Wouldn't it be awsome if every rod in the spread went off? That's the sort of queastions I get by my customers on the way out to the fishing grounds. My answer, "It definately happens, you never know what to expect".
In the past few weeks the Bonita have taken over with a few Blackfin Tuna and Kingfish in the mix. When you have a nice spread with at least 5 or 6 lines out with Pilchard baits, with 4 on top and a few deep you better get ready when you get to that fishy zone. We did 3 trips on the reef last week and were catching at least next to 20 fish on a half day trip, most were Bonito, but a few Kingfish were biting and also the large Barracuda. A good 3 dozen baits will ensure you a good time. We did some high speed trolling looking for the Wahoo and to my surprise we caught a huge Barracuda doing over 8 knots.
Last week we did a trip to West end, Grand Bahama and had a great time. The ride over was nice with 1-2 foot seas and took less than 3 hours. When we were about 12 miles off their coast we ran into the largest school of birds I have ever seen. The kind of flocks you see up north around the shrimp boats. These birds were working on top of schools of mixed Tuna. We saw good sized Yellowfin Tunas in the 80 pound range jumping underneath them. We dropped back a few lures and hooked up first on what I think was a good Wahoo. I had a cedar plug out with 130 pound mono leader trolling about 8-10 knots and got the strike then lost it due to a cut-off. We got a few more strikes but couldn't get one in the boat.
Ok lets get to the Sword report. I have been waiting 2 months to long for the action to heat back up and its finally here. These fish have 1 thing on their mind right now and thats 'chewing'. We were out twice early this week and had action both nights. Although it was bumpy it was worth it. On Monday night I took out Dan Hansen and his son. We got into 1 nice fish but had to turn back as the 4-6 footers were a little too turbulent. Back out on Tuesday night I took out Ed Savco, a gentleman near his 70's. The seas were a little nicer, not as turbulent but in swells this time at 3-5 footers. At the usual bait spot I was surprised to see the big Blue Runners show up. We caught 3 big ones over 3 pounds and some smaller ones. So we make it out to the Sword grounds and I spent some time studying the drift pattern. I must of got it right so listen up! I bridle the biggest Runner to an 11/0 offset Mustad and threw him over the side. I dropped him down as the shallow bait attached my float and sent him out in free spool with the clicker on. I always listen to the pattern of the clickers on their way out and I heard this one zing about 4 feet faster than usual. I figured its just the 4 foot swells moving through. Then I continued listening and the clicker wasn't talking back. So I took a look at the float and then the corner of my eye caught the electralume coming to the surface. Before I could put my hands on the reel the fish already broke the surface not 30 feet behind the boat. Before I could get tight he jumped again. I finally get tight on him and he jumps at least 4 more times. I had the leader in my hands within the first 3 minutes but I knew this fish was not ready to be taken. Sure enough he ripped the leader out of my hands and sounded. Ed put the screws to this fish and he was boatside again after 20 minutes or so. The Swordfish was foul hooked in the pec fin and the leader was wrapped in between his upper and lower jaw. this fish was an awsome 68 inches in length and had a 50 inch girth. The formula puts him at 212 pounds but he looked more around 180.
What was about to happen next was even better. I was on fire now and wanted to reset the spread back where we started. The current and wind had slightly changed so I adjusted to it and put out the spread. This time all the rods are out and I hear the far float ticking away slow and steady. Again it was the shallow rod with another big runner. I give it a solid minute before I attempt to get tight on him. The time is here and I put my lever drag in full and crank down on the fish. My heart was pounding with excitement as the rod bent over with acknowledgement that I was connected. As I look down at my spool, line is slipping off at a good pace. I backed off the drag to the strike position as line slipped off even harder. I attempted to move the rod to the stern of the boat so we can fight him in my comfort zone. I knew we were on a serious fish when I couldn't even pull the rod out of it's holder. I gave it everything I got and got it out. I could barely hold on to the rod as my client Ed was asking me to hook it up in his harness. I was happy for his eagerness but I told him this fish was a serious backbreaker. I couldn't even put the rod back in the rodholder because I could not get it upright enough. I get it in and let Ed take over the rod. He could not do anything because the line never stopped coming off the spool. We were getting down to less than a 1/3 of the spool so it was time to button her up to full once again. I slowly pushed the drag to sunset and got the reaction I didn't want. Most times you would be able to stop a fish with so much heat on her but this fish was a sea monster. With the increased drag pressure she doubled her speed instantly down to the bottom of the spool. I watched the rod tip pop up and I thought she popped the knot on the bottom of the spool. The spool still had about 50 yards left so we reeled it all in to the swivel. All my attached gear was still connected accept my hook was cut off. It could of been pinched off with all the pressure on her or cut off by a huge Mako Shark?? I wasn't about to attach my polyball to it and throw it over. Oh well it was a great experience and Ed and I were glad to be there for it.
My schedule is flexible and I'm easy to work with. If you haven't caught that big Swordfish you wanted yet call me to set it up. You can count on me giving it my best shot every time.
New Lattitude Sportfishing
Captain Cary Hanna
