Emphasis On Nighttime Swordfishing

Report Date: July 3, 2018

The mahi season is in full swing. Since we got back from the Bahamas almost all of our charters have been for mahis offshore. It’s been a lot of fun since most of our trips have been with young anglers who simply have had a blast catching these fish. The great thing about mahi fishing is that it is very visual. You pull up to birds, debris or Sargasso weed and if the mahis are around you will see them swimming in the water all around the boat. This really gets the young anglers excited and fired up and before you know it you are catching fish after fish. We have had a ton of Sargasso weed offshore, which is both good and bad. There is usually so much weed that it’s hard to find which patch holds the fish. Using a few tricks though we narrow it down and luckily have been finding them. The only drawback is that a lot of the mahis are on the small size. There are times that you will pull up to a school and catch a bunch of mahis but very few are of legal size which is 20 inches from the fork of the tail to the jaw. When this happens we usually leave that school and look for another school with bigger fish. The limit is 10 fish per person and not to exceed 60 per vessel. That is a lot of mahis for dinner! It is a great way to get out with the family, catch a bunch of fish and have plenty of fillets for dinner.

We haven’t done a lot of fishing on the edge but the one afternoon that we tried it, we caught a sailfish fairly quick and then called it a day. There have been some kingfish around as well as a few blackfin tunas.

Now that summertime is here, there are a few options that you have as far as fishing. It's not a secret how hot it can get but there is almost always a breeze offshore and the humidity is a lot less than it is on land, so even in the heat of Miami, it is still very comfortable offshore. Like I mentioned most of the trips that we have done have been fishing for mahis, but I am going to put a lot of emphasis this summer on nighttime swordfishing. There is no better way to get out of the heat than to fish at night. With calm seas and usually starry nights, it is a pleasure to be out fishing for swords at night. I know that the daytime swordfish is the newest craze and we still do a lot of that, but when you fish at night it is all manual reels (no electric reels) and you fight your fish in a stand up harness. It is truly you against the fish. The majority of the swordfish I have caught have been at night and they truly fight much harder at night than they do during the day. You can definitely hone your angling skills fighting a swordfish at night. It is time to get back to the basics and start catching swordfish at night. So the opportunity is out there to all my clients that use to nighttime swordfish with me, or with new clients that want to experience the night fishery, mention this report and you will get special pricing on your next nighttime swordfish trip.

So whether it is daytime mahis fishing, nighttime (or daytime) swordfish or a trip to the Bahamas, give us a call and lets go catch some fish! I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July!

Tight Lines,
Capt. Dean Panos

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