527 Pound Swordfish Caught By Teen

[Shark Tagger]

Well said Ian. We are much better off to learn from each other than to argue. You guys definetely have the right idea and I applaud your convervation efforts.

Keep us posted on your trip to the keys.

ST

[Venice Tunaman]

AMEN. Your conservation efforts are admired here and we are open to new ideas to protect this fishery.

[Broadbill]

What the hell is a Whilst?

[FinalPoint]

Ron, thanks for the report. I'm still waiting for my Blue out there.

[Darkside]

Scotty don't understand your post about Ron being full of shit? In 8 years of swordfishing I have caught 4 blues so it does happen. Maybe you have other issues with Ron?

[Ian Burrett]

Originally Posted by Broadbill

What the hell is a Whilst?

Hi Broadbill
Do we have to teach you English? :lol: :lol: :lol:

WHILE VERSUS WHILST
[Q] From Gary Wade: “As an American who has spent some bit of time with British English, I have always wondered about the difference between while and whilst. Is there a relationship to formal and informal tenses left over from Old English? I also think of amid and amidst.”
[A] You’re close to the target with your second example. Another pair of a similar kind is among and amongst (a third pair, again and against, has a similar origin but the sense of the words has since diverged).
In both cases, the form ending in -st actually contains the -s of the genitive ending (which we still have today, though usually written as ’s, of course). In Middle English, this was often added to words used as adverbs (as while became whiles, which often turned up in the compound adverbs somewhiles and otherwhiles). What seems to have happened is that a -t was later added in the south of England through confusion with the superlative ending -st (as in gentlest).


Thanks for the posting on AN and i apologise for any hostilities that may have arisen.

There just may be a chance that we have broadbill on our coast and i will certainly be giving it ago.

Could save me a fortune in travel

Did you hear about the 900 and something pound bluefin that was taken off Ireland 2 years ago. Apparentlythey are struggling this year to catch any

[Shark Tagger]

Thanks for the english lesson

Glad to see things have calmed down. It would be pretty cool to see you guys catchin the swordfish over there

[FinalPoint]

As Drew stated, it happens...I know of at least 3 caught this past month alone - all big ones too.

[Whitewater]

Living in Mass. We used to have giant Bluefin here all summer. The past few years they go flying by in late October. They are however catching well in Nova Scotia. It's mostly a matter of where the bait is with these. As they are highly regulated like the swords.

And Oh I've made 2 trips now to Miami and caught 2 1/2 fish (the half was shared with a buddy). What a great time. Will be back.

[Ian Burrett]

Originally Posted by Whitewater

Living in Mass. We used to have giant Bluefin here all summer. The past few years they go flying by in late October. They are however catching well in Nova Scotia. It's mostly a matter of where the bait is with these. As they are highly regulated like the swords.

And Oh I've made 2 trips now to Miami and caught 2 1/2 fish (the half was shared with a buddy). What a great time. Will be back.

The Irish have averaged about 20 bluefins a year for the last few years, the smallest being300 lb but the weather has been poor this year and fishing limited. I was supposed to be there last week for 5 days fishing but the skipper cancelled.

We have just had the back end of Katrina. The seas can be awesome with rolling 50 ft swells that can take weeks raher than days to calm down

[stryder]

Thats a awsome catch.
I showed my 15 yr old the photos and he is pumped up. he is ready to go at it.

[CaptainEd]

That's a great catch and to get it boated is difficult for even a seasoned/skilled swordfisherman. Congrats. I still have to laugh at this idiot mentality of big props for killing a huge mature breeder fish and shame on you for killing a legal low 50's fish. If you know your ass from a hole in the ground then you know which one does more damage to the swordfish population. As for the recreational catch and release I think it sounds more richous than it actually is. From talking with marine biologists I think a lot more of these released fish don't survive than do. A lot of self proclaimed know it alls who know nothing about the toxic chemicals that build up in the fishes muscles during it's life and death struggle would say I'm wrong. Sharks instantly recognise a played out fish for an easy meal. If you can get a greenie to the boat and get all the lights, leader and shit off the fish quickly than the fish probably lives. If he's played out on light drag/tackle and fought for long you're just releasing swordfish carcass for the oceans creatures to snack on. I would like to see these large fish tested for mercury levels as oppsed to a 50's fish. It would seem logic would indicate the big ones's should be loaded full of mercury. But let's not go on BS theory. Start taking slabs of these giants and get them tested and some of the 50's fish. I bet Professor O could steer anyone wanting to do that in the right direction. Since intentionally releasing one of these giant fish isn't likely I'd like to see the limit lowered to 1-2. 3 is over kill. Many but not all of the one's going out and getting three per boat are illegally selling their fish. As long as these fish are looked at as commercial meat they are doomed. At least us recreational guys are prolonging the inevidable.

[tunaman81]

[quote="Shark Tagger"]

Originally Posted by Ian Burrett

Hi


Ian - I am one to appreciate opposing point of views a good debate, butyou really cant compare a swordfish and a marlin, as marlin are not commercial fished for tablefare and to be sold on the market at pretty descent $$$. You are better off comparing them with tuna. As captain ken said, they just so happen to have bills.

The recreational guys have avoided longliners coming back to the waters for some time now and have taken a stand when they are trying to get back in.

I would also like to see more catch and release, but we need to start with the regulations. If the regulations allow, we can only do so much.

I would like to see the 3 per boat limit come down to 2 or 1, as it really only takes 1 fish to make the night and a fat 60lb fish can feed a family easliy.

I can see both sides of the argument. More catch and release would be great. There is nothing wrong with keeping one big fish a night, but there is no reason to keep more than one fish over 150lbs a night. The fact is, the larger the fish get, they produce EXPONENTIALLY more eggs. Not only that, but the eggs of the larger, older fish are typically more viable. While it is true that swordfish are capable of producing up to 30 million eggs, it takes a very large fish to spawn that many eggs, probably one over 700 or 800 lbs. A 200lb fish is estimated to produce only about 8 million eggs. That is where I can see why someone would have a problem killing a large swordfish. A 500lb fish is very valuable to the stock due to high amount of eggs it can produce. However, this fish was probably not just hung for a picture. Im sure many people enjoyed some good dinner.

However, I agree with sharktagger about changing the regs. I think you should be allowed 1 fish per person over 47" or 2 fish of a minimum size of 47" per boat, however, only 1 can be over 64". There is no reason to kill more than one fish over 150-200lbs per night. There is plenty of meat on each fish, and even a 100lb fish can provide steaks for weeks.

[tunaman81]

Originally Posted by CaptainEd

That's a great catch and to get it boated is difficult for even a seasoned/skilled swordfisherman. Congrats. I still have to laugh at this idiot mentality of big props for killing a huge mature breeder fish and shame on you for killing a legal low 50's fish. If you know your ass from a hole in the ground then you know which one does more damage to the swordfish population. As for the recreational catch and release I think it sounds more richous than it actually is. From talking with marine biologists I think a lot more of these released fish don't survive than do. A lot of self proclaimed know it alls who know nothing about the toxic chemicals that build up in the fishes muscles during it's life and death struggle would say I'm wrong. Sharks instantly recognise a played out fish for an easy meal. If you can get a greenie to the boat and get all the lights, leader and shit off the fish quickly than the fish probably lives. If he's played out on light drag/tackle and fought for long you're just releasing swordfish carcass for the oceans creatures to snack on. I would like to see these large fish tested for mercury levels as oppsed to a 50's fish. It would seem logic would indicate the big ones's should be loaded full of mercury. But let's not go on BS theory. Start taking slabs of these giants and get them tested and some of the 50's fish. I bet Professor O could steer anyone wanting to do that in the right direction. Since intentionally releasing one of these giant fish isn't likely I'd like to see the limit lowered to 1-2. 3 is over kill. Many but not all of the one's going out and getting three per boat are illegally selling their fish. As long as these fish are looked at as commercial meat they are doomed. At least us recreational guys are prolonging the inevidable.

Most swordfish released in a reasonable amount of time will probably survive release. Satellite tagging on other large pelagics like tuna and marlin have showed low release mortality. Heavy tackle should get the fish to the boat in a proper amount of time for a successful release. I would venture that most of the fish properly released (left in the water, not grabbed by the gills, etc) do survive.

As for mercury, it is FACT that larger fish have more mercury than smaller fish. Mercury is bioaccumulated in fish, and the larger they get, the more mercury they will have.

[FinalPoint]

tunaman - all good points.

[lcagator]

I agree, 3 to 2 would be AWESOME, assuming both are over 60". However, if it is less than 60" to 47", then only 1. I think that would be the way to go.

I have gone out about 7 to8 times, with only a few slashed baits, three hook-ups and only one of those in the boat. It seems the fishery has still not made that great of a comeback yet. :cry:

[TLD-Danny]

nice sword dude

[Ambitious]

Great catch, nice job.

[ballyhu]

Way to go...great job...still hungry for the details....

[CAPTAIN YO]

That is a GREAT fish... Congrats... Welcome to the DARKSIDE...