Broadbill

[BushpigNZ]

hahahahhahahahaha looked good though eh hahahahhahahahahahaha

I figured the yanks wouldnt know the differance any ho

[jbud]

New Zealand's top charter boat PRIMETIME and Captain John Gregory has caught 20 broadbill so far this year. The smallest was 275lbs, the biggest 704 lbs and also a pending world record Junior fish of 391lbs.
Over the last 3 years the boat has recorded 9x400pounders, 7x500pounders, 3x600pounders (including a 639 for your own Martin Hirsch) and 1x700pounder. A fish under 250 pounds is a rarity only a handful are caught each year. We try and tag what we can. All fish this year on PRIMETIME were caught slow trolling a single squid at night on a downrigger. Equipment is 37 kilo with bait stitched onto a single VMC 14/0 open gape. Some boats try deep drifting in the day but the current and tide makes this difficult. Others try night-time drifting but this results in more shark bites than sword bites. (Maybe 9 to 1 if drifting and maybe 50/50 if towing). Sharks caught this year (all released, too dangerous to try and bring aboard) include makos to 800 lbs, threshers to over 1000lbs and bronze whalers to 800lbs.) The secret here and the method used by all the oldtimers like Lerner and Farrington, is to give the fish plenty of time and plenty of freespool. This method has also resulted in more fish hooked inside the mouth (17 out of 20) whereas drifting seems to foul hook a lot of fish resulting in horrendous 14 hour struggles for all concerned. If any of you Florida guys fancy giving it a crack at what is for sure the World's best big broadbill location, then contact captjohn@primetimecharters.co.nz, visit website or send me a PM.
Don't expect a fast fight, 3 hours will be average although this season I released a 500 pounder after only 15 minutes and put another 500 pounder on the deck in 35 minutes.
Since the 612 lbs Florida fish in 1978 and the 650 lbs Chile 1987 and the 657 lbs Chile 1989, all 9 fish over 600lbs have been caught in New Zealand and 4 of them by PRIMETIME.
I just love swords!

[Mike]

You can't compare Florida swordfishing to NZ. Thats like comparing out bottom fishing to that of the bahamas. Totally different.

Believe me, all the guys in FLorida are putting in hundreds of nights a year hoping to get that slob.

By the way, the law allows 47inch fish to be taken home.. I believe the longliners are allowed to keep anything over 40lbs.

[adamscott]

I noticed one guy said "anything over 60 inches is worth keeping", I gather that is V in mouth to V in tail? and fish that small wouldnt even be near breading size. We have a min size limit over here of 90kg which is about 200lb but to be honest there arent very many fish that small so it should be increased. From what I understand your fishery is recovering from comercial rape, its good that it is recovering but in my mind keeping 60inch fish in recreational rape of infants! please resect your fishery so your fish can recover to the size fish we are lucky enough to enjoy.

[BushpigNZ]

yeah it is different. We dont keep baby fish. We respect that a fish be able to breed before we catch it and o yeah, we catch big fish.

It is fair to compare. You guys need to wake and and protect the small fish before you lose them all.

[H2O]

Bushpig, I can certainly appreciate your conservationist ways, but I noticed in one of those photos there were three really nice swords on the dock. One wasn't enough? Maybe you should worry about protecting your fishery and stop worrying about ours. Are we not allowed to fish because they don't meet your standards.

[adamscott]

In the photo with the 3 swords, the angler who was 70 years old fought the 650lb sword hanging up for 16hrs, a fine effort, but unfortunately the tail was attacked by a shark during the end of the fight. As I sure you are aware H20, swords fight very hard and dont give up so when they reach 500lbs they are sadly not usually in a state to be released. Then there is our shark problem, after long fights the makos hone in

[jbud]

Mike, I have probably done more fishing in Florida and Bahamas than in NZ, and have to say the options available to Floridians are immense and probably second to none. (I really do miss my backwater fishing for tarpon and bones and once over the Stream you could lose yourself forever in the Islands). By comparison NZ comes a very poor second for variety but when it comes to big broadbill it is currently the only venue in the World at present that is consistently producing the goods. With regard to killing swords, here it is very difficult to get them to the boat in any shape to release, PRIMETIME tagged 3 big swords this year only to have them float up 5 minutes later. Also sharks, at certain times of the year can be a nuisance. What they try to do is get them as fast as possible and make a call at the last minute. Using heavier tackle has resulted in more pulled hooks but the fishery is still evolving and improvement is made each season. Broadbill have always been regarded as fair game right from the outset, The Avalon Tuna Club didn't have a release badge for broadbill, the reason "whoever releases broadbill?"

[Litetackleredneck]

I have to agree with all the boys from NZ, the fish out here are really small, and with a larger size limit we would continually catch larger fish. Also the populaion would increse because all the fish would have a chance to breed. 47 inches is way to small no matter how you look at it. Like i said before 68-75 inches needs to be a minum size.

[Mike]

I agree the size limit should be changed.. but I don't think us recreational fisherman can influence the increase of size around here.. it is the commercial guys to our north and south... awesome info from NZ.. I appreciate the other side ..

[H2O]

No doubt in my mind that NZ probably has the biggest swordfish in the world. Fish that big will never hangout here, the water is just too warm. As the fish get bigger they move to cooler water. The gulf stream isn't known for its coolness. Sure we can get some decent fish as they move through, but on average our fish will always be smaller, by comparison.
In regards to the 3 fish on the dock. Thanks for the explanation. They couldn't come in after 1 or 2 but had to get 3. If bushpig is so concerned about protecting fisheries he should have an issue with this photo. I will be doing some boating over there in about 2 years and look forward to doing some fishing there.

[adamscott]

H20.. Make sure when you come down here it is between Feb-June, we also have a fantastic Striped Marlin fishery with fish reaching greater than 400lb, the odd 600lb Blue will also make an appearance. Yellowtail to 100lb are fun for a change also. I agree with you that the 3 swords at the dock wasnt a great look, but they did also tag one and it is very hard to packup and head home when a hot bite is going on just because you have caught one, if you were chartering the boat I dont think you would be to happy if the Capt said "Lines in, were going home".

[H2O]

Point well taken. Thanks for the info. I have heard about the stripeys down there and that is one of the reasons we want to check it out. We're doing the mother ship thing. Take 5 years and go around the world. Looking forward to it. till then, tight lines everyone.

[jbud]

H20, the most consistent broadbill grounds are 140 miles from the nearest safe harbour and the 3 fish you see were caught during an extended 6 day trip in the middle of the NZ winter in an attempt to capture a new 80lbs World Record. Unfortunately 2 of the 3 fish you see were shark bitten at the boat and were disqualified, including the biggest which had the measurements to give the record a nudge. Incidentally the leader was half-hitched around a pectoral resulting in a 15 hour 40 minute fight for the 70 year old angler. Releasing was not an option. The only answer is to not fish for them in the first place, I guess. As a Charter Skipper with 4 anglers on the boat for a 7 day stay away it would be inconceivable to pack up after getting one on the first night. Having said that, 3 Australian anglers fished PRIMETIME in May and fishing started at 8pm and they had caught one each by 1am. The smallest was 300lbs and the biggest nearly 400lbs. They called a halt at that stage and went home 2 days early and each had their fish (their first swords) mounted. Before the night-time fishing had started they had each also tagged their first striped marlin each during the day.
Incidentally PRIMETIME caught 178 striped marlin during the season, 12 were released untagged, 166 tagged and released and only 2 came to the boat dead. If there is a way to release big swords successfully we would love to know how to do it and assure you that is the aim, the trouble is this is the only place to learn how to do it.

[H2O]

jbud, That explains alot. Thanks. We are only going 15 miles offshore and are fishing out of 25-30' center consoles for the most part. From the time I leave the dock till the time the first line hits the water is a little over an hour. On good nights we hook up right away. I release EVERYTHING I don't need and most guys here do. Even though our techniques differ the one thing all of us have in common is the love for our sport and I'm sure we do what we can to preserve. Good Luck to all of your guys.

[SabreWars]

Just in case anyone missed jbuds blatant spam

PRIMETIME

[jbud]

Just setting the record straight, one shouldn't believe everything stated in the ads at the back of the Melton catalogue, nor indeed listen to all the "toothpick" whining from those who have never caught a swordfish. The 90 kilo limit in NZ is not mandatory and only applies to club records. There is no "legal" nor "illegal" catch size for recreational anglers nor any limit on quantity, and at present broadbill are not quota'd commercially so they can kill whatever they can sell. The regulation in the USA and especially Florida is to be applauded, if it wasn't for the great and powerful lobbying you guys do, the Atlantic would be a far worse place.
(P.S. in NZ the charter angler owns any and all fish they catch and it is illegal to sell them, so there is no "added incentive" to have a fish killed.)

[Litetackleredneck]

Its also illegal for people to sell swords here too, but i can garrenty over 70% of swordfishermen sell there catch. So there is an "added incentive" for most anglers.

[J.P Freeman]

no, you think.

[afterdark]

Nice fish, Obviously you believe in the kill as well. I am sure you CONSUMED all those pigs at dinner. I catch what I'll eat 125 lb or 300. Must have been hard releasing those big dogs after hanging them on the dock.