Miami Swordfish Tournament Report 2004

[Mike]

Miami Swordfish Tournament Report by 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 month we fished 2 nights out on the 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 placing 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 Rosher. 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 you’re 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 one 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 year. Remember 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 yourself in contention for placing 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.


Tightlines,
Joe McGivern