Miami, Florida - Offshore

During the past few weeks, a few anglers have been secretly heading offshore during the night to fish for Swordfish. During the late seventies and the early eighties it was not uncommon to encounter Swordfish longline boats with sets of lines ten to twenty miles long. These boats would set their lines starting about ten miles offshore and some would continue east and some would head north and south for miles. The boats looked like the same boat you saw in the movie “A Perfect Storm”. When the word got out that there was a good size population of Swordfish just miles off our coast, local anglers decided to give it a try. Armed with fifty and eighty pound tackle, cylume lights, and large squid, many anglers became very proficient at hooking and sometimes catching a Swordfish. This was big game fishing at its best. Many stories were heard of anglers hooking monster Swordfish estimated at eight or even nine hundred pounds. And I’m sure many of the estimates were correct. Horrifying encounters were told of these monsters trying to spear the boat after being hooked. They would become enraged and do anything to try and free themselves. Fishing from a small twenty foot boat, an encounter with a large Swordfish can be extremely dangerous, especially when you got him near the boat. Trying to gaff a three or four hundred pound enraged fish, ten miles offshore, at night, at times got crazy. It was the danger and mystique of going out at night that thrilled all anglers that tried. Almost at soon as it started it seemed to end. The Swordfish disappeared. The longline fleet quickly depleted the population of fish and very few people tried for them anymore. Occasionally you would hear of one boat that would give it a try and have some success with catching a small fish, but for the most part it wasn’t worth the effort. This past week, I received two reports of fish in the 125 pound class being caught by local anglers. Capt Marty Locke, Steve Cunningham, Mike Causley, David Costley, Albert Casto, and Mr. R. Bacardi were on Causley’s 31 ft. Contender when they hooked a Swordfish ten miles offshore. The fish hit a live Blue Runner fished 250 feet down beneath the boat. On another trip, Capt Mike Laufle fishing on board the Double Take, hooked an identical fish which took them over two hours to get to the boat. Not exactly huge fish but nice fish none-the-less. Are they making a come back? Who knows? I’m sure when the word gets out other anglers will give it a try and the results will be in. My prediction is there may be a few fish still out there and you may occasionally get lucky, but the Swordfish population still has a long way to come back before we ever see the heydays of the seventies and eighties. Currently, conservation efforts are trying hard to curtail the heavy fishing pressure Swordfish are receiving. Any reductions in the total catch of Swordfish would help. Swordfish are caught all over the world and if the fishing is barred from one area of the ocean, the longliners will move to another area. We need total agreement from all countries to limit fishing pressure on these magnificent creatures to enable them to make a come back. Note: Captain Mark Houghtaling held the World Record for Swordfish on twently pound class line. The fish weighed 196 pounds caught in 1979. The record was beaten three years later. Bob Hewes Boats is offering a free in the water demonstration for shallow water fishing enthusiasts on September 16th and 17th at Haulover Park Marina. For more information call 305-681-6602. “Ladies Let’s Go Fishing” announces a seminar extravaganza in Islamorada, Fl. Keys. This award-winning saltwater fishing seminar series for women, hosted by Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and presented by Mercury Outboards, will be held on September 23and the 24th. The weekend event offers a Friday evening welcome party at the Worldwide Sportsman, seminar at the Lorelei on Saturday, and a full day of fishing out of Whale Harbor on Sunday. The two day event teaches women the basic fishing techniques at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. The seminar concludes with a fish filet class. Marsha Bierman will be the keynote speaker. For more information call Betty Bauman at 954-475-9068. The first leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship Series will begin on November 7th-11th at the Bimini Big Game Club in the Bahamas. Other events will be held at the Lucayan Marina Village December 5-9, The Walkers Cay Resort January 16-20,and The Abaco Beach Resort February 6-10th. These will be Wahoo only Tournaments. Fish three out of four days. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, in an effort to develop a wintertime fisheries in the Bahamas, invites competitors to enjoy the warmth and hospitality of the Bahamas Out Islands during the winter months. For more information call 305-234-7386 On Thursday nights, from 7pm to 8pm, at the Old Cutler Raw Bar, South Dixie Highway and SW 184 Street, come listen to “Fishing South Florida Style”. This is an hour long live radio show hosted by Mike Pace, Captain Rob Fordyce, Captain Marty Locke, and Captain Mark Houghtaling. Offshore and inshore fishing topics are covered during the live radio broadcast, and you can pick up a few tips from the radio hosts after the show. You can also catch the show on Thunder Country 100.3 FM. Captain Mark Houghtaling wants to hear from you. Send him your latest catches and pictures to15920 SW 85 Ave. Miami, Fla. 33157, or E-Mail him at [email protected]. Capt Mark also has a charter fishing service ,you can call him at 305-253-1151 or check out his web page at http://www.magicfin.com For free safe boating and personal watercraft classes call the Coast Guard Auxiliary at 305-820-8411, or the United States Power Squadron at 305-238-4807