Fort Lauderdale Swordfish Fishing Report

April 20^th, 2010
Swordfishing in Fort Lauderdale
Lately, the wind has been blowing out of the west in Fort Lauderdale; inshore seas are beautiful, where it looks good enough to head into the horizon, but as you head further east into the Gulfstream, the seas are comparable to a washing machine, not a pancake. With that said, Swordfishing conditions have not been very good. However, just hours before the Lady Pamela II was set to sail offshore to Swordfish grounds on Tuesday afternoon, the wind weakened, turned to the east and it made for a very comfortable, successful nighttime Swordfishing charter in Ft Lauderdale.
At 5 PM, the Lady Pamela II left Lauderdale Marina with John from Minnesota. John is an avid big game fisherman and has fished many places most people just dream about. He has caught every Billfish, from Blue Marlin in Hawaii to Sailfish in Mexico, but never a Broadbill Swordfish. If South Florida has one thing to brag about, it is definitely the Swordfish bite and John decided to try his luck about the Lady Pamela II. Captain Paul led the Lady Pamela II 20 miles offshore in 1-2 ft seas with a southeast wind. Once they reached fertile grounds, Mike and Eric displayed four dead squid in the water on single 10.0 hooks. John caught his first Swordfish at sundown on rod a reel (130 International with 200lb test power pro). After a tough 20-minute fight, all the guys wanted more. John and the crew ended their Swordfishing trip with four Broadbill Swordfish in the 100 lb range; biggest fish was 150 lb’s.
Swordfish are OFFSHORE species found worldwide in temperate and tropic waters; known to frequent depths of 400 to 500 fathoms; also has been seen basking at the surface.
Large swordfish are all females, males seldom exceeding 200 pounds.
Broadbill Swordfish reach a maximum size of 177 in. (455 cm) and 1,400 lb (650 kg).
Swordfish rely on their great speed, capable of reaching speeds up to 50 mph (80 km/h), and agility in the water to catch its prey.
BIG squid head found in the Swordfish's stomach
The Swordfish fishing action off Fort Lauderdale is starting to pick up just in time for those calm evenings offshore. A typical night of Swordfishing in Ft Lauderdale produces an average of three to four bites, maybe even more.