Our lucky day! Landing a BROADBILL SWORDFISH without a hook.

Bitter sweet triumph! After 40 drops we were due some luck and it came in spades. First bait of the morning brought the excitement. It was the usual game at first, slight enquiry on the line, winding up tight and then tag teaming turns on reeling in the slack as these guys shoot to the surface. There was not a lot of weight on the line compared to previous hook-ups but still enough weight and action to get the adrenaline pumping.
We gained the line back quickly and got a surprise sub surface glimpse beside the boat. Confused as the scenario wasn’t adding up. We still had a fair bit of line out and hadn’t even seen the top shot. We realised at this point it must be line wrapped and a good job of that it had done too. Without a hook set it was a delicate and stressful situation.
It was a fair fight for the size of fish, weighing in at a cute n compact 67kg, but given the unorthodox method the fight was over pretty quickly and without too much carry on beside the boat as we secured it. Very fortunate to land the fish but unfortunately it was unfit for release.
It was a surprising way to open our 2022 sword account but we’re happy with this beautiful little broadbill. Feeling relieved the monkeys off our back, our freezer’s topped up and able to share some premium fillets with friends.
Not as satisfying as battling it out for hours but we'll take it! 😊 More swordfish adventures to come as we hope to tag and release another one, or two, if we haven't used up all our luck already. Thanks for watching! @itswizza
Running Gear:
Rod: Shimano Hyper Sword Rod 65-100lb
Reel: Shimano Tiagra80w
Braid: 120lb Seamaster Braid. Tough stuff
Top-shot: 130lb Varivas shock leader
Wind-on: 300lb JEM wind-on leader
Leader: 400lb Predator Tackle Fluorocarbon leader
Hooks: Seamaster 18/0 Circle Hook

[@adammcgeorge3538]

Talk about doing things the hard way! Great catch crew, lassoed and hog tied that one!

[@itswizza]

Haha 🤠 Did it the stressful way for sure. When we boated it there was about 3 strands of braid keeping the dream alive 🤪

[@adammcgeorge3538]

@@itswizza that is awesome, you don’t think about braid being that resistant to abrasion. What brand of braid do you use by the way? You should so hit them up for a sponsorship :)

[@itswizza]

@@adammcgeorge3538 Seamaster Fishing Supplies braid. I happen to work there haha not sponsored but do get a staff discount. Not a better test for it i dont think. It had rubbed on the bill A LOT and held up extremely well. I was impressed! Another run and it could have been a different end result though.

[@TazzzieAdventures]

Congrats on a nice fish ya gotta be lucky every now an then. ATB

[@itswizza]

Would love to tag a monster this season but couldn't be happier in terms of boating a perfect eating size. The quality was 10/10 👌

[@TascastFishing]

Wooohoo! You guys deserve that fish. That many drops this season. Out of curiosity, you’re not running any top shot mono? Or just a little bit?

[@itswizza]

Cheers 😁 We absolutely do run topshot, it just happened to still be out behind the fish 🤣 We still had 10+m of braid, 20-25m of topshot and 10m of wind on/leader out when we boated this fish. We run 1000m x 120lb braid, 20-25m 130lb top shot, 300lb wind on and another 4m of 400lb fluorocarbon leader. Hopefully we get a good hook set on one soon and can tag a monster.

[@nickleback3695]

How many kilo of drag do you use for swordfish?

[@itswizza]

Depends how the fish is fighting.. when we detect the bite we free spool it till we think its had enough time to eat the bait or change direction and get a good hook set. We usually then bump the drag upto strike, so around 12kg, while we furiously wind the slack in when the fish drives to the surface. Then hopefully you get a visual and can set the drag appropriately to the size &/or fight of the fish and anglers ability. Ive never put more than about 18kg drag on a sword before. Also depends on time of hook-up and how much day light you have or if you are willing to slog it out into darkness, whether you want to keep it or tag & release and whats best for the fish. Hope that helps 😊

[@kelseywigg7908]

Cracker of a fish...awesome effort!

[@itswizza]

Thanks Kelsey. Was a lucky catch!

[@adammcgeorge3538]

I’m not a gambler, but maybe you should buy a scratchy;)

[@itswizza]

👍😂😂