At first a skeptic, now “all in” on chasing the elusive swordfish
I didn’t understand it whenever I heard swordfish “legends” such as R.J. Boyle, Brett Holden, and Peace Marvel use the term. They had been doing it for over a decade before I was even old enough to get out to “the grounds,” to search for the prehistoric beast 1200’ below the oceans surface.
I grew up doing some inshore stuff and then eventually progressed to snapper with my uncles, but never had I even the slightest clue that these guys and “Purple Fever” would hook me much harder than I’d ever hooked them. Like I had eaten a Mustad 7691, I was in trouble.
Not the type of trouble that would involve law enforcement, but the type of trouble that would cost me lots of coins and a whole lot of time! Shortly after my first snapper and tuna trip, I was fortunate enough to have multiple connections across southern Louisiana that would give me a ride out there in exchange for boat cleaning and typical deckhand work.
I didn’t have the funds back then but I certainly had the drive and work ethic and made myself an “asset” to have on any offshore fishing trip. But I also eventually found that I was ”swordacrazy.”
I had been bitten and tested positive for “Purple Fever.”
Didn’t get it
I had watched a few videos and couldn’t understand how someone could just stare at a rod tip for hours and hours upon end. I was real big on snapper, grouper and tuna fishing. Snapper and grouper, if you put it in their face and they’re there, you’re going to get bit. Tuna, if you have the right bait and you’re at the right place at the right time, you’ll typically also get bit. Swordfish are a different ball game!
If I told someone who knew me that I’d have the patience to go through the process to sew a squid, belly, or eel to a 10/0 J hook then crimp the squid to a ball bearing swivel where the swivel met my leader that I had to make myself, then tie a cats paw connection from my mainline to my wind on, then tie a wax loop to the end of my main line for my weight or buoy to go, then there’s the process of sending out your bait with a hope and a prayer that it doesn’t get tangled, they’d say I were a fool for even thinking I would stick that out.
But I did, and still do. Every trip I am always trying to find easier ways of doing things. Trying to simplify things makes it easier for me and others down the road. And let’s face it, everyone had to try their way once too before it was “the right way” to do it. As the professional guest fisherman I had been for awhile, I couldn’t jump on someone else’s boat that has been doing it their way for so long (whether it was successful or not) and tell them how I wanted to do things. I wasn’t the captain or the guy who paid the boat note after all.
However, this previous year after going through a few play boats, I finally finished my dream boat. A 35’ Nerowalker Catamaran made from aluminum here in Louisiana. Powered by four Suzuki 300’s and outfitted with top of the line Garmin and Airmar electronics. I was a legitimate threat to the swords now as I had the means of getting to them swiftly and comfortably.
First trip: All in
The first trip in the boat I went all in, “full send.” I had over a dozen rigged squids in my Grizzly 20 cooler, 1,000 pounds of ice, four Daiwa Tanacom 1200’s, four Shimano Tiagra 80 wides, 500 gallons of gas, and 24 Redbulls. We departed from COCO Marina in Cocodrie at 5 a.m. and made light work of the 2-3 foot gulf chop as we ran 44 mph the entire way. At 8 a.m., we arrived at my first spot and sent down a tip rod with squid and then another with a belly. Green lights with squid and blue lights with belly. Ten minutes in the squid rod started bucking. We played the typical game of cat and mouse with him a few times (dropping then picking up the bait to entice him to eat it) and on the second tease drop we hooked him with the weight.
We came tight and my crew and I worked together like a well-oiled machine. I was joined by two of my buddies, Justin Ziegler and Justin Toth, experienced fisherman I had confidence in.
We got the first fish on deck within 45 minutes of dropping our first bait. First fish measured 78 inches and was a solid kill fish. The next 24 hours was like we were in a swordfish homerun derby. In total, we went 8 for 9 on broadbills (all fish measuring between 68” and 75”), then finished off our trip with a handful of queen snappers and golden tiles for the frying pan.
Since that trip I have had a handful of two and three swordfish days but nothing quite as epic as that day. I cannot wait to find a weather window to get back to another exciting swording day.
-Capt. Jerry Menard