520lber caught!

[CODMASTER - GRAHAM]

That sort of Fish...tag and let go..it's like me been hung up (dead)...and you don't see the grand kids..they must have some sort of feeling...thanks Graham

[didi]

it is a pitty for such a specimen to be killed, but i am shure it never went to waste, anyone tried fresh swordfish steaks hmmmmmmmm, you can get them in morrison now, i suppose it was caught on a longline they are the true specimen killers.

[Warrior]

Rod and reel. Read the article. Father and son together on a boat in Florida. From New York.

Ya'll are a bunch of Tree Huggers.

[BoatsMiami.com Yacht Sales]

Reading all of your comments upsets me, enough to join and give you all (let me corect that...most of you) a well needed education. For those of you that can't tell a marlin from a broadbill swordfish... and it seems most of you can't, this is most specifically for you...

 

The sword fishery here in the USA, especially in South Florida is quite strong. With longliners no longer allowed (which is the main problem of overfishing, not the few who recreationally fish for them) in Florida waters, it is getting better and better very rapidly as this area is known to be a major breeding area and is loaded with juvenile fish which only goes to show the strength of the fishery. Not many monsters like the one above are caught here. Average fish are between 70 and 200 lbs. Most are released, with a few kept for the table. Therefore, keeping that big fish should not bring on the deluge of BS being thrown around this site by those who know nothing more than carp fishing!

Does no one in the UK eat fish? Ever tried fresh swordfish? It's delicious!

The expense involved here to go swordfishing for a night is steep... Between fuel, bait, and terminal gear, we spend between $500-700 a trip. I'll be damned if I don't put some fish in the freezer given the expense. We relase many to fight again, but if a fish is in poor condition upon landing (a damaged mouth as they are very soft, or tired beyond revival... due to soft mouths, tackle is kept fairly light given their potential size... on average, 50 lb gear is used with 80 lb line... drags are set light also at only about 16-18 lbs, so 'dragging' one in quickly is not usually an option), to throw it back to the sharks is a waste of excellent meat.

For those who don't know, the fishery is highly regulated (special Highly Migratory Species permit is required, and all landings are to be reported, whether kept or released) and the bag limits are very low to assure this fishery continues to grow as it has been doing for several years now.

If pictures of dead fish bother you all, why not take up needle point instead?

So you know me better, I've fished my whole life; dry and wet flyfishing for trout since a boy, mostly in no-kill streams; carp fished extensively, yes carp, as a boy; fished black bass tourneys on the B.A.S.S. trail, and have spent countless days persuing big game offshore from bottom fishing wrecks for grouper, snapper, cobia, african pompano, etc., to trolling and drift fishing for dolphin, mako shark (taste just like swordfish!), wahoo, king mackeral, marlin, swordfish, blufin, bigeye, yellowfin, blackfin and skipjack tuna, as well as extensive back country flats fishing for snook, tarpon, redfish, permit, bonefish, and sea trout. So you see, I speak from some experience. To bolster the case further, I no longer personally eat fish! That leaves me in a position to speak without prejudice (something most here apparently don't do!) and just state facts.

Bottom line? Fish are a renewable RESOURCE when managed like we do here. Just because the UK and the EU have done little to reverse your fisheries and allows them to stay in the sorry shape they're in doesn't mean you need to throw rocks at those who don't have the same problem... namely us!

 

White marlin... easy guys, it was released unharmed!

 

This swordfish made it into our fishbox though... yummy!

 

Black grouper... yummy sandwiches! Great fish & chips... you still do fish & chips, right :confused: ?

 

150 lb Costa Rican sailfish... OK, OK, we released it! Geeeze...

 

Fresh wahoo steaks anyone! 65 lbs worth!

 

Roosterfish on the fly! Yes, yes, it was released!

 

So you see now, my bretheren who stand on, um, the wrong side of the pond... if you know what you're talking about my respect is yours, for the rest of you who know litlte yet like to whine like women for the sake of doing so, how do you say it? Oh yeah... bu**er off!

 

[ 14. October 2005, 07:50 PM: Message edited by: BoatsMiami.com Yacht Sales ]

[Scopex]

Can't say I’ve ever hugged a tree, personally speaking that is, are they any good?

 

A little criticism and some people start to chuck their toys out of the pram! Touched a nerve?

 

I see nothing at all wrong with eating some of your catch but when it is as magnificent a creature as that, it’s a bit sad to reduce its worth to simply a few fish cakes!

 

Seems far more likely to be simply a trophy kill, which is really sad and frankly abhorrent!

[BoatsMiami.com Yacht Sales]

jabee:

If I change my name to include the calibre of a handgun, does that make me hard ?

 

Or Sad Absolutely ridiculous! Maybe you guys just prefer being stabbed to shot? Hmmm....

[n4lly]

I read in a report of the catch that the fish was

'spent' when it finaly came to the boat side.

 

Play nice chaps, it nearly beer time states side

and...

 

http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=404244

 

[Warrior]

We carry quite the arsenal as well. FOR ALL THOSE DAMN SHARKS!

[BoatsMiami.com Yacht Sales]

Scopex:

a few fish cakes!

A few fish cakes? I guess our math is different on both sides of the pond also, huh? LOL! Secondly, to make fish cakes out of swordfish steaks is akin to a mortal sin... a little olive oil, some light seasoning, and an open grill. That, plus 10 minutes and you'll see that not all fish are only edible if mashed and mixed with things to hide the poor taste!

 

Guys like you should spend your time more wisely... like writing the longline companies that kill hundreds of fish like this everyday.

[Fin-S]

Hi boats and ya'll,

Good post, glad to see you also subscribe to c&r where possible, but really that black groper looks more like a nassau grouper than it does Lenny Henry. Either way it does go well with chips (or should that be fries)

I will be at Bud 'n Marys in early November and who knows, we may be able to share a cold one after eating some fish and releasing some swords.

Oh, and I ain't either side of the pond, I'm right at the bottom!