Rare Moonfish Caught Off Florida Coast Marks Once-in-a-Lifetime Achievement
Keith Lusher 06.30.25
A routine Father’s Day swordfish charter off Fort Lauderdale became extraordinary when fishing guide Laurel David and Captain Richard Fairbanks hauled in a massive 148-pound opah, commonly known as a moonfish.
The rare catch may be only the second or third opah ever documented off Florida’s coast, making it a truly rare event in the state’s fishing history. David, a second-generation angler who has fished these waters for over 20 years, had only dreamed of encountering such a fish since childhood.
The fishing trip began like any other for the crew of Family Tradition Sport Fishing. Two fathers wanted to target swordfish for their Father’s Day outing, so Captain Fairbanks navigated his boat Freebird to their usual deep-water spot. After an unsuccessful first drop in 1,800 feet of water, the crew decided on one final attempt.
“We rigged up some bait and got everything ready to go, trolled out to the spot. We dropped some baits down. We didn’t have any action on our first drop,” David recalled.
When the fish finally struck on their last drift of the afternoon, both experienced anglers were convinced they had hooked a substantial swordfish. The creature’s fighting behavior seemed classic for the species they were targeting.
“Honestly, when it was coming up it was acting like a really nice swordfish, doing a lot of the same things and the same behaviors. The driving was pretty much essentially the same as it would be on a big swordfish like that,” David explained.
“We thought it was a decent one, too, because of how it was pulling the jug underwater,” Fairbanks added. For roughly 45 minutes, the mysterious fish battled on the line, with the crew initially thinking they had hooked their typical bycatch of yellowfin or bigeye tuna.
But as the glimmering creature approached the surface, its true identity became spectacular. The opah’s distinctive colors emerged in an almost indescribable display.
“She turned pink and orange — you can’t even describe these colors,” Fairbanks said. “They don’t come in a crayon box.”
Back at Captain Clay and Sons Seafood Market in Delray Beach, the fish officially weighed 148 pounds on certified scales. Reed Brand, who works at the market, was amazed by what he witnessed.
“I couldn’t believe it, it’s absolutely insane. It’s the equivalent of seeing Bigfoot, I think there are more Bigfoot sightings a year than there are Opah sightings in Southeast Florida,” Brand said.
David reflected on achieving a lifelong dream: “I’ve been dreaming of catching one of those since I was a little kid. I don’t even have words, I’m speechless, it’s incredible, it really is an amazing sight.”
How to Clean a Moonfish
Processing the opah required completely different techniques from those of typical fish. Unlike standard fish that yield regular fillets, this deep-water species presented a unique challenge.
“It had to be broken down like an animal—like a cow,” Fairbanks explained.
The fish’s unusual anatomy yielded approximately 15 different cuts of meat, each with distinct characteristics. The breakdown process involved icing the fish overnight to firm up the flesh for cleaner cutting.
“There was a high loin, a low loin, the rib meat. It also had, like, backstraps,” David said. “And it had an abductor muscle, where its pectoral fin was, that’s kind of like a brisket … And between us, we didn’t have much experience [dealing] with a fish like this … it was just crazy.”
The cleaning process requires making precise cuts around the pectoral fin and creating circular cuts around different sections. Special attention must be paid to removing dark tissue from the abdominal cavity, which can impart strong flavors if not properly cleaned.
The versatile flesh works excellently raw for sushi applications due to its firm texture, while cooking transforms it into softer meat perfect for grilling, searing, breading and frying, or smoking. For the crew of Family Tradition Sport Fishing, this once-in-a-lifetime catch provided both an unforgettable experience and valuable insights into processing one of the ocean’s most unusual species.
