# Sword Trip 1/19



## bigtallluke (Jul 14, 2012)

Well the boards have been pretty quiet, so I'll go ahead with my report even though its not to crazy. We put a last minute crew together to do an overnighter. We were originally going to the rigs in hopes of tuna, but due to the last minute nature and the crew we had we decided to do a casual trip out to the sword grounds instead. We left the dock around 11:00 Monday morning and were in no hurry to get there. We stopped at a bottom spot in 320' of water on the way out and we picked off several really nice sized mingos and one scamp. From there we put out a wahoo spread and trolled at 8-10 knots until we arrived around dark to our destination. Seas were kind to us, and were 1' or less as forecasted, and we were only drifting roughly 1 knot per hour. We put two baits out (one shallow, and one a little deeper) and started grilling our dinner. About 8:05 we got our first hit on our shallow rod, but it didn't hold on long enough to get a hook set. At 8:30 we got hit again on the shallow rod, and this time we were hooked up. After a very short fight we landed a small but legal swordy. We harvested that fish as our freezers are empty, and re deployed the baits. We got one more hit around 10:00, but nothing. We stayed in that area until 11:00, then repositioned back to the area where we got hits to do the drift again. Nothing else to report after that. We trolled a spread for wahoo again once dawn came, but that was unsuccessful. Picked up and ran home with smiles on our faces. We didn't slay them by any means, but we had a successful trip with our primary target in the ice box.


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## submariner (Oct 2, 2007)

anytime you get a sword , is a good day. Sounds like it was nice relaxing time. thks for sharing


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## bigtallluke (Jul 14, 2012)

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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Nice job! Now I'm hungry!


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## RedLeg (Mar 15, 2014)

Just curious...what depths were your baits at and what was the total depth you were fishing in? I'm interested in catching a sword this year so any advice is appreciated!


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## bigtallluke (Jul 14, 2012)

RedLeg said:


> Just curious...what depths were your baits at and what was the total depth you were fishing in? I'm interested in catching a sword this year so any advice is appreciated!


We started our drift in 1000' of water, and we were drifting towards the North getting more shallow as we drifted. Once we got close to the 800' mark, that's when we relocated back to deeper water where we had several hits. Due to the moon being non existent and heavy cloud coverage, it was very dark... therefore we fished our baits more shallow than normal. The shallow bait was 100' down, and the second bait was roughly 250' down. The second bait never got hit. All hits were on the shallow rod. there isn't much to it man, just keep it simple in the beginning (or always for that matter) and have fun. I was hoping for two that night, but I will settle for one any day compared to the ol skunk haha!


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## purple haze (Sep 2, 2013)

Sounds and looks like a good night. A pup eats the same as a nickel. Some nice big mongos on ice. Thanks for the pic and post.


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Nice job ! Getting a sword is on my bucket list too.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

Great report. Adapted and prevailed. 

Seems the swords are getting smaller? Is this due to commercial pressure? Any theories?


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Nice fish and report.

Panhandleslim, I don't think they're really getting smaller as much as:

1) Sometimes its just not your year for the big ones
2) Not all are reported publicly

I know of several very nice fish taken this past fall. For me, It was a small fish year too, but there were a couple fish over 300lbs caught this past season so...


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## bigtallluke (Jul 14, 2012)

Chris V said:


> Nice fish and report.
> 
> Panhandleslim, I don't think they're really getting smaller as much as:
> 
> ...


I still haven't gotten a big one yet.... I am going to get one one day though! I want a 250+ pounder lol! Don't we all though.... But that's on my bucket list as well as landing multiple swords in one night. Maybe I'll even start trying in the day time this year... Who knows. If I could isolate them to where they hang out in the day, it would be worth the effort.


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## team_A_II (Mar 31, 2009)

They're not getting smaller, I honestly think it just seems like thats because more yahoos are going out and killing barely legal fish and posting reports. The guys getting the bigger fish and multiple fish per night just don't report it as much like Chris said.


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## bigtallluke (Jul 14, 2012)

team_A_II said:


> They're not getting smaller, I honestly think it just seems like thats because more yahoos are going out and killing barely legal fish and posting reports. The guys getting the bigger fish and multiple fish per night just don't report it as much like Chris said.


Sorry to displease you with my report. I merely posted to add something new to the boards since they have been pretty quiet lately. I would not normally harvest a "barely legal fish", but since my freezer was empty, I decided to keep him. If it were the same scenerio in July, then that fish would have been released to grow. I can see the view point of killing a smaller fish, as I have a similar view point when it comes to hunting for antler deer.... I won't shoot a 4 point out of principle. Maybe this is how you feel with swordys. You have your view point, and I have mine..... I was hungry. Have a good one, and tight lines to you


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## Scruggspc (Mar 20, 2013)

Get 'em bro!


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## team_A_II (Mar 31, 2009)

bigtallluke said:


> Sorry to displease you with my report. I merely posted to add something new to the boards since they have been pretty quiet lately. I would not normally harvest a "barely legal fish", but since my freezer was empty, I decided to keep him. If it were the same scenerio in July, then that fish would have been released to grow. I can see the view point of killing a smaller fish, as I have a similar view point when it comes to hunting for antler deer.... I won't shoot a 4 point out of principle. Maybe this is how you feel with swordys. You have your view point, and I have mine..... I was hungry. Have a good one, and tight lines to you


Not displeased with your report. Thanks for posting it's good to see whats going on out there this time of year, and my comment was not directed towards you. A legal fish is a legal fish, you did nothing wrong there. 

I was merely saying that more and more guys are wacking barely legal fish and posting the reports, therefore it seems like the fish are getting smaller. The guys killing big ones and having 5-6 fish nights just don't post about it as much is all I'm saying.


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## Kailua Boy (Jul 31, 2013)

Sweet job on that fish! Congrats to you and your crew! Hanapa'a!!


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## fishmagician (Jun 4, 2014)

It's a great experience anyway. Gotta try that.


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## JMB (Jan 2, 2009)

Ugh....is it just me....or are those damn big Mingos!?!?

Thx for the report


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## bigtallluke (Jul 14, 2012)

JMB said:


> Ugh....is it just me....or are those damn big Mingos!?!?
> 
> Thx for the report


They were on the larger side of "my scale" for sure. They yielded quite a bit more meat than I am typically used to from Mingo's. I need to find more holes like that one, as I like mingo way better than red snapper!


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

Great report, some good eats there


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Boboe (Feb 4, 2013)

A little FYI to anybody fishing swords: All kept swordfish must be reported to the government or you're in violation and can get fined. Make sure y'all do that.

Swords are regulated internationally. The US lobbies for X number of swords per year. If we undercatch our quota, then next year that quota goes elsewhere. I don't think we've overfished our quota yet.


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