Up until 1976, the broadbill swordfish represented the most mysterious and least-caught of all the major billfish species. Legend and myth intertwined into an almost supernatural aura of madness, strength and near invincibility of the species known as Xiphias gladius (Latin for sword and gladiator). Only by making a modified version of the swordfish's own mighty weapon and using it against him could frail humans consistently capture and kill the mighty beast, which was highly prized for its savory flesh. Since biblical times, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic, off the California coast and in the mighty Humboldt Current off Chile and Peru, men sought, and still seek, the majestic swordfish armed with hand-thrown harpoons.

Up until less than 30 years ago, the amount of sport fishermen who needed more than the fingers on one hand to count the number of swordfish under their belt were rare indeed. In almost all cases, they were world-renowned anglers or professional captains.

A Tradition Begins
The first nighttime swordfish tournament in the world took place off Miami Beach in 1977. My inexperienced crew on Wooden Nickel hooked a 185-pound swordfish on the first bait we put in the water. We boated it in less than five minutes — before it even got dark. A total of 88 swordfish came to the scales that night, attracting anglers and marine scientists in droves.

Unfortunately, longliners sprouted like weeds, and in a few short years, swordfish populations plummeted to the level where it was not worth the time and effort to fish for them recreationally. And it would take another 25 years and require the closing of longlining in the Straits of Florida before the swordfish population bounced back in sufficient numbers to support a recreational fishery once again.

The second time around, anglers and crew knew more about these enigmatic, ancient fish. Dr. Barbara Block studied the strangely modified muscle tissue surrounding the swordfish's brain that had first been described by her mentor, Dr. Frank Carey. Unlike most muscles, the "brain heater" did no work, but warmed the brain to enable the big predator to have the reflexes and coordination it needed to capture prey in cold, deep water.

The animal has no use for color vision at depths where light levels are extremely low. The huge eye of a swordfish gathers the last few photons of light that penetrate the depths. (Some captains have even modified their techniques, trying to avoid dazzling the fish with too much light.)

Even though swordfishing is fairly easy — just put a bait out at night and drift with the current — the best skippers have fine-tuned techniques that increase their chances of success. Three of the best, Tim Palmer, Skip Smith and Jason "Tiny" Walcott, agreed to share their broadbill tactics and techniques.

Baits
All three dye their squid baits red, especially if the bait isn't high-quality. Washed-out, white-looking squid don't make the cut. Palmer, who commercial fishes with hand lines suspended from polyball floats, as well as with rod and reel, will sometimes use green or green/blue dye.

Palmer, Smith and Walcott all use squid, but Walcott also uses live tinker mackerel, goggle-eyes and blue runners. Smith says swordfish "really do not care what they eat" and tells of catching a swordfish with the full peel of a large potato in its belly.

Palmer and Smith both prefer to use smaller squid than the ones most anglers use. They both examine the stomach contents of their catches and notice more intact small squid in the bellies. The larger squid usually have been slashed by the fish's bill. They feel their hookups are better with smaller baits and say that while live baits will attract strikes, the hookup ratio suffers.

Tackle and Rigs
All three use similarly sized and shaped hooks: Palmer uses 8/0 Eagle Claw 9106 J hooks, Walcott a 10/0 red-colored J hook marketed by Penn similar to the "Southern Tuna" style 7698 by Mustad, and Smith uses a 9/0 Mustad 7691.

All three use electronic flashing lights made by Lindgren-Pitman or similar waterproof lights in competitive brands. They are all aware of the sensitivity of the fish's huge eyes and deliberately keep the light at least 20 feet from the bait. (Smith puts the light slightly closer to the bait on big-moon nights.)

When using chemical lightsticks, which emit a constant but less-intense light than electronic flashers, Palmer positions the light as close as 8 feet from the bait — but always keeps it above the connection between the wind-on and trace leader to avoid the fiber-optic light transmission inherent in monofilament nylon and fluorocarbon line and leader. The light can actually make the leader glow if it rests against the mono. (Palmer has logged numerous night dives on the swordfish grounds checking every aspect of his tackle, bait and rigging and only uses red leader material!)

Lights
In addition to the Cyalume stick on the leader, most crews also attach one to the balloon they use to monitor and spread out their rigs. Long balloons work best because they ride up and down in the water column and signal a bite by either floating horizontally when the fish picks up the bait or disappearing altogether.

With the balloons spreading out with the wind and the Cyalumes attached to the top, you can keep track of a bait 200 yards away from the boat.

Everyone uses lights on the boat. The new through-hull lights seem to be the most popular. Fluorescent drop lights like the ones made by Hydro Glow work well also.

Using spreader lights represents the worst option of all since the reflection from the cockpit ruins the crew's night vision. Smith and Palmer both think too much light blinds the fish and could result in a worse hookup percentage. Walcott even goes so far as to use a black light on his T-top. It helps preserve his night vision and makes the clear Suffix line he uses glow under the ultraviolet light.

Depth
Walcott staggers his baits from a mere 50 feet below to as deep as 310 feet. Smith fishes baits from the surface to 300 feet, but will sometimes go as deep as 500 or 600 feet if the fishing turns slow, and he tries to concentrate his baits around the thermocline. Both men use up to 4 pounds of detachable weights on windy nights.

Palmer uses no weight on his hand lines, and during his dives, he has found that his baits tend to troll with the windage, skimming the surface of the thermocline.

All experienced swordfishermen finely tune their fish finders to locate preferred depths of water. Jesse Webb says that in south Florida, you can catch swords from "800 feet to almost Bimini." Walcott considers 1,000 feet the minimum depth and 1,700 feet the maximum, saying he gets most of his bites in 1,400 feet. Both Smith and Palmer start closer inshore if they find schools of tinker mackerel in shallower water. Palmer has even caught fish in water as shallow as 450 feet.

Drag
Palmer tends to use more drag when fighting fish than Smith and Walcott do on their rods and reels. "I like to let my anglers fight the fish for a while, charter-boat style," says Smith. "They appreciate the fish more if it takes a while to catch it. I leave a light drag on the little ones and only use as much drag as I need to catch it. If I hook a tough one, we push up the drag."

Walcott starts out "real light," then goes to 14 pounds. If the angler doesn't start gaining line, he will kick it up to as high as 28 pounds.

Palmer sets his reels at 28 pounds, and his buoys exert up to 110 pounds before being pulled underwater. He uses at least 40 pounds of pull when the fish slows down and says he catches more fish with the shorter fight times than he loses to pulled hooks. He feels that recreational anglers and charter boats diminish the number of fish they catch by taking too much time fighting small fish with light drags.

Swordfish are here for the taking along the east coast of Florida, but serious, even deadly, accidents are always a possibility when targeting them. They can, and will, use that unique bill as an awesome and dangerous weapon. When handling a swordfish of any size, do not underestimate their power and ability to do damage with their impressive sword — it can break bones, split skulls and penetrate hulls.