Miami Swordfish Tourney Weekend

[Captain Joe McGivern]

Well the Swordfishing off of Miami has been slow the last 2 months.With all of the hurricanes and wind we have been getting lately,it has just kept most of us at home.Earlier this monthwe fished 2 nights out onthe grounds.The 1st night was pretty slow with the release of 1 fish about 55" going somewhere around 70lbs or so.The next night we fished,it was extremely slow.We never got a bite,but did hear of 1 boat that caught a 100lb fish.This past weekend,was the weekend of the Miami Swordfish Tournament.This 2 night event gives just about anyone who has some experience of catching swords a shot at placeing in the money.The first night there was a nice east wind at about 15-20kts making it a little sporty out there.We checked in at the Miami Beach Marina at 5:00pm and headed out to the grounds off of haulover.Lines were in at 6:30,and fishing began.The night started out slow for most of the boats up north.First boat hooked up was "Double D" with Dean Panos.Dean released a fish,along with a few other boats including the "Get Lit" with Ray Rocher.We never got a bite the first night.The first nights tally was "Chips Ahoy"1st,2nd Complete Angler fishing Team,3rd was the Get Lit and 4th was the "Superstition"


The second night we decided to make a run down to the south grounds and see if we could locate the fish there,and we did.We set up at about 7:30pm,and at about 8:20pm we had our first fish on.The fish ate a squid at 125' and swam right up to the boat for a quick tourney release,which is exactly what your looking for.20 minutes later we were hooked up with a double header,landed the first fish,but broke off the second somehow.That put us in 5th place with 2 releases.We decided to set up again,over the same area where we released the 2 fish.We did 3 more drifts through the area resulting in only 1 slashed bait.Seems as if the fish just shut down as soon as the moon popped up.The final nights tally was 1st Complete Angler with 3 releases,2nd was the "Get Lit" with 3 releases,3rd was "Chips Ahoy" with 2 releases,4th was the "superstition"with 2 releases and 5th was my crew "My Martica" with 2 releases.All in all it was a great weekend and we are looking forward to fishing it again next yr.Remeber tourney fishing is fun,but hard work.Anyone can place in the money,and it only takes a few mistakes to loose.So if u find your self in contention for placeing in the money,do your best at staying calm and boating the fish.Hopefully this weather will keep up and I will see you guy's out there on the grounds.

[hannaman]

You gave a nice report Joe.