San Diego anglers Luc Ofield and Dave White have been shut fishing associates for nearly three a very long time. They’ve found to rely upon each other when chasing even crucial and meanest saltwater fish. On Oct. 20, the two mates headed offshore to chase massive Pacific swordfish, arguably the orneriest of all billfish.
“We left about 10 a.m. and ran out in good local weather to the 9-mile monetary establishment in 1,200 toes of water,” Ofield tells Outdoor Life. “We organize 4 deep swordfish baits using total squid baits on double 11/0 circle hooks, with colored strobe lights on the leaders. Then we started drifting with baits down about 1,000 toes.”
Nothing occurred for a variety of hours. Nonetheless at 2:20 p.m. they hooked their first and solely swordfish, and it was a whopper.
Ofield was on the rod, and he fought it using 130-pound stand-up fishing type out, which included a bent-butt rod and a Shimano Tiagra 50W reel. He’s used such a gear all his life and is further comfortable with it than completely different methods (like sitting in a combating chair).
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“The fish took a bait about 1,000-feet down, and I knew immediately it was a large one,” says Ofield, the proprietor of Angler’s Various type out retailer in San Diego. “I believed it was solely a 300 or 400-pounder.”
Nonetheless three hours proper right into a dogged, deep-water wrestle, Ofield realized the swordfish was completely completely different than others he’d hooked. The fish stayed spherical 200 toes, the place Ofield thinks there was a thermocline the fish most popular. It would circle their boat, after which as shortly as Ofield would carry it to the ground, the fish would dive deep and circle as soon as extra. White, within the meantime, stayed on the helm your entire time.
“With out Dave’s good skills working his boat and maneuvering it to take care of the fish from tangling throughout the boat, we certainly not had a possibility to land the sword,” says Ofield.
The billfish certainly not jumped all through the battle. Nonetheless three hours into the wrestle it lastly received right here near the ground.
“It was down about 20 toes in clear water and swam by us slowly – merely checking us out,” Ofield says. “The stare from a large swordfish is unsettling, with that huge eye and prolonged and extremely efficient bill. They’re spectacular.”
Ofield compares the swordfish’s stare to how famed writer Robert Ruark described cape buffalo:
He checked out me as if I owed him money. I certainly not observed such malevolence throughout the eyes of any animal or human being, sooner than or since.
The massive swordfish then went once more to diving and circling the boat. It did this dozens of events over the following two hours. Lastly, roughly 5 hours into the ordeal, the fish (identical to the anglers) began to tire. Spherical 7 p.m., Ofield decided he’d put most stress on the fish and convey it close to the boat, and alongside along with his reel’s drag maxed out at 49 kilos, White acquired the boat in place to gaff the fish.
Sadly, Ofield had forgotten his oversize gaff — the similar one they use for giant tuna and marlin. All that that they had have been a pair of smaller flying gaffs with ¼-inch ropes.
“I believed we had a number of 50-50 chance of getting the fish, nonetheless miraculously all of the items labored out. Dave left the boat controls and put a flying gaff into the lower part of the fish and turned the sword over — that disorients them.”
At the moment, Ofield set his rod down so he may hit the fish with one different flying gaff. Their plan was to then haul the swordfish onto the boat’s stern swim platform. Nonetheless the fish was so massive, they may solely match its head throughout the boat.
“We tied the fish off to boat cleats with ropes and put a tail rope on it. Nevertheless it absolutely was nonetheless very rather a lot alive,” Ofield said. “I knew we wanted to kill it fast or we might lose it. I decided to stab it throughout the coronary coronary heart with a knife. That did the trick, and it bled out very fast and died.”
By then it was completely darkish. After all the commotion loading the swordfish, there was a variety of blood throughout the water, and Ofield was frightened about sharks coming to say their prize. Fortuitously, no sharks appeared, solely a lone seal that received right here as a lot as study their catch.
With the large swordfish tied to the boat, they wanted to run at minimal velocity, so it took a minimum of two hours to get once more to the marina. As quickly as there, they put the fish on a licensed scale at a neighborhood marlin membership, which registered 663.8 kilos. That weight crushes the current California swordfish report, a 520-pounder caught off San Diego last 12 months. Ofield plans to submit all the required paperwork to the state this week.
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Ofield says he was so drained after his five-hour battle with the swordfish that he was nauseous all through the journey once more to San Diego. All his physique muscle teams ached for days afterwards.
“Nonetheless as soon as I take a look on the pictures of that swordfish, and all my aches and pains go away,” he says. “I’ve caught a variety of marlin, tuna, and swordfish, nonetheless this one is the very best catch of my life. Nothing can beat this.”