. 

[Fergal]

Where’s the dorsal fin on that fish?

[XBMX]

26 mins ago, Fergal said:

Where’s the dorsal fin on that fish?

....probably a delicacy 

[liambrouillette]

There is a long winded story to go along with it but the general summary is that they thought it was a sailfish at first and they then deemed it too dangerous to land alive (understandable) and they let it thrash to death on the reef. Hopefully they got some of the meat on ice in a reasonable amount of time.

Edited February 18 by liambrouillette

[a caolo]

That is an insane catch!! For viewers not familiar with broadbills and broadbill fishing, catching one on conventional gear used to be a daytime sight-fishing proposition prior to the development of the nighttime fishery off the coast of south Florida (and elsewhere) notably by Richard Stanczyk (Bud N’ Marys’s Marina). The nighttime approach is to feed the fish at great depth in the current using a good deal of lead to get a fish squid down deep to the fish. While not easy, anglers have enjoyed considerably more success with this “blind fishing” approach than with the traditional daytime approach, which entailed running great distances over offshore waters in search of fish finning on the surface. Once spotted (an adrenaline-laden rush), captain, crew and angler worked quickly as a team to bait the fish with a fresh rigged squid that was slow-trolled in front of the broadbill. Far and away, more times than not, the fish did not take. When they did, managing a good hook set was also not easy (about a 50-50 solid hook up rate). Hooked fish could come loose in every imaginable way, including pulling the hook from their relatively soft mouths, breaking leaders and lines, and by running under the boat into the screws. The overall odds of landing any given spotted fish were very, very low. And swordfish  rarely take artificials … they require fresh bait, squid being tops. Catching a sword on conventional in the daytime, at sea, with fresh bait was long considered the greatest challenge and accomplishment in all of fishing. Like taking a big permit or jumbo bonefish on fly . . . Except a lot harder.

 

While they do commonly enter relatively shallow water (less than 100 feet) to feed, they are primarily pelagic, high seas big game fish. A broadbill in “flats” territory is incredible. I have heard of a fish that meandered into Old Harbor on the east side of Block Island back in the day that was promptly stuck by a harpoon boat that was tied up in the harbor. Crazy story, but true, and that fish was deemed to be sick or injured in some way.

 

This catch reported in Maldives is insane - hyper shallow water, broad daylight, artificial fly, FLY TACKLE, FROM SHORE . . . Holy smokes !!! I believe the fish’s dorsal is occluded behind a coral rock in the foreground and the scuffed up body is the result of the fish thrashing on coral during the fight and landing (broadbills have a skin that’s prone to superficial scrapes and marks, like leader burn, etc. . . . Nearly all landed swords display these battle scrapes). They are also SPECTACULAR jumpers. Not as much as marlin, but violent head-swinging, body- bending leaps that often result in lost fish. They’re also smart and will run right back up the line that’s pulling on them. Many sportfishing craft and harpoon boats have been rammed (and they break their bills off in the process . . . They’re NUTS). Swordfishing is the ultimate game in fishing.

 

This is an INCREDIBLE catch . . .

[flyman28]

 A buddy of mine took one about 100# on a party boat trip for tuna.  He's an experienced fisherman with numerous tuna from a static boat under his belt.  He said he's never had a fish that size pull like that!  The fight was something special!

[a caolo]

Yeah, for sure. Another swordfish trait that I forgot to mention- they have remarkable burst speed, like barracuda, except they uncork from zero to 60 mph in the blink of an eye, rather than zero to 40, as ‘cuda do.

Just how astounding this catch is cannot be overstated.

[Roccus7]

Many years ago, there was a picture of a small one taken from the beach near Miami I believe.  Will have to Google that one up...

[Roccus7]

1 min ago, Roccus7 said:

Many years ago, there was a picture of a small one taken from the beach near Miami I believe.  Will have to Google that one up...

Haven't found the Miami one yet, but here's a link to a 2014 one caught off the beach in Texas!!

 

Texas Surf Broadbill!!

[a caolo]

Were those fish caught on fly?

[Sir Defyable]

Think it’s safe to call that the catch of the century. 
 

Up is down, red is blue, flat head screws are better than posidrive… Nothing makes sense in my head right now

[a caolo]

I concur with Sir Defyable … but the brief account provided by liambrouillette states that “they let it thrash to death on the reef”. The broadbill’s beat up body appears to substantiate that. But as I noted, they will sacrifice themselves in fury … they are wild as wild can get. This is totally “forensic angling”, but perhaps the fish was hooked within a coral enclosed basin, freaked out, and ended up killing itself in an attempt to get out of Dodge by thrashing to death over a  rough coral perimeter. They kill themselves when they ram boats ,,, they’re notorious for doing that. So maybe that’s how this catch was enabled. That would do the sword in without any substantive wear and tear on the leader, or getting spooled. The loop knot does appear fresh. Just a guess . . . A crazy catch no matter what!

[liambrouillette]

Here is the full story from the guy who caught it and a short video from the fight FullSizeRender.MOV

Edited February 19 by liambrouillette

[a caolo]

Wow!!! Liam, thank you very much for posting the original story - very nice of you to do that and much appreciated. He says, “ insane” . . . “One in a million”. No other way to describe it . . . What an incredible experience he had! Thanks again for posting the story.