Remember This Massive 757-lb Broadbill Swordfish Landed in Florida
OutdoorHub Reporters 05.01.19
Recently, we saw BlacktipH and pro golfer, Greg Norman, hook a world-record size hammer head shark. On March 31, Capt. Nick Stanczyk, accompanied by his buddy, Konnor, and a married couple, Bill and Debbie, set sail with their sights set on catching some broadbill swordfish.
Nick and Konnor had been planning this trip for some time, after the original trip had to be rescheduled due to high winds. The dad began like any other, with Nick and Konnor arriving to Bud n’ Mary’s Marina before the sun peaked over the horizon. They loaded the rods and bags of ice, and then started rigging a few baits before Bill and Debbie showed up.
At 7 A.M., Nick put the throttles down and steered his charter boat towards Islamorada.
A little over an hour later, and not even 10 minutes into the first drift, Nick recognized a telltale sign they had a bite on one of the rods. However, there was no bent rod, no line screaming off the reel, just a buoy that appeared slightly different than normal.
Little did they know, all hell was about to break loose..
Not long after that, Nick, Konnor and Bill found themselves in a ‘tug-of-war’ with a giant swordfish.
At the end of it all, they had drifted over 20 miles and battled the beast for 8 hours!
By the time they returned back to the dock, the word had gotten out, and a crowd of eager fishing fanatics waited to lay eyes on the behemoth. According to Nick’s post on Facebook, the fish weighed in at 757.8 lbs and it took 7 people just to hoist it out of the boat.
“It was one of the largest ever landed in the United States by recreational fisherman! Bill, Debbie, Konnor, and I had witnessed the ultimate strength of a broadbill swordfish. Swordfish have endurance and stamina like no other fish. They are gladiators! After some more pictures it was time to clean the fish. It was like butchering a cow. The meat was absolutely gorgeous. Bill and Debbie filled a big cooler for their family and friends and we kept the rest for our family and friends. I gave away a bunch that night and iced down the rest to deal with the next day. The following day I vacuum sealed a ton of steaks for the freezer and gave away even more. For dinner I threw a few swordfish steaks on the grill. It was the best fish I’ve ever eaten. I don’t know if it was the boost of mercury, the sweet taste of victory, or what, but it was good, damn good.”
By comparison, the world record swordfish – caught May 7, 1953, in Iquique, Chile – stands strong at 1,182 pounds.
