The Broadbill Swordfish is to my mind the most intriguing big game species of them all. I became fascinated with them after reading about monster sword fish, attacking oil rigs, even one embedding itself into a oil spill barrier or some kind of buoy.
Nowadays the documentary on Discovery Channel, "Swords, life on the line" gives us a glimpse of the size and ferocity of these fish.
I have been to the south of Cape Agulhas 7 times in search of Swordfish. On these trips I take with me some specialised terminal tackle and the big rods only, Size 80-130. I have invested in some serious lightsticks and found some decent products from Lindgram pitman.
I also have a Fluorescent Green light which I dangle over the side at night, and a 500w 220V spotlight on either side of my vessel.
I have found that the best time for a chance of catching them, is from sunset untill sunrise in about 35 Fathom to 45 Fathom of water.
I only deploy 4 rods for the night, and stagger them in depth as well as distance from the boat.
I bait my leader with a fresh or live 30cm chokka, and have my lightstick dangling about 3 fathoms away on my sinker.
So far I have managed to land one "Swordie" and lose two. The last one emptied a 80 Penn International in one downward run. I know it was a sword, and the empty hook with flesh on it proved my terrible loss!
I have found that in one night you could expect at least one hookup.
It also showed that Bigeye Tuna as a "bycatch" was always a certainty!
Its a long way to run from Struisbaai, and the weather must be perfect. We are equipped with Life Raft, Satellite comms and use a 30ft vessel for these expeditions, which last for a day and night and day.
Here is a nice video of a daytime Sword hookup:
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Neil Bezuidenhout
