mike toth

The Key To Catching Swordfish

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

Catching a broadbill swordfish is considered one of the most significant achievements of a big-game angler. A sword is a dogged battler, a spectacular jumper, and it's no secret that the flesh is excellent. But catching a swordfish in a sporting manner is extremely difficult. Swords--which average 100 pounds these days but have reached more than half a ton--are often seen basking on the surface during the day but many times won't bite bait trolled past them. They feed more often after dark, but nighttime fishing is difficult. Also, swords are comfortable down to depths of 2000 feet or more, which means they can be out of reach even in the best swordfish waters. And plenty of anglers have put a hook into a sword only to lose it during a jump or at boatside. So, of course, I had to try to catch one. Here's how I did it by fishing with Richard Stanczyk, owner of Bud N' Mary's Fishing Marina in Islamorada, Florida, earlier this year.

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

This was my swordfish when it first came to the surface. What a thrill to see the beautiful electric-gray flanks of a creature that you've fought from the bottom of the ocean.

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

That's me in the fighting chair watching K.J. Zeher (in blue shirt) and Nick Stanczyk, Richard's son, expertly gaff and haul aboard the 125-pound fish. All billfish are dangerous when on a boat, and Zeher and Stanczyk were careful to keep everyone away from it while it thrashed and thumped on the deck.

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

You'd smile too after catching a trophy like this. From left: Zeher, Toth, Nick Stanczyk, and Scott Stanczyk, Nick's uncle and boat captain.

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

Here's Richard and me back at the marina, posing with the 325th swordfish caught via Stanczyk and Gaspeny's deepwater baitfishing system. Richard's got his "war paint" on-zinc oxide to protect his face from the sun. I've got a clean shirt on. That's one other thing I learned about this fishing system: bring extra shirts. You are inevitably going to hold up a big fish for photographs, and all that slime really does a number on your clothes.

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

You need a lot of line to get down to 1500 feet or more. You have to account for scope, or the angle of the line from boat to bottom, and you need line on the reel for the fish to run off after the hookset. That's why this Penn International 80 has more than a mile of line on it.

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fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500

No, it's not a homemade anchor for a johnboat. This is a swordfish sinker. To drop a bait through a quarter mile of water, the sinkers are made from concrete, and weigh 8 to 10 pounds. The system calls for breaking off the environmentally inert concrete sinker once a hook has been set on a sword.